Uniquely Equipped

Written by Brooks Berndt Minister for Environmental Justice at United Church of Christ

I am of the opinion that the most important conversation to have in the United States right now is not another conversation about how nothing will ever change when it comes to climate change, school shootings, white supremacy, and fill-in-the-blank-issue-of-life-and-death-significance. The most important conversation right now is the opposite of this. It is about how do we collectively move out of the sense of powerlessness and helplessness endemic to our society.

If I focus solely on the causes of any particular societal ill, I can easily spin around and around in the nothing-will-ever-change rut of intellectualized apathy. With the climate crisis, I can cogitate endlessly on the immense powers wielded by governments and corporations. The problem with focusing only on the causes is that one loses sight of power that the rest of us have. For me, the scripture that helps me redirect my thought process is found in Ephesians 4. Here the emphasis is on building up the Body of Christ. As part of a “whole body” we are “joined and knit together,” while each of us is uniquely “equipped” for “the work of ministry.”

Within the Body of Christ, we each have a calling and a role that enables our individual and collective empowerment. Blessed Tomorrow  and ecoAmerica have resources with the knowledge needed to equip ourselves for our calling as we grow a movement capable of making a vital difference today.