The Book : Just Courage: God's Great Expedition for the Restless Christian
The Author: Gary A. Haugen, founder of International Justice Mission, an organization dedicated to rescuing the victims of human violence.
Quotable : "Here is one choice that our Father wants us to understand as Christians – and I believe it is the choice of our age. Do we want to be brave or safe? Gently, lovingly – our heavenly Father wants us to know that we simply can’t be both." — Gary Haugen
The Gist: God is calling Christians out of a life pursuing safety, comfort and triviality to a life of courage and adventure by joining in the struggle for justice in this world. What holds us back? Ignorance about the problems of injustice and aggressive human violence. Despair that we cannot make a difference. Fear of what could happen if we get involved. The exciting news is that God is mobilizing a generation of heroes to leave their spiritual cul-de-sacs and rescue those trapped in slavery and forced labor. There is a wonderful benefit for these modern day Harriet Tubmans. They, in turn, are freed from a prison of triviality and small fears. The surprising irony is that by serving God in the work of justice in this world, the rescuers are themselves rescued and set free.
Why You Should Buy And Read This Book: This book is a page turner. It is well written and an easy read at only 130 pages. I read the whole book on my flight from Charlotte to San Francisco. The stories are moving, inspiring and compelling. I especially like that the author did not lay a guilt trip on me. Instead, he made the case that the work of justice is central to discipleship, as much so as evangelism and Bible study. He also made the case that the work of justice sets us free. We all long for meaning and purpose. We want to live a life that echoes in eternity, but we sadly settle for so much less. I can't help but think of C.S. Lewis' famous quote from The Weight Of Glory:
We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.
Gary Haugen, in this excellent little book, offers a pathway out of the slum. That pathway is to embrace courage and get involved in the most neglected category of global ministry in the last hundred years: the ministry of justice. All it requires is that we embrace the thing we yearn for the most in this generation. Courage. Just Courage.
Go buy the book today!
IJM does amazing work and I wholeheartedly support their mission. When I was in law school the Christian Legal Society had a speaker come in from IJM, who revealed that there is definitely more to it than simply evil people exploiting the defenseless--oftentimes a father may be faced with having his family starve or selling his daughter into some sort of sexual slavery. What an awful choice; I think it reinforces the need to treat not just the results (that is, slavery and human trafficking), but also the root causes.
Posted by: Steve Clarke | October 13, 2008 at 17:46
Thanks for the book idea--I have been trolling for something new for a while.
Posted by: Phil S | October 22, 2008 at 21:09
Thank you for the link to International Justice Mission! It's wonderful to find an organization that offers specific ways to help the effort to end slavery.
Posted by: Susannah | November 06, 2008 at 23:16