Let Freedom RIng ...

Last Sunday, I watched Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech in its entirety, something I've probably not done since high school.

First, I'd never realized how much of his theme comes directly from Scripture. Freedom and justice are not exactly side issues in the Bible. It's easy for us to overlook the Bible's influence in America's fight for human rights, but it's clear that King drew heavily from what God has to say about the issue.

Second, a few tears rolled down my face as I realized that what he was saying about the oppression of African Americans in my country still applies to plight of the enslaved around the world. The fight for equality in the United states has not been won. It's better, but we're not there. And it feels that the fight on behalf of the enslaved has barely begun.

But King painted a vision of the world where freedom would ring from every mountaintop, to every valley, to every person. He quoted the Bible when he said, "I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together."

This is God's vision for His creation. And it inspires me to keep crying out to Him to show me how to bring justice and freedom to His world. I know that can't do it on my own. I know it won't be fully enacted until Jesus returns. But I know that this is God's theme: That all the oppressed—both physically and spiritually—would know freedom, justice and mercy; that they would see His love and compassion for them; that they would see His love through us as we fight for them.

If you would like to read the entire speech, click on the title of this post. I believe there is also a link to the video.

Thanks, and a very late Happy MLK Day to all.

Feeling Overwhelmed ...

Things are still wild for me. Somehow I forget each year that the Christmas holidays merge with work deadlines and travel to create the perfect storm of busyness. I am back in my hometown this week, enjoying the bliss of doing nothing or next to nothing with my family. My dad has the week off and that makes it even better. I'm observing my strict, self-imposed rule that when I am here, I act like I am here by disconnecting from the online world and my cell phone. These visits are precious and rare and all the other stuff will still be there when I fly home. Speaking of which ...

When I get back home next week, a flurry of work will be waiting. But by the second week of January, I ought to be back to a slightly saner pace and more regular blogging.

Here's one item of note:

The movie Amazing Grace is now available on DVD. Go rent it, or better yet—buy it, and enjoy the movie that opened my eyes to the modern issue of slavery.

How Do You Keep Going?

This post doesn't really mean that I'm back. It means I am in the country again, but I have writer's block and am struggling to write what my publication needs right now. Not posting for so long has made me a little uncomfortable, too, as if I might begin to let this issue slip off the radar.

I've been wrestling with this thought: How do you keep going? When you're involved in a cause, how do you keep fighting for it passionately when the initial outrage wears off? When you're in the thick of things at home, at work, at church? How do you stay engaged?

Think about the amazing work that the Clapham Society accomplished. How did people like William Wilberforce keep it up year after year? Certainly they were all busy in politics, in church work, in their families and professions. Yet they fought seemingly unflaggingly for decades to see slavery abolished. When you read books such as Amazing Grace, you could get the impression that it was all abolition, all the time. But no one lives like that. What did they do to maintain that passion during the lulls of life?

So here's a question for the 10 readers out there: How do you keep the important things in your life from getting buried under deadlines from work, events at church and maintaining some sort of personal life? What brings you back to the most important things? And for those in the Carolina Clapham Circle, what can we do in our group to keep the fire burning when there's little action to take or we're pulled away by life's other demands?

Talk amongst yourselves. It could be a few days before I resurface again ...

Go Ahead—Get Angry at God!

The other day I started writing a post about having a major argument with God during the past year or so. It was a struggle, so decided to set it aside for a bit. Then a friend of mine sent me a link to an audio clip from her church. Sara Groves spoke to their women's group recently about her own argument with God as well as how and why she is involved with ending slavery in the world.

You're probably tired of reading my references to Sara, but these days she's right on the money. Bear with me! Her introduction is aimed toward women, but hang in there because the stories she tells after that are powerful. She makes essentially the same point I was fighting to make about being angry at God about what we see in the world. Then she sings, so really, this is better than my post. I promise you I will never sing.

If you've ever been ticked off at the horrible things you've seen, I challenge you to listen to this audio clip. Then go have your own fight with God and see what He says. If you listen closely, He will answer.

Deliver Us!

This past Sunday, my pastor talked about Moses and the burning bush. His message was definitely meant for me. I won't go into all the details, because that's not what this blog is about. The reason for mentioning it here is because the pastor pointed out that the Israelites, the people God chose to be His people, were in slavery for 350 years. And He allowed it, because He wanted to get their attention, to teach them to rely on Him, and to do something that only He would get credit for.

