Those who work in the trenches as well as those at the highest levels of public policy are helping to reshape and unite lives. Forgiveness, purpose, freedom, sacrifice and thanksgiving are the hallmarks of their work. These people pray not to be extolled in God’s sight, but to garner strength to continue to serve. The light of their faith serves neither to illuminate the sins of others nor to spotlight their own self-righteousness, but as a beacon to guide their footsteps in the service of others.
Not surprisingly, these people tend not to vest energy in trying to figure out the theological meaning of the tsunami that killed more than 225,000 in Asia right after Christmas in 2004, or Hurricane Katrina, which virtually wiped out the city of New Orleans in August 2005. These people would be measured not by their interpretation of those events, but by their response to it: “What should I do?”
Or, in three simple words: “Watch my feet.”
These people live by the core value shared by all major religions: the Golden Rule, whose essence—in everything, do to others as you would have them do to you—is often lost in the melee of sectarian bickering.
In this book you will read amazing stories of how people balance their public work with their private faith. You will see how their faith makes a difference in how they do their work and the outcomes of that work. You will learn how they sustain their faith and how they overcome doubt, fear, and burnout. And you will see the central role faith plays in keeping these people standing—no, thriving and affirming.
Most important, you’re going to be changed by these people and discover something about yourself in the process: what gets you up in the morning, keeps you going, keeps you committed and grounded. For you it may be faith, or maybe a deep belief in justice, equity, and the essential dignity of all.
If you are not feeling worthy, be inspired by Tony Ortiz, who was the scourge of the California juvenile justice system. He felt he had nothing anybody wanted or needed, and now runs California Youth Outreach and is a huge asset to the system he once plagued. If you feel you have no talent, be inspired by Bo Diaz, who teaches boxing to kids in drug-infested neighborhoods, or by Si Johnson, who teaches tough kids how to rope and tame horses. If you feel you don’t have the time, be inspired by Tillie Burgin, who opens her shelter in Arlington, Texas every morning at three-thirty. If you feel you aren’t needed or have nothing to offer, be inspired by Mary Gonzalez, who merely opens her door to neighborhood kids and is always there to give a hug or a donut.
“But,” you say, “I don’t want to hear a word about faith. Everything I hear tells me that faith means anger, judgment, revenge, even killing.”
Not so in the case of the people you’ll meet, like Brooklyn District Attorney Charles “Joe” Hynes, whose jurisdiction is one of the nation’s most populous, or Earl Paysinger, deputy chief of police in Los Angeles, who oversees the most violent piece of real estate in America. Meet Alexie Torres-Fleming, who “escaped” the Bronx to join the Madison Avenue fast track, only to return to work with the poor. Get to know Mike Doyle, a former management consultant to physicians from Fort Worth, Texas, who gave up his lucrative business to found the Cornerstone Assistance Network and “never felt freer.”
These people should be battered, tired, discouraged, and cynical, yet they give thanks.
They are bound by impossible schedules, long days, and endless demands, yet they feel free.
They are angry at what they see, yet they forgive.
They work in chaos and anonymity, yet they call individuals by name.
They work amidst family collapse, fear, and mistrust, yet they stay.
They heal, often with insights gleaned from their own personal pain.
They move toward, not away from, the hurting and the unlovable.
They have taken their commitments, talents, and skills—as a lawyer, a boxer, an administrator, a rodeo roper, a teacher—and used them to serve others.
At its very root, the work of these people speaks to the courageous and unremitting power of love. William Sloane Coffin, in his book Credo, says it best: “Socrates had it wrong; it is not the unexamined but finally the uncommitted life that is not worth living. Descartes too was mistaken; ‘Cogito ergo sum’—‘I think therefore I am.’ Nonsense. Amo ergo sum—I love therefore I am.” Faith, concludes Coffin, is “love in action.”
Now come, meet these people. May they inspire you to examine your fundamental commitments, guide you to new ones, and lead you to ask, “Where do my feet take me?”
continue to Preface
|
