People ask, “What can I do as an individual about our current climate crisis and ecological excess?” It’s a great question to ask, but this question can actually bypass some needed understandings and needed changes within us if asked too early. In other words, the question, “how can I change the situation?” can unintentionally lead us to miss this better question: “how can I change so I bring a better version of myself to our current situation?”

For some reason, as much as this very question seems to be a perfect fit our Christian communities, it’s often people who are not engaged in the church who are the ones standing up for Creation. In fact, a lot of Christians have tried to use the Bible to find reasons to justify heating up the planet; to justify the loss of 70% of animal species since 1970; to explain away the increase in wildfires, droughts, floods and other dangerous weather events. Human have always looked to something bigger than themselves for explanations for our messes. But when it comes to climate change, we’re the problem. We can’t deny it. Climate change is now a climate crisis and will bring new upheaval to where people can live and grow food, build cities, and raise their children in peace and health. It’s making a lot of bad problems worse—refugee crises, hunger, water scarcity, disease, poverty, biodiversity loss, deforestation, air pollution, and scarcity of resources.

The choice for us is to follow our faith deeply into action, and not deeply into inaction. All creatures have value before God, because God made them and called them good (Genesis 1). If we love what God loves, then we must lament biodiversity loss and the extinction of other species—especially when we’re the cause. We need to accept the enormity of this problem. To understand we are running out of time. To lament and repent. And then, as followers of Jesus, we must not despair. With hope found in the Gospel, we can move onto action together. 

Leading climate scientist, Katharine Hayhoe, who is also a Christian, recommends first starting a conversation about why climate change matters, then move onto what people like us can do about it. Likewise, Bill McKibben, one of the earliest leaders of the climate change movement and a Christian, often says, “The most important thing an individual can do right now is not be such an individual.” Instead of thinking your individual actions can “fix” the problem, become part of what Christian author, Brian McLaren calls in his latest book called Life After Doom, “Team Earth”—band together in groups of two or three or ten or twenty, to learn and support one another as islands of constructive and accountable action. Then those little bands of two or three or ten or twenty can participate in national and global movements for change—like Bill McKibben’s Third Act or Blessed Tomorrow and its partners or the Sunrise Movement.

Behavior changes matter and, no, it’s not easy. But some of us can live car free or shift to an electric vehicle, use public transport more and fly less. Some can use renewable energy like solar and increase our home’s energy efficiency. Consider where we keep our savings and consider moving investments to ethical funds and divesting from oil and coal.

Then there are behavior changes all of us can adopt. For example, we can reduce meat consumption, especially beef, because that’s one of the biggest climate change culprits out there. We can drive less, carpool, and yes even walk more! We can spark ideas for change at work, school, and church. Reduce your personal footprint, and when you see what works, don’t keep it to yourself. Make your behavior changes contagious.

The world has the science, technology, and financial capacity to address climate change. The problem is that such a large and complex challenge will require transformational thinking and big movements to push political will. That’s why we’ve got to vote for candidates who take our relationship with our planet seriously, because we are in a race against time. That why we must also refuse to support any candidates who still cling to climate-denialism, because even at this juncture—when it’s an irrefutable fact that climate change is one of the most systemic environmental threats humankind has ever faced—these candidates still exist. Environmentalism, while politicized, is not political. Christian care for the natural world is strongly represented in scripture. 

Billy Graham said, “Why should we be concerned about the environment? It isn’t just because of the dangers we face from pollution, climate change, or other environmental problems—although these are serious. For Christians, the issue is much deeper: We know that God created the world, and it belongs to Him, not us. Because of this, we are only stewards or trustees of God’s creation, and we aren’t to abuse or neglect it. The Bible says, ‘The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it’ (Psalm 24:1). When we fail to see the world as God’s creation, we will end up abusing it. Selfishness and greed take over, and we end up not caring about the environment or the problems we’re creating for future generations.”

We’ve got to look at climate change as a Christian responsibility and hold our leaders accountable. All religions have an essential and unshakeable reverence for creation and nature. Christians, specifically, are called to care for creation as an act of discipleship. As stewards of the earth, we are summoned by God to “work it and take care of it” (Genesis 2:15). To start. Let’s go outside. Let’s behold the beauty of the created order and thank God for it. Then as a church community let’s thank God again by making the climate crisis a priority.

RESOURCES: EcoAmerica has resources to help you reduce your personal footprint, make them part of the community. See CreatureKind for ways communities can reduce their meat consumption. Bill McKibben’s Third Act, Blessed Tomorrow and its partners, the Sunrise Movement, and these Christian environmental organizations offer concrete actions.