If you were online at all yesterday, you know that a number of big-name websites were blacked out in order to protest proposed legislation named SOPA and PIPA.  These two Acts, if passed, could dramatically change the way the ‘Net works, to say the least, giving the government way too much power to take down whole websites without due process.  Well it’s the day after, and the effectiveness of the protest is already starting to become apparent.

According to Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, 162 million people saw the information about the two acts posted on Wikipedia.  Over 8 million of those people used Wikipedia’s zip code tool to contact their Representatives or Senators.  Millions of people signed various petitions against the proposed legislation.  And here’s the real kicker:  a number of Senators and Congresspeople have come out against these acts, a dozen of which previously supported it (the rest who came out against hadn’t publicly taken a stance).

There should be no question that the blackout was a success of massive proportions.

Here’s my question for you:  What if we got as pissed off about hunger and poverty as we do about freedom on the Internet?  What if we simply refused to sit back and take hunger as a given that has to exist?  What if we fasted a meal a day and gave that food away?  What if we sold some of what we have in order that others could have what they need (Acts 2:45)?

What if we got ticked off about the fact that 300,000 kids are sexually exploited every year in the US for money?  What if we all came together to stop that?

What if we realized that the world could be changed by seeing a community of people live Christlike lives in every-day situations?

The power of community is great.  How will we use it?