How do you shift good intentions from mere ideas to significant, tangible outcomes? If you’ve ever served on a committee that talked much and accomplished little, that question has probably crossed your mind. The Tennessean’s Gail Kerr includes an emphatic example of this problem in her column today about juvenile violence:

[I]t was Elizabeth Buckhanon who brought it home [speaking to attendees at a Nashville Nonviolence Coalition meeting]. She works for Nashville REACH, a health outreach program. “But I didn’t come [here today] with that hat,” she said, standing tall in her dressy black-and-white suit. “I came here as a mother of eight children. I live in north Nashville. I almost started crying, because I thought of my sons.” One of them is in Riverbend prison, serving time for assault. Another served a prison sentence and is now living clean. She told of marrying a man who turned out to be a drug dealer, of her addiction and recovery from crack, of putting her kids in protective custody. Divorced, straight and finding answers to prayer, she brought those children home 12 years ago.

Most churchgoers, she said, drive right past people like her. “You’re passing by the church to try and get to the building,” Buckhanon said. “Church is not just in a building.” [emphasis added]

Black, white and Hispanic, female and male, teachers, preachers, cops and probation officers — you could’ve heard a pin drop they were so quiet. Until the ivory tower burst into applause.

I’m not singling out the church here. I feel like this is an issue for most any organization, whether it be a nonprofit, a business or something else. Ideas are important and should not be ignored, but often the harder work is putting those ideas into action. We all frequently hear good ideas that many of us would agree make sense to make a reality, but then we move on to our next task or appointment and let those ideas remain thoughts and hopes.

What would it really take to reduce the number of juveniles arrested for violent crimes? It can’t be just throwing money at the problem. More resources may lead to a solution, but cash can’t change the problem on its own. I asked a similar question recently about changing the reality of criminal activity on Dickerson Road. I suspect that the answer is that both situations require a real commitment of time and presence by many individuals to jump in and do individual tasks to change things for the better.

I’m not suggesting we all head down to Dickerson Road this morning and start rooting out crime, though that might not be the worst way of addressing the concerns there. I’m not recommending that we all mentor at-risk kids, but that’s a perfectly worthwhile undertaking. Each of us has commitments to causes that we care about, and I think the question for me is this: What can I do, right where I am already plugged in, to provide legitimate support that can lead to solutions instead of (or on top of) mere conversation and conjecture about the problems we face?