I went to the Justice Conference this last week, and I loved it. Truthfully, I don’t know if I would have attended on my own, but I’m employed by the organization who sponsored and put on the event- I work for World Relief*. I’ll admit that I’m at a point in my walk with Jesus right now where I’m skeptical of Christian conferences. I’ve been to several and looking back, (having helped put some on as well…) I have been the willing victim of a lot of hype. I think most Jesus-people have also found themselves exploited by speakers who possess an ability to elicit a strong emotional response from an audience who- in a well-lit auditorium, with hungry expectations actually desires to put out some sort of reaction to what’s going on. Regardless, I participated, I worked and I didn’t have to cry.
I’m not going to elaborate on speakers, music or anything like that, but I’m going to focus on a dinner my boss made me attend. It was a meal for those who are interested in or who have something to say about creative advocacy. I dined with authors, a rapper, photographers, and several journalists. Many of these people had outrageous accomplishments on their resumes and had a lot to offer the rest of the crowd. I didn’t necessarily feel like I belonged.
During this event, I kept asking myself, “Jake, what do you do? What’s your creative contribution to justice?”
My answer? “Well, I want to be a writer. I mean, I write- I blog, but that isn’t much. And also? I work for World Relief, but I don’t write for them, I work in adult education and employment.”
I don’t write about what I do, which is weird. During my time as a baristo, serving coffee to awful white people , I wrote several posts about uppity humans, early hours and pretending to be nice. I haven’t really said a word about my refugees or their stories. I don’t know why. Angie works with me, but she writes about her time in Thailand, running a safe-house for children near the border, but she never said a lot about her work either.
Maybe it isn’t glamorous. I don’t roam around jungles, in search of those in need. I don’t kick doors down then rush in to crash a sweatshop and save lives. I don’t rescue anyone from sex-trafficking. I help people who have relocated to the United States get into education and get jobs. I have been accused of whitewashing them, giving refugees jobs that Americans should have and supporting other problems in the United States. To that, I’ll say, our nation grew up on a steady diet of immigrants- we still need to welcome the stranger to our land and help them succeed. Though employment is my big focus, I have dealt with domestic violence, rape, extreme racism, violence outside of the home and closed-minded people. Maybe some of that makes the story a little more exciting, but nobody wants that kind of drama.
I don’t know if I’ll start writing about the ministry I’m involved in. The last thing I want to do is come across as self-important and you all know me, I’m vying for that reward in heaven , so perhaps I should stay quiet about my daily life. But there you go, there’s a snapshot into my world. It’s filled with people who don’t speak English, who cook fascinating and terrifying foods and who got a second chance- one where they can live outside of persecution, where someday, they’ll be able to dream about the future and set goals. By the grace of God, I plan to help them with that as much as possible- because they’re worth it.
*And by the way, my views don’t necessarily reflect those of World Relief. I fee like I need to make that separation distinct- mostly for fun. But seriously.
You’ve come a long way since the days of serving coffee to awful white people. If you feel compelled to write about your work, do so. But I do understand a certain desire to keep some aspects of your life separate from the virtual world.
Kathy, you’ve been with me on the road to better writing basically since day one. Thank you for all your encouragement and everything else. I still like to complain… just now I do it less publicly 🙂
I’m actually kind of jealous of you. I saw the promo videos for the Justice Conference and really wanted to attend. I hope it was a great time!
I know what you mean about not sharing what you do on a daily basis for fear that it would be endless self-promotion. I felt that way for a while, myself. But I’ve come to see that sharing what I do with Ignite, sharing the stories of students who have been impacted, the trips we take and the work we do has not only benefited us with more supporters (both in prayer and financially), it has also stirred other people’s faith to step out and do something great. The majority of people who have donated to my mission trip this year are those who read my posts and feel connected with Ignite. It might not hurt to share a bit about what you do.
You should be jealous. It was seriously the best conference I’ve ever attended. The media was amazing, Walter Breuggemann was amazing (I want to be him when I’m old). And I couldn’t be more proud of the organization that employs me.
But you’re right, I don’t want to divulge what I do, though I’m proud of my work- I don’t want to be THAT guy…
I saw a short teaser of Walter Breuggemann’s talk for the conference on YouTube or Vimeo. If for no other reason, I wanted to go to hear him speak. Glad you got the opportunity to be there! And I could totally imagine you being like him when you’re older.
Breuggemann was the highlight of the entire conference for me. I’ve been reading his stuff for a while now. He’s brilliant.
What are some of his books you’d recommend. I have his Prophetic Imagination book but haven’t read it yet (it’s in my pretty large pile of books to read).
Finally Comes the Poet, The Word Militant: Preaching a Decentering Word, Testimony to Otherwise: The Witness of Elijah and Elisha
All amazing. I don’t know how people get some of these perspectives… let alone one man.
Jake – thank you for writing this post! I needed this reminder! I’ve been in a funk and haven’t written in two months. Not because I don’t have anything to say. I have titles for at least 60 more stories about the border. But….I’ve really been struggling with our work right here, right now, and the power of our people’s stories. It’s messy. We have a professional boundary with them. Most are still too leery to divulge their stories. But there are bits and pieces we can write without revealing identities. Hum…a good point to ponder. I think I’ll start writing again….
It’s about freaking time, good LORD! Let me know when you have something. I get the funk, the past few weeks have been hell to get any writing actually done. Blah.
Hi Jake…I am not that really familiar wtih your post here but I enjoyed reading it…