I went to Johannesburg in South Africa in 2005. I was on the way to Madagascar with a group of Catholic Relief Services. While we were staying overnight, our African guide took us to the house where Nelson Mandela was born. I remember how proud the guide was. I watched “Invictus” that shows how Nelson […]
Every light of the Luminaria has a story!
I had lived a cancer-free society for a long time because of my unawareness. Looking back, my grandpa and grandpa-in-law were victims of cancer. However, my awareness of living with cancer came to my sense because of Sr. Paul who diagnosed colon cancer in 2007 and died in March, 2010. I lost my best friend […]
On the 40th Anniversary of the Earth Day
I have been embarrassed at John Carroll University whenever I dump garbage into the huge recycling containers outside the Rodman and the Murphy Halls. We all know that it is not recycling at all. Sorting paper and glass bottles are common in Korea. My mom used to collect glass bottles when she went out to […]
Be the Change! (after reading “Three Cups of Tea”)
Be the Change: What Difference can One Person Make?
Introduction
I am often told that a Catholic priest should be more like a shepherd who leads the flock to green pastures not like an administrator who runs a parish, developing plans and doing fundraising events. But, as an economics major before entering the seminary, I was always interested in running business. And then after coming to the United States and learning the strengths and challenges of the church in this country, I have grown to take sides, believing it is the need of the times for a priest to be a capable nonprofit administrator.
For the first reading assignment in Peter Druckers’ book, I was deeply inspired by the mission of nonprofit administration. Drucker talks about a negative meaning of the term “non-profit,” which tells us only what the institutions are not. But at least it shows that they have something in common and they do something very differently from business. The book continues that its main “product” is a changed human being and the non-profit institutions are human-change agents. In other words, the non-profit organization brings about a change in individuals and in society. It was an eye-opening moment.
Having absorbed that, the horizon of my understanding of nonprofit administration has soared high. Anyone who contributes to change people and the society is an apprentice of nonprofit administrators. And the word “entrepreneur,” which I had treasured in college, came alive. It was the time that Dr. Wertheim mentioned a book called “Three Cups of Tea” in the class. The author Greg Mortenson was in town, sharing his mission to build schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan. When I heard that, I immediately knew that he was the one who had changed the world. So I picked up the book and found three more individuals who dared to challenge the world to be changed by their dedication to the abducted children in Uganda, the refugees of East Africa and even the Redwoods in California. Their products are an educated girl, a returned boy, a refugee who finds hope and a saved tree; all is a change.
Top 10 News of 2009
On the last day in 2009, I look back on the year of grace and mercy, believing that the unexamined life is not worth living. So I would like to choose the top 10 news of 2009 in my life. 1. Concluding the two-year assignment at St. Anthony of Padua in June 2. Finishing […]
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