{"id":3878,"date":"2018-11-06T06:02:21","date_gmt":"2018-11-06T14:02:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insideout.insidewp.test\/?p=3878"},"modified":"2021-07-07T21:25:03","modified_gmt":"2021-07-07T21:25:03","slug":"justice-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/2018\/11\/06\/justice-people\/","title":{"rendered":"JUSTICE PEOPLE"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recently, I was talking to my parents about being their child. Now raising my own kids, we were making special note of\u00a0how much the world has changed in terms of how we parent, and what parameters we operate with as parents. Even during the parenting of our own children (especially if our children span many years), our tactics will change, our bottom lines shift, our iron-clad \u201cno way, Jose\u201d rules breakdown, and our strategies differ from kid to kid.<\/p>\n

Being one of the older siblings growing up, often the conversation would end up moving towards how easy it was for the younger siblings in our family. It\u2019s true that I wasn\u2019t allowed to play sports on Sunday\u2014because this was a hallowed day that should be observed as the Sabbath\u2014and on it shall be no leisure of any kind (this parent decision cost me a professional career in athletics I might add<\/strong><\/span>). My youngest brother on the other hand got to play in hockey and volleyball tournaments every weekend! I remember having to attend the evening church services with my mom (my dad somehow managed to get out of that one)\u2026but my younger brothers don’t.<\/p>\n

Not Seen or Heard of…<\/span><\/h2>\n

This parenting shift is also true for us as a community of believers. Our views on many societal issues have shifted over time as we \u201cgrow up\u201d or as we learn to discern the times we live in.<\/p>\n

I remember growing up in a time where women in leadership, in and outside of the church, was not accepted. Nowadays, I can\u2019t imagine being a part of an organization that isn\u2019t intentional about men and women working alongside each other in leadership. I remember a time when divorce was so taboo, some churches would actually ex-communicate people who divorced their spouses.\u00a0 Nowadays, we have realized the importance of pastoral care as the primary way to deal with some of the brokenness of our lives\u2014not judgement.<\/p>\n

When I was a kid, I don’t remember hearing about or talking about the concept of justice. The only thing that I remember specific to justice when I was a kid, was when my dad would read Nicholas Wolterstorff<\/a> to me (I had no idea what any of the big words I was hearing meant\u2014but I loved that my dad wanted to read to me these big ideas) and I would try to make sense of words like justice, shalom, and flourishing.<\/strong><\/span> Nowadays, we put justice on the forefront of our mission statements: \u201cwe are justice people\u201d or \u201cworking for a more just society\u201d or \u201cwe are agents of renewing God\u2019s world for justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Justice is now a part of our Christian DNA.<\/p>\n

Redemptive Shifts<\/span><\/h2>\n

ACS is not immune to these subtle shifts.<\/p>\n

In many ways, we have adopted these shifts towards justice and embraced them as a vital part of our existence. And rightfully so! Digging into Scripture, it\u2019s clear where God\u2019s heart is\u2014with those on the outskirts, the foreigners within our gates, the marginalized.<\/strong><\/span> I love reading the Bible and finding yet another marginalized person in ancient society that God used for His redemptive work.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve had the privilege to be part of two fairly foundational conferences in the past month that have helped shape my thinking on the topic of justice. Both of these conferences dealt with the topic of how we care for those on the margins. And then not only how we care for them, but in some cases, how we reconcile with them. Consider the following list:<\/p>\n