In this episode, pastor, teacher, and advocate Eugene Cho joins Jedd Medefind for a conversation at the CAFO2018 Summit. Cho shares ways he’s seen a very good passion for justice get off track…and what it takes to get back to a vibrant, healthy place. The two also discuss why our passion must always be paired with deep Gospel roots, and how we can do that in daily and weekly rhythms.

In this episode, you’ll discover

• What can happen when justice becomes for us just a cause, rather than a response to the Gospel.
• An alternative way of practicing Sabbath for those who don’t get Sunday off.
• How passion for issues far off must always be paired with service near at hand.

Key Quotes

“The whole, profound, beautiful Gospel has to be at the center of it all so that everything we do is in response to it. People can use guilt and shame, and they use it because it works. But it is not sustainable. The gospel is sustainable. “
Eugene Cho

“Sometimes, our passion for justice in a far-off place can leave us feeling righteous, even if we’re failing to love the people in our own home. Passion for justice out there always needs to be paired with work our hands are doing right here.”
Jedd Medefind

“[Habits like Sabbath and other spiritual rhythms are] part of God’s plan for the flourishing of my soul, for the marathon of discipleship.”
Eugene Cho

Meet Our Guest

Eugene Cho

Author, Speaker, Humanitarian

Rev. Eugene Cho’s many passions involve leadership, justice, the Gospel, and the pursuit of God’s Kingdom here on this earth. He travels throughout the world to encourage churches, non-profits, pastors, leaders, missionaries, and justice workers – whether this happens in churches, arenas, conferences, universities, or as a guest in villages, homes, mud huts, or makeshift tents for refugees.

Eugene Cho is the founding pastor of Quest Church – an urban, multi-cultural and multi-generational church in Seattle, Washington – which Cho is now helping transition to new leadership. He is also the founder and Executive Director of the Q Café, an innovative non-profit community café and music venue (closed due to relocation in 2015).

He is also the founder and visionary of One Day’s Wages (ODW) – a grassroots movement of people, stories, and actions to alleviate extreme global poverty.

The vision of ODW is to create a collaborative movement that promotes awareness, invites simple giving (one day’s wages) and supports sustainable relief through partnerships, especially with smaller organizations in developing regions. Since its launch in October 2009, ODW has raised over $7 million dollars for projects to empower those living in extreme global poverty. ODW has been featured in the New York Times, The Seattle Times, NPR, Christianity Today and numerous other media outlets. For his entrepreneurial work and spirit, Eugene was recently honored as one of 50 Everyday American Heroes and was the recipient of the 2017 Distinguished Alumni Award from Princeton Theological Seminary.

Eugene recently released his first book, Overrated: Are We More in Love with the Idea of Changing the World Than Actually Changing the World?

Eugene and Minhee have been married for 21 years and have three children. Together, they live in Seattle, Washington.