Don’t Just Sit There

July 11, 2013 By Leave a Comment

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Coming July 15. Do Something. 
Don’t Be a Slactivist
Dillon Burroughs, Daniel Darling, and my friend the BibleDude, Dan King, have this new book coming out next week. Dan was kind enough to send me a copy of the galley so I could tell you about it. 
Here’s the thing I love best about this book: 

This isn’t about a couple “important” people making their voices heard and making things happen. It’s about every single man and woman who sits in a church pew on Sunday mornings (and several who don’t) doing something awesome in response to the amazing gift we’ve been given (Dan King, from the introduction).

In a season of folks “liking” a Facebook page and considering that an important step forward, we all need this reminder. 
Because the truth is, we can tweet for an end to starvation all day long, but it won’t fill a single belly. 

This trio means to grow a movement. They want their lives to count beyond the circle of their own family and friends. They want to serve. 

The book is organized into chapters, each addressing a different issue: Human trafficking, immigration, poverty, environmentalism, disaster response, homelessness, abortion, war/terror/genocide, religious persecution, family instability, prison reform, and orphans.

Which of those topics made your heart jump? 

Each chapter, written by one of the three authors, includes a selection of scripture related to the topic, a survey of the current situation today and concludes with questions for reflection or discussion (Think it Through), tools and resources, and action steps. For example, in the chapter on emergency response, Dan King reminds us to give the help that’s needed, not what makes you feel good about yourself. 

So simple. So true. And sadly, so often overlooked. 

I don’t see sugarcoating in this book. That’s important. In the chapter about orphans, for instance, the author (Dan King) does not shrink from discussing the complexities of adoption and the controversies that have drawn such attention lately, such as adoption separating intact families and child trafficking. 
The key point of this book is that you don’t have to move to Calcutta to serve and show Christ’s love. Turning again to the adoption chapter, resources for action range from international adoption agencies to organizations supporting in-country adoption abroad, child sponsorship agencies, foster care, domestic adoption, mentoring, and supporting adoptive parents. Everyone can do one of those things. Everyone.  
I found two aspects of the book that didn’t thrill me, but they’re tangential to the main thrust of the book. First, the writing of the book is occasionally clumsy. Earnest would be a good descriptor. I found the topics so engaging that the prose became “invisible” to me as I made my way through the chapters. 

My second quibble is related to content. In several places, including the very first pages of the introduction, one of the authors stakes out the book’s territory as politically conservative ground. With a heart filled with Christian love, I respectfully say: Um, no. However–however–since the thrust of the book is urging us to act as individuals and congregations, rather than through the ballot box or engagement in politics, this perspective doesn’t undermine the important contributions of this work. In fact, in the introduction, Daniel Darling tells us:

This is why we believe that the greatest agent of change in our world isn’t in the power centers of Washington, D.C., or New York; it’s in the hearts of ordinary believers transformed by the power of Christ.

I think you should read this book. I think you should discuss it with your friends and family.

Go ahead and share it on Facebook.

Then DO SOMETHING. 

Action steps: 
Preorder today from Amazon (paperback): 
Preorder today from Amazon (Kindle): 

Activist Faith: From Him and For Him

He has told you, O man, what is good;
    and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
    and to walk humbly with your God?
Micah 6:8 (ESV)

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