I wrote this article as a guest post for Josh Griffin's blog More Than Dodgeball.  You can read it there at this LINK.  Or you can read it below.

The Call to Cause 

This year alone Corporate America will spend 1.6 billion – yes billion – on marketing programs all designed to convince you and I that they care about cause.  Pepsi pulled their Super Bowl ads this year and invested the money in the Refresh campaign.  Chase and Target ask their consumers to help allocate millions of dollars each month to charity.  Virtually every brand you use has some charity affiliation – all because now more than ever – cause matters.  Teams, bands, clothing, restaurants, movies, and stars all align themselves with causes hoping that we will do that same.  Whether you know it or not Cause is Calling You.

Right now if I asked you what a white or yellow wrist band meant, I bet most of you would answer ONE and LIVESTRONG.  Not so many years ago it was WWJD that banded our wrists, but if popular behavior is any answer, these days What Jesus Would be Doing is wearing a wrist band or a lapel pin or a facebook badge.  We are living in an era when “doing good” isn’t just something for the few social activists in the crowd or the people looking to bolster their college applications or resumes – it is the expectation of everyone – everywhere – including the church.