Someone once said “Be the change you wish to see in the world”, but is this really a good ethical model for uncreative and selfish people? I mean, let’s be honest, we only really want selfish, uncreative, violent, and rude people to change—the rest of us have it figured out. Right? After creating the first production car, Henry Ford was asked about how the customer influenced his decision, he answered “If had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses”. To ask people who are stuck in a rigid and complex system to “be the change they wish to see in the world” is very much like asking people what kind of car they would like to drive when all they have ever done is ride horses. How can you imagine something when you’ve never even been close enough to think about it?
I’m a fan of the concept of “being the change”, but sometimes we need the needs of the world to change us before we can imagine what change in the world should look like. I think it’s much more honest to say “Become the change”.
25 in change is world revolution which begins by revolutionizing our own personal worlds. The technology of 21st century has allowed us to become radically global in our communication, but it also has enabled us to become extremely isolated. We can be distracted, entertained, and numbed to the needs of the world through the illusion of being connected to it through technology. If we don’t like what we hear or see, we simply change the channel or close the internet browser window. We have the greatest freedom in the history of the world to expose and isolate ourselves to the external world. This is why 25 in change breaks into our own world and revolutionizes our interaction with ourselves by making the needs of those who are hungry and obese our own needs. For 25 days, advocates can’t run from themselves and hide from the fact that 2 billion people on this planet have unhealthy access to food which is slowly killing them.
For 25 people, the revolution to change their world starts on May 7th. Come be a partner to become the change we wish to see in the world. Visit 25inchange.org for more information
I am so inspired by this program! Attacking the dual problems of hunger and obesity is so wonderfully creative..they are 2 different sides of the same coin.
My question is, what happens next? After the 1st 25 advocates finish this program, will there be another 25? Do you hope to have more than one advocate group going at a time? I am interested in becoming an advocate, what does that entail, what do you require to sign up & how do I go about it?
Also, the donations that are made, how are they distributed? And where? I know hunger is a worldwide problem, so how do you choose which regions to help? Are you focusing mainly on children?
Thank you all so much for such a fantastic initiative. To the 1st 25: God bless you. Thank you for taking on a challenge that must’ve been both exhilarating and terrifying. Thank you to the people behind the scenes who I’m sure do not get as much credit as you deserve!
You are all doing a wonderful thing..God’s work!
Rebecca,
Thanks for posting. 25 in Change is quickly spreading across the country, and a lot of other churches are wanting to start groups of their own. After this first group of 25 gets done, we will learn from them what was most effective for change in their own lives, and then improve the model. Our goal is to eventually reach all churches large enough to support 25 advocates from their communities.
The contributions are distributed directly to the World Food Programme. For every 25 cents which we raise, one school meal is provided to a hungry child. 100% of contributions which we receive are sent to the World Food Programme at the completion of each group’s 25 days of change.
We will be requesting that the school meals we have raised are provided to the most vulnerable children around the world. Right now, that seems to be Ethiopia and Somalia. But as this continues, we will work wherever we can.