Service to others not only helps those in need, according to the founder of Habitat for Humanity, “it’s just plain fun.” Millard Fuller shared stories with the Elon community this week during a two-day visit to campus, where he encouraged people to live a life of “incarnational evangelism.”
“We should live a life of giving back, and we should use whatever talents God gave us to serve God,” Fuller said. “We all are talented – just in different ways.”
The university presented Fuller with a $2,400 check, enough to cover the cost of building materials for constructing one house in the Congo, a nation in central Africa. Fuller does not accept honorariums for his talks, assistant chaplain Phil Smith told the audience, and this was Elon’s way of showing gratitude for his visit.
“Serving is a joyous thing,” Fuller said. “It brings a lot of laughter. It brings a lot of meaning.”
Fuller answered two audience questions at the end of his talk: the first was about balancing the needs of people close to home with those who live elsewhere in impoverished nations.
“You don’t step over somebody to help someone else. At the same time, you don’t limit your help to those in your immediate geographical area,” Fuller said. “God is not an American citizen.”
Fuller also addressed a question about his approach to making a difference – namely, through volunteer work rather than public policy. The housing advocate said his “nontraditional” methods of inviting politicians to help build houses is just as effective as lobbying lawmakers in the halls of Congress.
Fuller was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, by President Bill Clinton and received an honorary doctorate during a previous visit to Elon in 1995.
He spoke during College Chapel on Thursday, Feb. 28, as well.