On the 10K

As of Saturday at 11:47am, I completed my second 10K. Don't get any ideas about my super-athletic ability; I actually walked the entire thing. (Not that I couldn't have run some of it... I was walking with two of my super-athletic friends who had a full marathon to run the next day.) Anyway, I participated in the 10K to support an organization in Nepal called the Red Thread Movement. Each year, Cedarville's chapter of International Justice Mission hosts a 6.2 mile race and donates all proceeds to a selected organization working to fight sex trafficking somewhere in the world. This year's recipient, the Red Thread Movement, partners with organizations in Nepal that maintain safe houses for rescued women, run border patrol between Nepal and India to catch traffickers transporting girls over the border, and provide vocational training for women as an alternate means of supporting themselves (read more about the Red Thread Movement here). IJM's goal this year was $10,000 - the slogan "10K for the 10K." 

Last year, as part of the volunteer planning committee, I was able to see the incredible amount of preparation and dedicated needed to pull of an event of such magnitude. I spent a few Saturdays visiting businesses in the Cedarville and Xenia areas asking for donations, and a few hours sitting at the registration table in Cedarville's student center. This year, although I was not as involved in the planning process, many of my friends are IJM officers and kept me filled in on how everything was going. Volunteers made a promotion video and posters, set up the website, found sponsors, obtained a park permit, and the list continues on and on. So much work for a single event, but an event that works to change people's lives. 

I love working with IJM. And what better place to promote social justice than a campus full of students who love Jesus and want to make a difference in the world in the name of Christ? 

Or so you'd think. 

For this year's 10K, we had close to 300 registered runners. Three hundred participants is a huge number for an org-sponsored event, especially at Cedarville where a hundred e-mails flood your inbox every day with promises of free candy, trivia games, and product sales supporting an worthy cause. (I learned my freshman year that it's not possible to buy every single t-shirt offered without depleting your entire bank balance in a single semester.) But I was still disappointed in the turnout. Let me explain.

Cedarville has around 3,200 students living in or around campus. Leaving a little giveway in the numbers for runners from outside Cedarville, that means that about one in eleven students ran the 10K. That's great, but a part of me emphatically insists that it's not enough. Most college students use their time between nine and noon on Saturdays for nothing more impactful than sleeping or Hulu. So why did we not have half of the student body participate? Or let's aim big... why not everyone?

Ignorance? I'm sorry, but no. You would have to live under a rock to not know about it. Announcements in chapel, posters in practically every building on campus, and a table with a catchy banner right between the campus coffee shop and the student mailboxes. Members of IJM gave presentations in their classes. Oh, and let's not forget the twenty-seven e-mails sent out to the entire Cedarville address book. The 10K would have been really hard to miss. 

Money? Maybe for some. But let's be real... this is Cedarville. We will pay close to 125 thousand dollars to our beloved institution by the time graduation rolls around. Granted, there are scholarships. Most students have to take out loans. But the incredible expense of our environment, not to mention the frequent dinners out, morning lattes, and filling up the gas tank, leads me to believe that only a small minority of students could not spare twenty dollars to help rescue to enslaved women. Besides, Biblical giving is supposed to be about sacrifice. The poor woman in Mark 12 gave all she had to the Lord, and Jesus said that she had given more than the rich men who gave large sums. Why are we afraid to give like this woman did? Are we afraid that God will not provide for us? I am afraid that many American Christians hug the word stewardship much too tightly and slip too far away from faith. 

Time? Time may be the most pervasive excuse that I heard. Many of the students I spoke with were going to be out of town, had to work, etc. And as a busy Cedarville student, I understand. Cedarville does a great job at giving you a schedule full of professors who think their class is the only one that matters, and subsequently providing a plethora of activities and ministry opportunities to fill any possible minute of spare time you might find. However, IJM offered options for students who could not physically attend the race. The Red Thread Movement provides materials for rescued Nepalese girls to make red bracelets, which we sold for $3. Students and faculty/staff with deeper pockets could sponsor runners, or simply donate money to the cause. No time, no help? I'm sorry, but I don't buy it. Even the "I have homework" excuse doesn't cut it in my book - I completed the race before noon, and I was one of the last to cross the finish line. Get real... vew few people actually have to study on Saturday morning.

And finally, the popular "I'm so bad at running!" Great. Me too. In fact, I hate to run long distances. In high school, my basketball team would run around the neighborhood surrounding our school for conditioning. During school on those days, I would think about the upcoming run all day, sometimes to the point that I would feel sick. (Yeah, it's lame. I know.) The magic seller with IJM's 10K is that it's actually a 10K Run/Walk. You're allowed to walk! In fact, a lot of people do. And just like the money excuse, part of the idea of the 10K is to experience something difficult. To push yourself out of our comfort zone and do something you would not normally do. This is something I need to remind myself of. The tagline for the Cedarville's 10K is something akin to "Possible Impossibilities. For some, running a 10K seems impossible. For others, escaping a life of sexual enslavement seems impossible. We are about making the impossible possible." So... you're bad at running? Good. Do it anyway.

Before some of you click the comment button while amidst gritted teeth and a red face, understand that this post is not meant to be an attack on those who chose not to participate in IJM's 10K. I also understand that my arguments are not airtight. My purpose in writing this is not to communicate anger or bitterness, but merely to convey my observations and frustrations. I want to make people think. To make you think. Think about your reasons for not helping a person in need when all it requires is a few hours of your time and a few dollars from your pocket. Are those reasons valid? Or are they just an excuse? 

In many Christian evangelical circles, living a godly life equals not drinking or having sex outside of marriage. To live a good Christian life, you must be a part of a nuclear family who attends church weekly and sends the kids to AWANA on Wednesday nights. You must have a stable, honest job and give 10% of your paycheck to the church. When it comes to evangelism, well, unless you're a missionary, your job is to invite your coworkers to the church picnic or maybe even a Bible study where the pastor will tell them about Jesus. None of the things I just mentioned are bad things. But isn't there more to living the Christian life? 

When talking to Cedarville students about the 10K, I could not help but mention my excitement. "Think about the incredible statement we could make if the entire student body ran a 10K to help woman enslaved in sex trafficking halfway around the world! What a great witness that would be to a society who sees Christians as self-centered hypocrites, or at the very best, no different from mainstream culture!" Alas, we failed to make such a statement. Please do not misunderstand me - I praise God for the three hundred participants and the money raised to help the Red Thread Movement. But I know the Cedarville student body, and the nagging question on my mind is this... couldn't we have done more?

To understand an influence that has pushed my thinking in this direction, read Radical by David Platt.

*Note: If you attend Cedarville (or even if you don't), I would love to hear a response to what I've been thinking about. Do you enthusiastically agree? Emphatically disagree?  I'd love to hear other thoughts on this! The comment box is right below this :)