3 Questions with Richard Lee, Director of church mobilization, International Justice Mission
All injustice should be resisted, but what injustice is the evangelical church best equipped to address?
As you look at Scripture passages like Micah 6, Isaiah 58, and Luke 10, it becomes pretty clear that justice is at the heart of discipleship. If the church is not responding to issues of injustice, then we are not responding to God’s heart for the world. So, the question is not, “What injustice should we address?” as much as it is “What are we doing to address the injustice around us?”
How can seminary students best use their free time to get involved in matters of justice?
Having graduated from seminary myself, I can recognize how insular an experience it can be. However, the antidote for that is to leave the confines of the campus and to engage in conversations, interactions, and issues with those that face injustice. It might be a single mother or an inner-city youth or an aftercare home in Cambodia. But the first step should be an intentional step outward.
What is a helpful, introductory book a student could read to become educated about matters of economic injustice, specifically?
When you have people in poverty and people in power in close proximity, it can lead to economic injustice and, too often, slavery. In fact, the UN estimates that there are 4 billion people (half the world!) that live outside the protection of basic law enforcement with an estimated 45 million people trapped in slavery. To learn more about the realities and tragedies of economic injustice, I would recommend reading Gary Haugen’s The Locust Effect.
