The Intentional Conversation | The thought process of Robbie Shreffler

Doing things in the name of the Lord is my passion. I feel called to action, and therefore I find myself as a Missional Pastor in the San Francisco Bay Area. Our area is ripe for opportunities to DO the work of the Lord. But it’s important for you to know about me that I am not just a doer out of the goodness of my heart, I don’t do this work because I pity people and I am not satisfied to simply give, give, give and never address the larger issues at hand.

Social Justice has become a term very near and dear to my heart, but what does it mean? What does justice mean in this world? Are we talking about the kind of justice that comes at the end of a stick or the barrel of a gun? Or are we talking about the kind of justice that Jesus claimed would be the work of his ministry in Luke 4? I have seen the work of the world’s justice. Prisons cannot and do not transform people. Jesus’ version of justice can and does transform people.

Jesus’ plan was to preach the good news to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to free the captives, to give sight to the blind, to release the oppressed and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor (Luke 4:19). Now we can think of these in theological terms or we can look at Jesus walk this out in the real world of his day. His holistic ministry was to the people of his day and his teachings tell us that even today this is our mission.

 I was recently a part of a summit with church leaders that purposely addressed the focus and direction of Compassionate Ministries. Social Justice was a big topic though it was not an easy one to speak on. We (the church) do not know how to talk about the church delivering justice in our world today and there are obstacles in our way to fully understanding the implications of justice as a Christian. The conclusion to topic of social justice was that we need to have open, intentional dialogue about what it will mean in this culture and world. In this intentional conversation there will be a great need for patience and understanding because many times the finger will point back at us as the problem.

I hope that you will join in with this intentional conversation and be a part of the change and transformation that we so desperately need… even if we do not yet realize it!