This may sound dumb, but my roommate and I came home and watched "The Prince of Egypt" (the animated story of Moses and how God freed the Israelites from the Egyptians) to give us more time to think about the pastor's message. As the movie rolled, I actually had a few original thoughts about a story I've known for years.

So much of the Bible deals with oppression and enslaved people. In several instances, it's God's people who are enslaved. When God spoke to Moses from the burning bush, He said that He heard the cries of His people, and now He was asking Moses, the murderer-fugitive, to rescue them.

So no matter how long it seems to be before He acts in these stories, He always acts and He always does something amazing.

It's not any different today.

An Open Letter to Sara Groves

Some of you gentle readers may identify with this letter:

Dear Sara,

Please stop stalking me. I know you are doing it. This is the only way I can explain how your music describes my life, down to the very detail; how, when I am at my lowest points and stonewalling God, your music points me in the direction that leads out of the funk without surrendering my intelligence; and why I have spent innumerable commutes to work and church listening to you with tears pouring down my face.

And now I understand that you are getting involved in the fight against slavery.

Copy-cat.

Seriously. Have you been following around behind me the past five years as I've traveled and seen the despair, the evil, the darkness—then witnessed how the hope of Christ rises above it all, giving peace and joy to the most destitute when I expect them to curse God and wish for death? You can't look away and do nothing, either?

This quality of yours is why I have loved every CD you've produced, since you brought "Past the Wishing" to your first concert at my college. How I wished I had $15 that night. How I mooched that CD off of people who did until I scraped the cash together for my own copy. And now, I pre-order your CDs ASAP. I am an online groupie. And I am thrilled to see that modern-slavery has pushed you to act. We're happy to have you on board. I'm pretty new here, myself.

Now, please tell me how you knew about my life now when you wrote "The Other Side of Something" album some 3-odd years ago. Still can't figure that out ... . Also, have you been handing your notes on me to my pastor? He's been suspiciously prescient lately, too.


Sincerely,
Burkinator

Letting Go of the Big Things

“I have held many things in my hands and I have lost them all. But whatever I have placed in God’s hands, that I still possess.”
—Martin Luther

“The taking up of the cross of Christ is no great action done once for all; it consists in the continual practice of small duties which are distasteful to us.”
—John Henry Newman

Funny how when we fail to learn these two lessons—or just forget them—God makes sure we get the point. As I try to be obedient and take action about slavery (as well as deal with other situations in my life) I want to be so careful not to do what seems right to me and miss God's greater plans. Also, I need to remember that God works through small, daily acts of obedience as much as He does through the big, showy steps we would rather take. ... Especially when we think people are watching.

God, help us to recognize how the small and unremarkable tasks of life—when combined with faithfulness, obedience and reliance on Your Spirit—can accomplish more than our boldest, loudest declarations.

My many thanks to the bloggers from whom I've borrowed these quotes! You've inspired me.

Like a good neighbor?

Not to start a fight, but I'm really confused. State Farm, one of the many insurance companies involved after Hurricane Katrina, et al, has just sent me a dividend check and a letter that essentially says, "We made a lot of money from car insurance last year, so here's some back."

Now, home policies and car policies are two different things, but how can a company that--from what I've heard--left a lot of people in the cold and complained about how hard Katrina hit them, be giving out cash to policy holders two years later? The money is all a part of the same company, no?

The check, although very welcome after a week's vacation, is making me queasy. Perhaps it's not accurate to say that it comes on the backs of Gulf Coast folks, but there's still a feeling in my heart that says this money should go to those who still are living in rotting homes. I will send my check to Convoy of Hope . During a church missions trip to Mississippi in February, we worked with COH. They are one of the organizations still doing work in the Gulf Coast, as well as assisting at disaster sites across the country and around the world. The folks we worked with were amazing ... tough, compassionate, bold and willing to fight for the defenseless. In short, my favorite kind of people.

So what, right? Well. If you are a State Farm policy holder who received a dividend check, or you just feel for those in the Gulf Coast, please find a similar worthy non-government group and make a donation. That's all the begging I'll do.

This concludes Burkinator's soapbox post of the day. It just bugs me that we're all getting back nickels and dimes that would mean so much more as a lump sum on the Coast.