In his recent article “A Challenge to Millennials: Click Less, Read More,” Jeremy Taylor commented on a quote by his graduate professor: “My job is no longer to give knowledge, it is to help you understand what to do with it.”

What does generosity look like to you? If you are like us, you connect generosity with the impression of a person who goes above and beyond, whose lavish giving resounds in kindness—someone extraordinary. However, when we step back and take a look at Scripture, we find that God's definition of generosity doesn't line up with our idea of something “extra”.

Pope Francis recently declared – along with many other global religious leaders – that we must eradicate modern slavery by 2020. Gary Haugen, president of the International Justice Mission, reported in response from Rome that yes, it is possible to see slavery “mortally wounded” in our lifetime. It is encouraging to hear such hopeful predictions from leading figures in our world.

There needs to be a new process for America’s biggest popularity contest. Republican presidential candidates have been taking the stage for debates at a rate of almost one per month this year.

It’s a familiar scene: On one side of the debate, there is a compassionate liberal who has good intentions but thinks little about the nation’s fiscal health and places little emphasis on personal responsibility. On the other side stands a cold-hearted conservative who is practical and grounded but somewhat unaware of genuine hardships facing low-income Americans.

This past summer, the world watched as the debt crisis in Greece made headlines. At this time, a man by the name of Thom Feeney decided to take the country’s economic woes into his own hands. With the help of the popular crowdsourcing website Indiegogo, Feeney set up an online campaign page to raise money for a bailout fund for Greece

I have no credentials that set me apart as an authority on the end of life. I have, however, encountered a type of death, youth suicide, in an intimate manner. While living and working on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation I saw such death with regularity.

Pope Francis is coming. If you've been living under a rock the past few weeks, then this is news to you, but if you are living in Washington, DC, New York City, or Philadelphia then you are well aware of his near arrival and the chaos this will throw your city into.

Labor Day weekend marks many transitions: the official (if not technical) end of summer, the return to school for children and teachers, a new term for college students and professors, and the end of August recess for members of Congress.

This is part two of a  series on proximate justice. To read part one, click here. 

North Americans famously esteem freedom but are ambivalent about authority. Authority strikes many of us as too constricting and insufficiently supportive of our desires and aspirations.

I recently spent time talking with an undergrad. She was excited to tell me about her upcoming internship with a large corporation, as well as her latest off campus project. As we shared our newest adventures, I told her that I would soon be writing an article about change agents. She lit up! It’s a buzz word you know. As a business major, she informed me that ‘entrepreneur’ was so last decade. All the best and brightest are calling themselves ‘change makers’ or ‘creators’. (Did you know ‘innovator’ is simple and boring now, too? I bet you did.)

One of the few unambiguous political statements in the New Testament is that we should pray for our leaders (see 1 Timothy 2, Romans 13, at al). Paul doesn’t give a lot of political advice outside of this, other than being unfortunately clear about paying our taxes, also in Romans 13.

This is part one of a two part series on proximate justice. Check back next week for the second installment.