Earthquake; buildings crumble; people living under tarps, cardboard, and sheets of plastic. Officials declare tents take up too much space; aren’t all waterproof; safety risk in unstable areas.
It starts to rain. UN announces it needs tents.
Meanwhile, hundreds of tents have already been purchased, shipped, and distributed to families in Haiti.
What worldwide relief agency was on the ball?
Who is this miracle worker? A nice guy who’s the pastor of Atlanta’s Courageous Church and who is also absolutely, undeniably relelentless.
He has put red tape through a woodchipper in order to get doctors into Haiti and to get desperately injured children out of Haiti.
He spends his days asking others to make things better. And they respond. With money and time and connections and passion and dedication.
We asked him how he does it, if he’s overwhelmed by Haiti’s desperate situation, and if he worries about wearing out his welcome with all the asking. We asked him about his approach to masterminding such a successful campaign. His answers surprised us. (Why are we still surprised by anything Shaun King does?) His response speaks more clearly about dedication to purpose than any blog post we could concoct…
Hey Marijane!
Thanks for your email my friend! Not overwhelmed… yet! I have faced a great deal of adversity in my life since childhood and was created to do this work.
I have to say, though – I am winging it. If I am an expert – I don’t feel like it. I use the experience that I have to try to help but I regularly find myself in situations where I have no idea what I’m doing.
My church and followers may tire of my frenetic pace. They have not done so yet. We seem to pick up more people along the way than we lose. I only tweet a small percentage of my life (believe it or not – haha) and do have to do a lot behind the scenes to keep our core team strong.
I am perfectly willing to ruin my reputation, though, and get on the nerves of folk, if I judge that something is an undeniable emergency – like a dying baby or kids being sold.
I did not intend to do all that we’ve done. If it’s a symphony it’s accidental. I have a shoestring budget, very little technology, and a relatively small following online or otherwise.
What we do is push hard… consistently. We have a track record of finding a cause and making a difference – i.e., 500toys.org & hopeATL.com – this consistency makes each new cause a little easier for us and more acceptable for others.
Thanks for your support and interest. Typed this from my Blackberry on the way to the Circus with my kids 
Oh right, he’s also the 30-year-old father of four young children who, we’re guessing, take up a “little” of their dad’s day. Think you can’t make a difference? Think again.
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Tags: community, Courageous Church, Haiti, Shaun King, tents
Shaun, First of all from a Dad of four myself, thank you for all you are doing. This is an inspiration to those of us that think we don’t have the time or the energy. Keep pushing.
If you only saw the dedication on a daily basis that this pastor has. He is so committed to loving God, loving others, and actually proving it that it is mind blowing at times. Right after the earthquake in Haiti, Shaun was tweeting and facebooking from his couch, raising money literally overnight to send technology to Haiti so that communication would be easier with people on the ground. Shaun gives so much of himself to hurting people – both during the times of disaster to the everyday issues that members of his congregation faces – that it serves as a constant daily reminder that if we aren’t giving it our all, we simply aren’t doing enough.
Melissa, thank you for your testimony regarding Shaun’s tireless efforts for others. He is someone we are happy to hold up as an example of how personal passion can make a difference locally and globally. We encourage EVERYONE to follow his example of finding something that you care about and working to improve your community. An individual and small groups of people can move mountains!