Pastor’s Corner: CWOW Dreamin’

 In News

From Pastor Gary VanderPol

At Church without Walls we believe that doing justice is part of following Jesus. For the last few years, we have been especially concerned about mass incarceration, educational inequity, and rights for immigrants and refugees. So 2017 has felt like a nightmare for many of us, with each of those areas seemingly under constant new attacks. We have done our best to respond to the nightmare through protest, lament, and resistance. All of those reactions are correct and necessary. But they’re not enough. We must also dream.

Russell Jeung recently wrote an article about a follower of Jesus in San Francisco who had a dream to unite her vocation with her value for justice. Minnie Fong was able to leverage her position in an environmentally-conscious startup to offer good jobs to refugees like Tu Shan, who can now provide for his family and still spend time with them.

Russell’s article has got me dreaming about what we could do at CWOW. Why couldn’t we start a business that provides dignified employment to those who are demonized in our current political climate? Why couldn’t we synergize our skills in business, law, social work, management and more with the hopes and hard work of folks coming out of incarceration or civil war?

I know it’s really hard to start a small business, and even harder when you’ve got both a financial and social bottom line. But why shouldn’t we dream? Who knows what God might be stirring up? Why not us? Because good dreams are often the best way to respond to a nightmare.

Please shoot me an email if you’d like to dream together about social entrepreneurship at CWOW.

— Gary

 

BLR
Recent Posts

Leave a Comment

Start typing and press Enter to search