Shayne Moore, a stay-at-home mom of three, shows her fellow moms how they can make a difference in a world of overwhelming problems in her new book Global Soccer Mom: Changing the World Is Easier Than You Think. She's calling for a movement of "global soccer moms" to start right where they are and help change the world. Shayne attests that everyday moms care deeply about heartbreaking issues such as poverty and disease. They long to engage the world in a meaningful way but often don't know where to start. Her own first steps were tentative and fumbling, but her work has since taken her far beyond her comfortable suburban home outside Chicago to Africa, Honduras, Russia and to international economic summits. As she moved into the arena of global advocacy, she's worked alongside superstars such as Bono, George Clooney and Julia Roberts and with African HIV/AIDS activists such as Ugandan nurse Agnes Nyamayarwo.
Shayne's wake up call came when she heard that Bono would be speaking at Wheaton College - right there in her hometown, at her alma mater - and her inner fangirl determined to see him. "Bono did something that woke up the sleeping woman and the compassion from deep within me. He called the American church to action. A non-American, non-evangelical, non-mainstream Christian stood on the stage of an elite Christian college and took the role of prophet, calling the church to action."
Galvanized by what she learned that day about the extent of global poverty and the HIV/AIDS pandemic, Shayne began taking steps to do something about it. Way out of her comfort zone at the first advocacy meetings she attended, she found that just taking the risk to show up yielded fruit. She kept going, kept praying and kept learning.
That's Shayne's advice to her fellow moms. Even today, she admits she can feel overwhelmed at her ignorance - the world of global advocacy and policy is complicated and the problems enormous. But the first step is to become part of the conversation.
Shayne thinks of herself not as a feminist, or a liberal or a member of the religious right, but as an everyday housewife, mother and friend. An evangelical Christian, she believes that the issues can unite people, rather than divide them. "I may never have all the answers when it comes to what divides the church or our nation," she says, "but if I am sure of one thing it is this: I am not wrong if I am working on behalf of the poor and the oppressed."
"I see a new kind of global woman's movement much bigger than simply raising money for favorite causes," Shayne says. "I have come to believe that this passion, this heart, this new way to be a full time mom is a conversation God is having with women all over America. The women I talk to want to do more than just write a check. Women are expressing their broken hearts for the world, the desire to get involved in a meaningful way."
"I am convinced more than ever that real change happens right where we are. It starts with the obedience of a compassionate heart. There is no limit to what our one compassionate voice can do when it is shared with others in making the world a better place. I am only one woman, with one voice, who lives in one town, and goes to one church - but all our "ones" add up. Together we can change the world."
