IF JESUS BROUGHT good news to the poor today, it might look like one of Shaunna Burns’ videos.
Burns is an honest-to-God evangelist on TikTok, the fast-growing, Chinese-owned, short-form video-sharing social network. Translate Jesus’ “brood of vipers” and “whitewashed tombs” into f-bombs and salty vernacular and you get Burns’ practical “good news” that’s changing lives.
A former debt collector, Burns knows all about the shady practices of collection agencies. But she didn’t start her 60-second “debt pro tips” on TikTok until she got a call herself from a collection agency harassing her for her daughter’s medical bills.
“Hey, guys. So, here’s some quick debt-collection pro tips,” North Carolina-based Burns starts in her first video in December. She then instructs the uninformed: It’s illegal for debt collectors to call outside of certain hours. Medical debt has a statute of limitations—usually three to six years—that varies by state. Always ask a collector for a copy of your original signed invoice.
One of Burns’ debt TikToks garnered more than 400,000 likes. Grateful response videos reveal how folks are putting her advice into action.
“Debt doesn’t equal deadbeat. I’m not a deadbeat, and I have great credit, and I’m still having to deal with debt collection,” Burns told Business Insider. “I literally spent hours a week fighting with insurance companies over stupid bills ... and I thought if I could help one person [with the TikToks], it would be worth it.”
Within two weeks of her first debt-collection video, a post went up on a trade site for debt collectors warning them to take note of Burns because people “will be attempting to follow her advice.”
“I am a believer,” Burns told me. “I have so much faith. All I ever wanted to do as a foster kid growing up was to help people. So, it’s an answer to my prayers.”
IF JESUS BROUGHT good news to the poor today, it might be passed from hand to hand among refugees, like The Didactic Wall Handbook, by Bosnian artist Mladen Miljanović.
A former lieutenant in the Bosnian army, Miljanović wanted to successfully apply his military training to promote peace—and do it as an artist. He designed a field manual to aid refugees on their journey to Western Europe: a set of illustrations and instructions for scaling barbed-wire barriers (with children), avoiding drone surveillance, orienteering, and offering simple first aid. All translated to Arabic, English, Spanish, and Urdu. The book is pocket-sized for easy transport, in black and white for readability in low light, and made up mostly of images. The final instructions? “In the case of emergency to reveal your location roll this book and burn it!”
Miljanović engraved similar instructions on a marble panel publicly displayed in Bihać, a border town where many Syrian, Afghan, Pakistani, North African, and Iraqi migrant families congregate. He’s distributed all the original 1,000 books, and downloads of the electronic version are skyrocketing.
I asked Miljanović what prompted this endeavor. “Can we succeed in any field, including art, if we fail as humans?” he replied.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon Burns and Miljanović because God has anointed them to use their smartphones and sharpies to bring good news to the ones scraping change out of the car seats to buy baby formula and soothing children huddled under Mylar blankets beneath bridges.
Be fierce, creative, and practical in your desire to do good.
Rose Marie Berger, a Catholic peace activist and poet, is senior editor of Sojourners magazine. She is author ofBending the Arch: Poems.
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