HourChallenge

  I am in the middle of Beyond Guilt, a very good book by George Johnson. One of the chapters in the book, titled “From Answers to Questions” asserts that tough questions can do more for us than easy answers. He writes about a father who would ask his son everyday after school, “did you [...]

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I am just starting to get some traction on a year-old idea to create a podcast discussing advocacy, issues of justice and suburban living. The format will be a hodge-podge including professionally narrated content, interviews, sermons and lectures. So where does the suburban thing fit in? Well, it can be difficult to see extreme poverty [...]

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Bread for the World is a nationwide Christian movement that seeks justice for the world’s hungry people by lobbying our nation’s decision makers. It has more than 58,000 members organized by congressional district into local networks nationwide. So what do Bread members do? Together they write, call and visit members of Congress, generate media attention [...]

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I was in Orange County most of the day in a meeting. After finishing up our daily evening routine, I was physically exhausted. I was kicking myself for this hourchallenge thing sat down with the express goal of getting my hour in and spent it reading some feeds, answering an email or two and writing [...]

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Last week I wrote a letter to the Union Tribune responding to recent article on the farm bill. I posted the letter but looking back didn’t provide much background information on this massive and troubling piece of legislation. A lot of information is available on this bill, but if you just want to get a [...]

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Lot’s of calls and emails made up my hour today. I’ve been keeping a little log so I don’t forget what transpired. Wow, looking back today was busy -12 calls and emails. The activities were pretty varied. I contacted our church administrator regarding some upcoming events, Bread for the World for more letter writing packets, [...]

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A recent article by (yes I’m plugging him again) Jeffrey Sachs in Scientific American helped to explain why some regions of the world seem to be trapped in poverty. But progress is possible. “Investments in infrastructure can break economic isolation. Such improvements include all-weather roads, power grids that reach rural areas, wider cellular phone coverage, [...]

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  Add this amazing little movie to your Netflix queue when you have a minute.  It is one of the most inspiring and challenging movies I have ever watched.  Mother Teresa understood that poverty could only be overcome through compassion, love and unfailing commitment.  But she went even further than this and lived with and [...]

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Well folks, it’s official, we’re banning bottled water. We have a good fridge filter that we’re planning to use to fill up reusable bottles when we’re on the go. We haven’t thought through all of the details but for now we plan to buy no more bottled water and to avoid drinking it whenever possible. [...]

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8/16 Had an extended breakfast with a good friend who manages a huge pastor’s website. We talked about many things including possibly running an article asking clergy to consider advocacy and justice initiatives. We’re planning to offer specific steps that churches can take to be a voice for the poor. Time spent = 2 hours [...]

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