Movers and Shakers
From Wiktionary: Noun
mover and shaker (plural movers and shakers)
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(idiomatic) Someone who has power and influence in a field or activity; one [who] accomplishes tasks, who gets things done.
In Late May Karen and I had an opportunity to spend some time with two very different – and very similar – groups of “movers and shakers”.
The first group attended Training Camp for the July launch of three Squads (roughly 150 people) on the World Race. The World Race is a stretching journey into 11 countries in 11 months to serve “the least of these” while amongst real and raw community. This unique mission trip is a challenging adventure for young adults to abandon worldly possessions and a traditional lifestyle in exchange for an understanding that it’s not about them; it’s about the Kingdom. It facilitates discipleship through the process of discovering the abundant life He promised. It births partnerships with ministries around the world.
Karen and I will be coaches for R Squad – third generation R Squad, meaning there have been 69 Squads before this one. The first squads launched in 2009 and due to staggered launches (January, July, and September) there are now about 1,000 “Racers” overseas at any one time. As their coaches we’ll join R Squad in the field four times during their journey to mentor, guide, and disciple them. It’s a daunting and VERY rewarding experience for us and we’re honored to have been invited to be coaches.
The members of R Squad are a diverse group – 9 men and 46 women, ranging in age from 21 to 34, from all walks of life. We’ve got several nurses and an EMT, several child care workers and teachers, and from the sounds of things at least three engineers. In the coming year they’ll partner with local organizations, ministries, and churches in a different country each month. They will provide extra sets of hands, feet, and warm bodies. And no two months look the same: they’ll do everything from teaching English, to babysitting, to helping women caught up in sex trafficking, to shoveling goat — well, cleaning out animal pens.
The second group we spent time with were the 2015 graduates of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government (HKS). Over four days of awards ceremonies, brunches, lunches, receptions, commencement exercises, and yes – seeing them receive their diplomas – we got to meet many of the over 600 graduating Master’s program students representing 80 different countries.
The school’s mission is to train exceptional public leaders and generate the ideas that provide solutions to the world’s most challenging public problems. I was humbled and thrilled to be surrounded by the intense sense of idealism and energy that pervades the students and the school. And what a diverse student body! One student had barely a week between graduation and moving overseas to take up his post as an ambassador. Another returns to his home country where his campaign for Prime Minister is already underway.
Both groups – the World Racers and the HKS graduates – are united in a call to action. This is a generation of radicals whose heartbeat is to see a changed world. It’s a generation that’s dissatisfied with the status quo and is actively rising to the challenge of seeing the world transformed. These movers and shakers will be responsible for changing lives in nations all over the world.
It was truly an honor to spend time with these two groups and to share with them part of their journey. I suppose we could take JFK’s quote call to service: “Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.” and apply it to both groups. But I’d like to think there is a grander plan at play. Consider Augustine’s thought: “We do the works, but God works in us the doing of the works.”
