Here are some thoughts on the catch phrase ‘social justice’ from a former Sojourner and dear brother in Christ, Brian Wilbur.  Brian currently resides in New York.

First, for Christians, “social justice” is not a movement or program “out there” that we need to link up with. Rather, “social justice” is a basic component of discipleship to Jesus. Jesus bids us to open up our space to those who cannot repay us – “But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just” (Luke 14:13-14). More instructions could be noted. The point, though, is this: let us not think about social justice as an add-on, an option, an isolated stream within Christianity, or a movement “out there”. Instead we must maintain that true discipleship includes the call to social justice, but it cannot be reduced to social justice. So let’s keep the idea within the framework of discipleship.

Second, for the Christian, “social justice” is fundamentally about our relationships. Though there is a place for engagement with programs, movements and political agendas – this is not the primary location for social justice. You see, the danger is in thinking that social justice is something I do on Saturday mornings at 9 am at the soup kitchen. But what about the myriad interruptions and needs that present themselves to us every day.

Suppose you are pumping gas and a man comes up and asks for $5. What do you do? Or suppose that your neighbor’s car breaks down and his wife needs a ride to work. What do you do? Or suppose that the cashier makes a mistake, or takes too long, in the process of serving you. How do you respond? And so on. The point is: movements and programs are a sham if we fail these simple tests.

But when our hearts are oriented justly toward those around us, then we should want to spread justice to places of need. For this very reason, those who seek to restore at-risk communities in an intentional way are to be commended.

If we keep these two things in mind, that social justice is an aspect of discipleship and that it pertains to our relationships, then we will guard ourselves as Christians from polarizing over the issue.

I close with a practical challenge: this week we will be presented with at least a few but maybe many opportunities to do justly – you won’t have to go out and look, unless you’re a couch potato (and disciples are not couch potatoes). And at the end of the week, the question will not be: Was I committed to social justice? Instead the question will be: Was I faithful as a disciple? and Did I love my neighbor as myself?

Let’s put the emphasis where it belongs, and we will spare ourselves what can become polarizing philosophical and political debates about social justice; or at least we will put such debates in their proper, small place.

Lindsay Eubanks is a longtime member of Sojourn, a wife, mother and Occupational Therapist. Lindsay and her husband live in the Shelby Park neighborhood in Louisville where they are trying to learn to be better neighbors and love God more.

Relocation is a term thrown around a lot in the ‘urban ministry’ culture.  But what exactly is it?

John Perkins, who actually coined the three R’s of community development (relocation, reconcilation, and redistribution) explains relocation this way,

““Living the gospel means desiring for your neighbor and your neighbor’s family that which you desire for yourself and your family.” Only by joining a community do a community’s needs become one’s own. Living the gospel means sharing the suffering and pain of others, and relocation transforms “you, them, and theirs,” to “we, us, and ours.” “Effective ministries plant and build communities of believers that have a personal stake in the development of their neighbors,”

Michael Barkey, author of Models of Effective Compassion: Dr. John Perkins and the Three R’s of Community Develoment takes this idea even further:

“For some persons, relocation means “going back” to a community after growing up, receiving an education elsewhere, tasting success, and then responding to God’s call to return home with skills and leadership to give to the people there. For others, relocation means moving from the outside in, to uplift the people who live there. Either way, by having a personal stake in the success of the community, individuals relocating to a community often are able to provide the leadership and inspiration needed to rebuild the fallen community and prepare the next generation for a brighter tomorrow”(2000).

Relocation was always the hardest part of ‘urban ministry’ for me to accept, even though I knew it was one of the most important.  I knew that if we didn’t actually move into this neighborhood (Shelby Park) that our selfish nature would take over and we just wouldn’t really care about the poor of Louisville.  We knew we would intend to be involved in the neighborhood, but when things got tough, we would just not have a vested interest, because neighborhood issues just wouldn’t affect us.  So, we had to move here to even begin to care.  Thank God He can use us even with wrong motives.

Lindsay Eubanks is a longtime member of Sojourn, a wife, mother and Occupational Therapist. Lindsay and her husband live in the Shelby Park neighborhood in Louisville where they are trying to learn to be better neighbors and love God more.