Nicholas Kristof writes a beautiful op-ed piece on the role of social entrepreneur in today's society. I have been working in this space for the past year and agree with him entirely. Click Here.

On another note, I've been invited to be a staff writer for the World Resource Institute and will begin writing blog entries for NextBillion.net this week! I'm pretty excited about this! Check it out here.

There winter retreat has come to an end and many of us are now asking the question: now what? I had a conversation with an individual right after the retreat and he asked me, “This movement sounds interesting and all, but what do I do now?” Below are five practical steps that you can take to get more involved in this movement:

1. Serve the Church!

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.

On December 28, democracy was dealt a severe blow when supposed religions fanatics cut short Benazir Bhutto's life. The former prime minister, and the first female head-of-state of an Islamic nation, Ms. Bhutto had come back from self-exile to participate in the upcoming Pakistan democratic presidential elections. Her death is the center of focus, with differing accounts of how exactly she died. But regardless of whether she was felled by a bullet or shrapnel or the lever of the car's sunroof, her death may possibly signal the end of democracy in Pakistan.

Continued from “Growing in Godly Manhood, Part 1”

4. Service

Tied intimately with humility, service is translating selflessness into action. In other words, it’s love in motion. You can think about other people and truly desire for another’s best, but if it isn’t translated into action, it is all for naught.

Growing up in suburban New Jersey, I would say that I had a very comfortable upbringing. I was able to experience several missions trips within the United States, had the opportunity to enroll in honors classes, and to cap it all off, I was accepted into the University of Michigan!

There was a time when every citizen of the United States sought the right to vote. A great war was fought and several key amendments to the Constitution were passed to allow all peoples to participate in the great American democracy project. In the past, men and women, black and white, Christians and non-Christians, faithfully turned out on election days to cast their ballots.

I love breaks like this week because it allows me to take time out to reflect on where I’ve been and where God is leading. In light of Thanksgiving week, I’ve come up with my “Top 3” that I am most thankful for:

1. The Pursuit of Christ

I love how Jesus never stops pursuing after me.

In 1776, Thomas Jefferson penned one of the most revolutionary thoughts in all of history when he wrote, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Today, this fundamental tenet of American democracy is being put to the test in every corner of the world.

There are moments in life that you wish you just had back. Either an inappropriate action taken, an unkind word spoken, or a silly decision made – life is full of these “I want to get on a plane right now and fly to a foreign country” moments.

Along the journey of advancing the kingdom of God, mistakes are going to happen. Why? Because we are imperfect people, period.