Live Like You Give a Damn!: Join the Changemaking Celebration

by Tom Sine, Walter Brueggemann (Foreword)

Live Like You Give a Damn! declares the very good news that God is raising up a new generation, largely outside the church, to bring impressive change to the lives of our neighbors locally and globally by creating innovative forms of social enterprise and community empowerment.The even better news is that those of us within the church can join this changemaking celebration and discover creative new ways God can use our mustard seeds to make a more remarkable difference than we ever imagined possible.In this book Tom Sine offers practical ways you can join those who are creating their best communities, their best world, and in the process their best lives. Sine shows that in a world changing at warp speed, following Jesus is a "design opportunity."It is not only an opportunity to design innovative ways to make a difference but also an opportunity to create lives with a difference, in the way of Jesus, that are simpler and more sustainable--and to throw better parties along the way. Why would anyone want to settle for less and miss the best?"In Live Like You Give a Damn! [Sine] lifts up a new generation of activists and social entrepreneurs doing world-changing work all over the globe." --Jim Wallis, Editor, Sojourners"An enlightened look at how Millennials are shaping the future for the better, and an invitation to join with him in joining them." --Romanita Hairston, Vice President, World Vision"This book, his most hopeful and personal, is a real gift to the church." --Mark Scandrette, Author; Founder of Reimagine"Tom Sine's new book invites you to see another version of Christianity, and it is all about bringing heaven to earth." --Shane Claiborne, Author; Member of The Simple Way"Sine has written a compelling book filled with stories and portraits of hope at a time filled with cynicism, hatred, and negativity. . . . Inspiring and challenging!"--Noel Castellanos, CEO and President, CCDA"Be inspired. Join the movement. Live like you give a damn!"--Rebecca Summer, Pastor, Our Common Table, Everett, WA"I am glad to commend this exposition that exhibits quite concretely ways to revision, reimagine, and reperform the gospel. Such fresh, imaginative engagement will surely yield a 'well done' from the Lord of the church who makes all things new."--Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary"Tom Sine has been engaged in the struggle for social justice for many years. In Live Like You Give a Damn he lifts up the new generation of activists and social entrepreneurs who are taking the baton from his generation and doing wonderful, necessary, and world-changing work all over the globe. The justice challenges of our time demand an unprecedented response from Christians and all those of faith and conscience, and the witness of millennial activists in response to this challenge, fills me with the same hope for a better future that Tom articulates so well in this book." --Jim Wallis, New York Times bestselling author of America's Original Racism, White Privilege, and the Bridge to a New America; President of Sojourners, and editor-in-chief of Sojourners magazine. Tom Sine is joining a new generation of changemakers who are creating new ways to make a difference and be a difference. Tom and his wife Christine live in an intergenerational community in Seattle. He works with individuals, churches and Christian organizations to enable them to create new ways to be more a part of this new changemaking celebration for times like these.

230 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 24, 2016

Reviews

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tom Sine is something of a senior statesman for Christianity and social change. He first published The Mustard Seed Conspiracy in the early 80s as a trumpet blast call to radical discipleship. In the late 90s he wrote Mustard Seed vs. McWorld to explore the power of the small, incremental change of the Kingdom of God. His new book, Live Like You Give a Damn! hones in on the concept of social change in today's world and the role younger generations can play in effecting change.

9781498206259The title of the book takes a nod to a 'Eat like you give a damn!' t-shirt worn by the wait staff of Portage Bay Cafe. Sine ate with his wife there after attending a recent conference of social innovators. He saw the shirt and blurted out, "That's it! I need to join these social innovators and start living like I give a damn" (20). The entire book is a tool for looking at your world and neighborhood, dreaming and enacting new possibilities by joining the 'changemaking celebration.'

The book begins by examining some global issues we face and some of the ways individuals, churches and organizations are already enacting social change. Sine identifies two steams of social innovation: the social entrepreneurial stream which involves creating businesses with societal and environmental impact, and the community empowerment stream which aims at increasing the capacities of neighborhoods for sustainability, resilience and mutual care. The exploration of these streams is interactive. There are 'conversation' and 'dreaming-and-scheming' sections built into each chapter.

Sine is a futurist who is committed to a lifestyle of radical discipleship in the way of Jesus. The change making celebration he is inviting us to includes living generously and simply, caring for the environment, and confronting systemic injustice. There is a lot to chew on in this volume and lots of exciting examples of what people are doing. However, this book has the occasional distracting editorial lapse. For example, "Alberta, in Canada, is one of the first cities in North America to invite the Abundant Community Initiative to be field-tested as a way to create connected and empowered communities in the city of Alberta" (106). Alberta is a province and the city that Sine means to point us to is Edmonton. This is the equivalent of a Canadian author referring to the great city of Texas when he means Austin.

I like the lifestyle Sine is calling us to. I think this book is most helpful in dreaming possibilities but of less practical use. This is a compelling invitation to join the 'changemaking celebration and live like we give a damn. I give this three-and-a-half stars and recommend it for dreamers and schemers and those who are wondering how to best impact their world.

Note: I received this book from SpeakEasy in exchange for my honest review.