Change the World

Matt and I had the following tongue-in-cheek conversation yesterday, as he looked over my weekend to-do list, still posted on the refrigerator:

Matt: What’s “CTW2”?
Me: Change the World, chapter 2. I needed to do some more editing on it over the weekend.
Matt: So you’re changing the world twice?
Me: No, the changing of the world is not completed in chapter 1.
Matt: But it will be by the end of the book?
Me: Yes, definitely.

We have a strange sense of humor, I know. In all seriousness, we won’t change the world just by writing, editing, or reading Change the World: Recovering the Message and Mission of Jesus (written by pastor Michael Slaughter of Ginghamsburg Church in Ohio and coming February 2010 from Abingdon Press). But we can change the world by serving as the hands and feet of Jesus on earth, ministering to the hungry, sick, and poor worldwide.

Mike’s mission is to help his congregation and other pastors and readers focus on Jesus' mission to "bring good news to the poor, release to the captive, and freedom to the oppressed," (Luke 4:18). I have been to Ginghamsburg’s annual Change the World conference twice now, and I have to say, it is an excellent experience for inspiring and equipping church leaders to make mission a top priority in their congregations and to put that priority to work in concrete action that really can make a difference for suffering people. I can't urge you to buy the book yet because (obviously) it's not out yet. But registration for the conference--October 22-23--is open, and I really do encourage you to check it out.