Eugene Cho - Overrated: Are We More in Love with the Idea of Changing the World Than Actually Changing the World?

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am nothing apart from the gospel. Thank You, Jesus, for Your mercy and grace.

No person is an island to themselves. People have invested in me, encouraged me, prayed for me, and believed in me. As such, this book is dedicated to all of you.

To my wife, Minhee: Without you, this book would not have been possible. You are in each and every chapter. Thank you for your love and friendship. Thank you for your prayers, patience, and courage. In you, I see, witness, and experience the substance and sufficiency of Gods grace. I love you.

To my children, Jubilee, Trinity, and Jedi: You all bring me such joy. I am so blessed and proud to be your father. Thank you for your grace, especially during the many nights I locked myself in my office to finish this book. While I am filled with anticipation of how God will use all of you for His glory, I am constantly reminded that God is using you now.

To my parents: You are my heroes. To this day, I dont quite know how you did it. You sacrificed so much for your three sons. Thank you for your courage and devotion. Thank you for not only loving the idea of a better life for your children but fiercely and prayerfully pursuing it.

To Quest Church: You are my family. Minhee and I are so grateful to have planted this church. Thank you for allowing us to play a role in your lives, for doing life together, for your commitment to the kingdom, and for enduring my very long sermons. Thank you for entertaining my NBA dreams. Special thanks to the handful of folks who helped start the church: Jin, George, Leah, Joanie, Becky, Dan and Megan, and Gordon and Stacy, and others.

To the church and caf staff: Ray, Gail, Joanie, Katey, Pam, Jin An, Matt, Roxy, Christian, Jill, Sun, Aaron, Coby, Brenda, Liz, Carrie, Josh, Jake, Randall, and Chewy. Gratitude to all the elders (Barbara, Tim, and Jin Kim), deacons, and community group leaders of the church. Its a true honor to serve alongside each of you. #OneTeam

To the team at One Days Wages: Cindy and Jason, Michael and Stephanie, Jason and Jinny, Steve and Mary Jane, Philip, Julia, Melissa, and all of our interns, volunteer staff, and advisory board (Carla, Jack, and Trace). To the thousands around the world who have partnered with us. Its true: We dont have to be rock stars, celebrities, or millionaires to make an impact in the world.

Last but not least, thanks to those who helped make this book possible. Special gratitude to Derek Sciba who helped me organize my words; Chris Park, my agent, who helped me to realize that it was time; Justin Roboto Pae who helped design the book cover; Alex Field, my editor; Helen Macdonald, ruthless and master wordsmith copyeditor; and the entire team at David C Cook.

To God be all glory and honor.

FOREWORD

Im grateful for people like Eugene Cho who take the time to think about justice and then try to do something about it. This book is an introduction to justice for those who are curious about what it means, what the buzz is about, and how they can get involved. In a way, Eugene is trying to understand it himself. And hes doing something morehes trying to understand his own selfishness and the tendency to play the role of hero by using the poor. Its a very real problem, and Eugene is a very rare person to admit it.

This kind of personality crisis, I think, is experienced by most of us. We get involved in an issue because, these days, you can become a rock star by wearing the right clothes and caring about the poor. Youll get no judgment from me. I remember those days myself. But once were through that phase, what can we actually do? Do we really have the power to move the needle in the lives of the oppressed?

What was even more meaningful about this book is that Eugene turned the spotlight toward the heart of God. As a pastor, he reminds us how much God cares about justice, how much His heart wants to right the wrongs in the world, and how much He wants us to be involved in that work. The issue of justice can easily be overspiritualized and turn quickly into theological conversations rather than practical action, which is one of the reasons even religious folk often turn to secular pursuits of justice. They just want to get something done and stop talking about it. And so I appreciated Eugenes blending of the thinking about it with the doing something about it.

The question I asked after putting the book down was simple, though : What can I do? What practical thing can I do to move the needle in the lives of people who have been treated unjustly? My wife and I have a company and provide jobs, which is perhaps the most fulfilling experience of my life. To us, thats moving the needle on justice. But this book made us want to explore more and do more. We are, then, like many who will read this book: busy, curious, hopeful, and distracted. And this book was a welcome call to focus and reflect and, of course, act.

Justice is a complicated issue, but Eugene reminds us the solution doesnt have to be as complicated as the issue itself. We can do something. We can contribute.

Donald Miller

Author of Blue Like Jazz and To Own a Dragon

INTRODUCTION

This book is my personal confessionhonest and sometimes painful, because in these pages I share pieces from the story of my broken life.

I admit to being more in love with the idea of changing the world than actually changing the world .

And in wanting to change the world, I confess to neglecting a posture of humility in which I must be aware that I, too, must change .

I dont think I am alone in this neglect.

Ive shared this confession with many peopleindividually and in larger groupsand Ive received my share of pushback. But surprisingly, Ive also received a fair amount of support from people who have resonated with the crux of this book. In other words, they felt they understood this sentiment and even admitted to the same offense. Ive received thousands of letters about how this challenging message has profoundly spoken to them, and how, in various ways, it has encouraged them to more deeply and courageously live out their faith in Christ.

My greatest hope for this book is that it will encourage those who want to change the world: the activists, leaders, justice seekers, doers, humanitarians, and philanthropists in all of us. My hope is also to encourage the broader church, both locally and globally, especially in its pursuit of seeking justice and pursuing the dreams and visions that God has deposited in the hearts of those who love Him.

Ideas, dreams, and visions dont change the world. Rather, its peoplelike you and me, who faithfully, prayerfully, and tenaciously live out these ideas, dreams, and visionswho change the world.

I love Christ, and I love the church.

I love people, and I love the privilege of encouraging and exhorting them.

I especially love young people and feel truly blessed to speak, mentor, and invest in this and coming generations.

I love reminding, calling, and prompting all people to the purposes of God.

My hope and prayer behind this book is to call people to a deeper engagement to the purposes of God, to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with [their] God (Mic. 6:8).

We live in a world and culture in whichboth out of privilege and convictionmany people want to make an impact. This is good. In fact, this is really good. This desire needs to be affirmed, nurtured, and cultivated.

However, lets be honest with ourselves. We all love justice and compassion. Seriously, who doesnt? But is it possible we are more in love with the idea of compassion and justice than we are with actually putting it into practice?