How To Save A Life

Last Thursday I participated in a CPR/AED training course that was set up through my church. As soon as they announced the class I was beyond excited about the opportunity and signed up as soon as I could and juggled my schedule with my manager to ensure that I could attend! Why? Because if I ever find myself in the middle of a crisis or stumble upon a person in need of CPR I want to be able to step up and help! I don't want to be just another person that found himself thinking, "man, I wish I known how to save them...I wish I had taken the time to learn the skills to save that person's life." 

Life is precious. It is a gift from God, and it is also quite fragile. CPR training is just one way we can prepare ourselves for the unforeseeable and possibly life-threatening situations we might stumble across. I would highly encourage you to go and get this training. You might be the one person who can make a difference to a person in need. It is well worth your time and effort to be prepared to make an impact in the lives of others. When you save one life, you don't affect just one life! You affect husbands, wives, children, parents, friends, etc! 

Come on y'all...let's train our minds an bodies to be effective in the world and make an impact in our communities and the world!

Grace and Peace,

Stephen

Slavery Exists? Like What?

Every time I hear the word "slave" I find myself suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. It is difficult for me to fathom the concept of slavery or owning a human being. Being from the South, it is very much a part of my heritage, even though there are none in my ancestral tree that I know of that have owned slave, in fact most of my family came over after the end of slavery and nearly all suffered the curse of racism in America. Slavery feels like a very distant concept; far removed from the present/modern world.

Slavery is a part of the dark history of America, as well as most of the world. It is, however, not just the dark "history" of America. It is the demon that still haunts us even today. Slavery never left, it merely changed its clothing. Even worse, America's ever increasing hypersexuality has led to even further depths of the presence of slavery in the world. 

Sex slavery happens every single day throughout the world. Of course, sex slavery has been around since the earliest civilizations, but it seems that with the changing times and the growing equality of genders, we are seeing the darker and more abusive expression of sex slavery.  To make things worse, the evolving perspectives of sexuality and what is or is not acceptable in media and public knowledge is making such behavior more "acceptable" and desensitizing us to the severity of the issue. What has always been there is more exposed to be seen by the world and even being taken to greater levels of intensity. Despite it's exposure, it "appears" to be less known and left unaddressed. It's the elephant in the room that everyone is avoiding; everyone is trying not to talk about it or admit it exists. 

Human trafficking was always a common topic at Bryan College, the place where I completed my undergraduate studies, but it was over a year after leaving before I began to fully accept the need for my actions in this crisis. While I have always cared and been opposed to slavery, I have not always been active in fighting against this evil in our midst. The fact is that we have a responsibility as Christians to take a stand against this injustice and the enslavement of women and men throughout the world.

I am no expert on human trafficking. This has become increasingly clear to me as I have conversed with friends over the matter and engaged in conversations at work about the problems of human trafficking where I found that I lacked the depth of knowledge and the info to persuade others of the need for action. Enough is enough! I'm not going to be a bystander in this anymore!

We have a responsibility to the world to seek justice and liberty for all races and both genders.We stand in a world of Darkness and, just as the revolutionary in the movie Les Miserables cried out before his death, we cry "...till all the World is free!"

Slavery exists! Let us stand against it together under the banner of the Cross and cry for justice until our voices crack and our vocal cords rip from the stain of our screaming in the faces of the leaders! The same leaders who claim to be for the people and yet do nothing to end the torment and abuse!

How can you help? Easy! There are thousands of ways to fight against this evil. Here are a few:

• Make people aware via art, blogging, conversations with friends, etc.
• Participating in awareness movements such as the EndIt movement.
• Educating your children and your children's friends. 
• Teaching about human trafficking in schools and churches.
• Providing food to the hungry.
• Giving jobs to women in need.
• Working to end poverty.
• Volunteering at homeless shelters and providing shelter to people in need.
• Reaching to family in need and struggling. 

The list of possible actions are nigh endless, and there is so much that YOU can do just by being active in your church and your local communities. The first, and biggest, step towards the healing of the world and the end of slavery is talking about! Let's #EndIt together!

Grace and Peace,

Stephen

When Worlds Colide

This past Sunday I was in Chattanooga visiting family, and while I was there I went to my old church. There were several Russians who had flown into the country to be able to go on a retreat that the church had put on over the weekend. During the worship portion of the service, the worship leader called up one of the Russians, who was the worship leader for the church back in their home town, to join him on stage. It was there that I experienced the beauty of hearing "How Great is Our God" sung in RUSSIAN! What was truly beautiful was when all the Russians began singing and, at the same time, the Americans in the room began singing out in English. I was lost in a in the miscellany of voices and the intense combination of language.

In that moment I saw the beautiful side-effects of Pentecost, people of various languages and cultures singing in unison of the glory of God and the wonder of our Christ! This is the beauty of the new covenant! That all peoples and all tongues and all cultures are now welcomed into the fold of God! That the Gospel will infiltrate the fabric of humanity and all men will sing together "Holy Holy Holy Lord, God of power and might. The heavens and the earth are full of Your glory! Hosanna in the highest!" From the East to the West, the Church shall be united once again. From the East to the West Christ will be Glorified. From the East to the West there will be peace, love, prosperity, and an end to injustice, poverty, and evil. All by the power of our God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Who is our "world without end".

Grace and Peace,

Stephen