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	September 2, 2010


	HEALTH & HELP Social Issues Jars of Clay: Working for Clean Blood, Clean Water Kami Rice Jesus calls us to care for the poor and the oppressed of the world. And Jars of Clay is doing just that. Best known for their music, Dan Haseltine, Stephen Mason, Matt Odmark, and Charlie Lowell created the Blood:Water Mission in 2003. They have been promoting clean blood and clean water in Africa to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic and to address the underlying issues of poverty, injustice, and oppression. Suffering and Redemption Their decision to get involved was not made lightly. “AIDS isn’t going to go away. It’s not something you can jump into . . . for a little while,” Dan explains. “But in going to Africa and really sitting with people who are in the midst of that suffering . . . you see God. You see him working, you see him moving in people’s lives. . . . We don’t believe that here [in the U.S.] really. We don’t have the sense of God moving tangibly in that way. To see it in other people’s lives is a sobering reality, one that is easy to forget, so you have to stay connected to it.” Dan was the first member of the group to travel to Africa. Deeply moved by his experience, he returned with a vision for the band’s involvement there. Later, the rest of the group went to South Africa and, as Charlie explains, “just spent time around poverty, talking to people. We didn’t go over there with much of an agenda or any money, so we couldn’t do much but listen and soak it up.” Last June, the whole band went to Kenya and Rwanda and visited some of the communities where Blood:Water has helped to build wells. When the opportunity to invest in Africa came along, the band had been learning about “the idea of suffering, why it exists, and the way the church has decided that safety and security are kind of the pillars of the church instead of the idea that . . . if we believe in Jesus Christ, we enter into his suffering. The Bible promises that there will be suffering. . . . To become acquainted with suffering is to understand more deeply how God [moves] and how the story of redemption is taking place,” Dan explains. Justice, not Charity Partnerships are an essential part of Blood:Water’s mission. It supports community-driven organizations that truly know the needs of the people in that region. “Relationship and community are vital in changing the world. It has to start with community. It can’t start with just one guy [saying], ‘I’m going to change the world,’” says Dan. Not everyone caring for Africans is a Christian, notes Matt. “As a believer, [I was] humbled very quickly . . . by the dedication of people who don’t share my belief systems and by how well they love -- so freely giving their lives away on behalf of others. I think Africa will really shake up your categories of how the world works.” “The idea that we fight injustice and love mercy” is what motivates the Jars of Clay guys to give their lives and love on behalf of others. “It’s the exercise of our faith,” says Steve. Dan explains that you can approach Africa on the level of charity or justice. “The language of charity is the language that victimizes Africans and doesn’t give them their dignity or show that they have the ability to pull themselves out of poverty.” With justice, “you’re approaching it from the idea that these are things that we have been called to fight against and we can do that alongside them.” Charlie adds, “It’s a tiny response to what God has done for us. We write songs and we play music, but this feels like maybe more of a true picture of who we are as we mature and learn more about who God is.” When we talked with Jars of Clay, Blood:Water Mission had started sixty well projects in nine different countries. So far, “120,000 people have been affected,” notes Steve. “It’s not fixing the continent of Africa, but it’s making a difference to some people.” < Dig Deeper Read Psalm 82:3–4, 8. Reflect: As you mature in faith and learn more about the nature of God, how do you sense God moving in the world today? How will you become a part of that movement and stand with God’s people against injustice? Kami Rice, a freelance writer in Nashville, Tennessee, enjoys hearing and telling stories like this one. She hopes to travel to Africa one day. -- from devozine (January/February 2007). Copyright © 2006 by Upper Room Ministries. All rights reserved.

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