Had a meeting this morning with Gary Haugen, Founder and President of the International Justice Mission. What a guy and what an organization! I’ve admired IJM from a distance for quite some time so it was cool to make a personal connection with Gary. I also know that quite a few NCCers have worked for IJM over the years. If you haven’t read Gary’s book, Good News about Injustice, you need to get a copy.

I love hearing the creation story of organizations so I asked Gary about the genesis of IJM. Gary was working at the Department of Justice where he was exposed to high doses of injustice and he felt like he needed to do something about it so he started IJM. He said he had no idea it would become what it is. In fact, he told me he had to picture the endeavor failing and going home to live with his parents and be ok with that. I found that fascinating. And it resonated with me. Gary said he had to come to terms with the potential downside: personal humiliation. I honestly think the willingness to fail is at the heart of faith. Faith is the willingness to look foolish. A decade later IJM is having a huge impact leading the fight against injustice, especially human trafficking, all around the world.

One footnote. I was part of the staff prayer time today and you can tell alot about people by their prayer requests. I was so impressed with how mission-focused and cause-oriented they are. Honestly, I think they are more missional than most churches. I walked away challenged and inspired!