Anyone who grew up in America in the ’80s remembers the formation of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. You probably also remember this ad from 1987:
http://youtu.be/ub_a2t0ZfTs
A little cheesy, but we all remember it, right?
Suppose we were to take the same concept and use it in the church—only with social justice. What if we could visualize the needs and hurts in our communities? What if, instead of rock bands and multi-media and hipster pastors, each week we saw images of the hurts all around us? And what if, instead of in-church ministries and building projects, we put our time and money into making it better?
Just as media advertisers put their heads together to create a partnership, churches might do well to consider the same. No one church can address every need in every community. But if we lay aside our theological and philosophical differences, each church might form an alliance with an ecumenical agency to take on just one issue. Instead of fighting over politics, spirituality, doctrine, and the right way to “do” ministry, we could change the world. And that would be something, wouldn’t it?
