I was thinking about empowerment and decided I should check how the dictionary describes the word. I think of the word in connection with the process of enabling someone to accomplish good things—giving a person the tools and freedom to reach their greatest potential. Anyone who has ever heard “power corrupts” might be uneasy about power being such a large part of empowerment. If God has (and uses) power, it must not be a totally evil thing.

My dictionary only says “to give official authority or legal power to.” My image of the word includes the concepts of equip, endow, enable. I’d like to try to empower people without legal papers or an official capacity.