This Generation's Civil Rights Movement?

I have heard of things like Invisible Children, Rapha House, Baht, International Justice Mission, World Vision, and I support two studly young gentlemen through Compassion International...
I have seen films like Trade and Blood Diamond...
I have heard missionary accounts of the horrors of trafficking...
I have talked with friends about how we feel helpless because we feel as though we can't do anything for those in other continents despite our passionate desire.

I am not entirely new to this, but I have spent the last week pouring myself into books, articles, films, and blogs about human trafficking.

In case you are not aware... Slavery did not end in 1863 with the Emancipation Proclamation... Slavery plagues the world today. Be it in the form of forced labor, or sexual bondage, or child soldiers, slavery is still very much a part of the human condition...

The estimates of how many people are currently enslaved are upwards of 27 million...

As I have been reading and watching this past week, I have found myself horrified. The descriptions of the conditions people are exposed to are beyond comprehension. I have become physically sick to the point of vomiting while reading... It's pretty intense...

This problem is this generation's civil rights movement... This abhorrence is this generation's opportunity to glorify God and share the love of Christ with the hurting, lost, and abused.

So what do we do? Again, I have had overwhelming discussions with friends where we feel so ineffective and unable to make a difference... and often times in these conversations we forget one of our greatest weapons. Prayer. We start by praying... continuously. We pray for the enslaved, we pray for the traffickers, slave holders, and abolitionists, and we pray for governments and law enforcement that have the opportunity to expel the corrupt and make clear, unambiguous legal frameworks. We can also raise awareness and lobby for action with our nation's leaders. This is what Invisible Children is currently trying to do, and there is opportunity to support that movement.

Above all, remember that we serve a God who loves and hurts with us. We have the power of the Holy Spirit... Let's put it to work...

“Let no one be discouraged by the belief there is nothing one man or one woman can do against the enormous array of the world’s ills – against misery and ignorance, injustice and violence…Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation…

It is from the numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”

Robert F. Kennedy

Isaiah 58: True Fast/Worship?

So, I stumbled back across a passage that I had forgotten about, and it was pretty intense. Isaiah is calling out the people of Israel about their fasting practices, and it's unsettling. When I read this I swapped out the word "Fast" for "Worship"... And it's kind of intense... Isaiah 58:1-8

¹ "Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins.

² For day after day they seek me out;
they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
and seem eager for God to come near them.

³ 'Why have we [worshiped],' they say,
'and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
and you have not noticed?'
"Yet on the day of your [worship], you do as you please
and exploit all your workers.

⁴ Your [worship] ends in quarreling and strife,
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot [worship] as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard on high.

⁵ Is this the kind of [worship] I have chosen,
only a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed
and for lying on sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call [worship],
a day acceptable to the LORD ?

⁶ "Is not this the kind of [worship] I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?

⁷ Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

⁸ Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.

Yikes!

How often do we focus on Sunday mornings and forget that our worship spans beyond that time together... Worship is so much more than a once a week ritual!

We are called to present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God... That is our spiritual act of worship!!! We cannot settle for going with the flow... We are called to be counter-cultural, to meet people's needs, to love people, to rattle cages, to be excellent examples of who Christ is... that is a huge order!!!

How can we do this? What does it look like to live life totally for Christ? What about the tough situations? What about the comforts of the American lifestyle? What does a life lived for the Lord look like in the 21st century!?

I Am All That Is Man!!!

So I fixed my car... Kinda...

I know nothing about cars... I also feel as though I am a failure in some regards for being a male who does not know about cars...

However... I just had my car stop working, and between me and my friend and his dad we fixed my car in a parking lot... It was nothing big and wasn't hard at all, and to be completely honest I didn't do a whole lot... but I still feel pretty good about it.

Now I feel like I can fix anything... I discovered my taillight was out... so I went in my trunk and I tore out my taillight and removed the bulb... then I hunted some live game...

anyway... I'm pretty amped... and I havn't posted in a while so I'm overdue...

The Way It's Supposed To Be?

This is not the way it's supposed to be...

It's not fair...

How does a girl who is nearing graduation and planning a wedding get diagnosed with Lukemia, and then within a year, leave behind a mourning husband and family?

I understand that sin entered this world, and I understand that God is beyond my understanding, but why is a girl who is seeking to serve God with her new husband struck down at the threshold of adulthood?

People always say, "Well this is part of God's plan, He will use this somehow"... But it is so hard to buy into that when you are in the midst of something like this...

It's just not fair...

This is not the way it's supposed to be...

Really Kuyper?

So I started talking about this with one of my professors a bit the other day...

Abraham Kuyper is a championed individual in the Reformed Tradition, and he did a lot of impressive stuff... He was a pastor, reformer, newspaper editor, Parliament member, and even Prime Minister... However, I am not in support of some of his ideologies. In fact, my interpretation of his ideals and influence frustrate me to an extreme...

Kuyper stood at the forefront of "pillarization" which was a movement that has had intense influence on Christianity. The idea is that Christians develop their own institutions and structures for the sake of being in Christian community and almost being the "light on a hill". This means the development of Christian schools, Christian businesses, Christian supermarkets, Christian fitness centers, Christian newspapers, Christian universities, Christian Sports Clubs, etc...

Hey here's a great idea... let's take all of the local Christians... and put them in secluded locations... then, all the "heathens" can see how much fun the Christians are having with their supermarkets, and how smart they get in their secluded schools, and how productive their businesses are, or how holy their sports leagues are, and then they can feel like they're missing out and want to join in on all the anointed fun!!!

That's what Jesus said about being salt and light right? Go create isolated institutions so that all those "pagans" can look at you and see what's up... But don't get your hands dirty actually getting involved in peoples lives and honestly sharing how messy you are/how God has worked in your life...

Way to go Kuyper... thanks for the seclusion!!!

What happened to being "in the world, but not of the world"? Or becoming "all things to all people for the sake of the Gospel"? How do you build relationships with those who do not know Christ by going through the Christian school system to then get a job at a Christian business so you can afford to go to the fitness center in your church and pay to be in the christian softball league?

All this stemmed from a discussion about Christian Bookstores...

I am not trying to say that all of these things are inherently evil or wrong, because everything can have its place, but how can we who are to be making disciples to the ends of the earth going to develop meaningful relationships with people unless we are actually in the world!?

Is there a proper balance between these christian structures and "secular" structures?
Should there even be a divide between Sacred/Secular? Or should we begin to look for God working in all things? We can't put God in a box by limiting God to revealing God's self through channels that we deem acceptable...

I think we need to be aware of how we are approaching the world, while also being aware of how the world is influencing us... I just think that seclusion is not the correct approach...


And that's all I have to say about that...