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Saturday, August 9
addition without subtraction
Yesterday, I watched a short video of Catherine Rohr, the 31-year old founder of the Prison Entrepreneurship Program.
In it, she talked about how was confronted by the way of Jesus, gave up a fast-paced, self-centered, financially-rewarding life in venture capital, and started a program to help prisoners get the skills they need to succeed after release. It's working: the national recidivism rate is as high as 70%; for participants in Catherine's program it's about 4%.
At the end of the video, when she talks about where she's sitting and what's about to happen around her, my eyes filled with tears. But it's what she talked about at the first part of her interview that should have made me cry, and that's the fact that once she encountered Christ, she could no longer live her life the same way. She had to let go of everything in order to embrace a new vision.
So often, we are moved to add good things to our lives. We tack them on to the life we are living, like so many state-fair blue ribbons on the swine of our selfishness.
But the pig is still a pig. And we do not yet realize that the way of Jesus demands that we subtract all before we can add anything.
In it, she talked about how was confronted by the way of Jesus, gave up a fast-paced, self-centered, financially-rewarding life in venture capital, and started a program to help prisoners get the skills they need to succeed after release. It's working: the national recidivism rate is as high as 70%; for participants in Catherine's program it's about 4%.
At the end of the video, when she talks about where she's sitting and what's about to happen around her, my eyes filled with tears. But it's what she talked about at the first part of her interview that should have made me cry, and that's the fact that once she encountered Christ, she could no longer live her life the same way. She had to let go of everything in order to embrace a new vision.
So often, we are moved to add good things to our lives. We tack them on to the life we are living, like so many state-fair blue ribbons on the swine of our selfishness.
But the pig is still a pig. And we do not yet realize that the way of Jesus demands that we subtract all before we can add anything.
2 comments:
We were a Satellite site for Willow Creek's Leadership Summit again this year at GCC. Catherin was one of the featured speakers. I'd seen her at Catalyst last year but this interview seemed different and I was captivated. Even when the giants seemed unconquerable, Catherine persevered. Her story is a great testimony of someone who heard God speak to them and stepped up to the challenge. If you have the opportunity go to Willows website and purchase Catherines session. It's well worth seeing.
Tell Mike and the kids hey!
Bob Casto
Tell Mike and the kids hey!
Bob Casto
If you don't win that essay contest it's just a crime.