-What Can I Do? Making a Global Difference Rgiht Where You Are, by David Livermore

We're All Role Models (So What are You Modeling?)

Shane Claiborne, a Christian activist for the poor, says [in Jesus for President], "Instead of asking young people, 'What are you going to do when you grow up?' ask them, 'Who are you becoming?' The question is not whether you will be a doctor or a lawyer but what kind of doctor or lawyer you will be." One of the most important roles we play as we work with the kids and students in our lives is giving them an imagination to live the best possible life - a life defined by surrender to Jesus, being an image bearer of God, and joining God's work in the world...


John was a long-haired radical who had just moved into one of the poorest neighborhoods in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He looked around and saw kids who were dealing with crushing problems - fistfights at home, parents who couldn't pay rent, moms and dads on drugs or in jail, and regular gang problems. Going to school ... didn't seem to help much. Teachers were short on patience and were expected to manage huge classrooms with few resources, gang activity filled the hallways, and put-downs and negative peer pressure were everywhere.


John recruited some of his friends, and they started teaching twelve students in a church basement, forming a small school they called Potter's House. Now, almost thirty years later, John continues to live in the same neighborhood and continues to lead the Potter's House school. Today the school has more than five hundred students ... John knows the name of every student, and he greets each of them as they enter school every morning ... John believes you can change the world - one student at a time.


[This idea applies] to parents, grandparents .... all of us! We can all shape the lives of children by helping them see what really matters in life ... Making a difference in the world doesn't require that you travel far from home. It's as close as the nearest child.


-What Can I Do? Making a Global Difference Rgiht Where You Are, by David Livermore