Friends,
Thank you all who made a stand at Christmas in Wilmore for fair trade and slaveless labor. 10 of us braved the cold by God's grace encouraging the masses to shop smart this Christmas. We prepped for 45 minutes asking for God's favor and open hearts: that God would break the chains of the oppressed, bring sight to the blind, and proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.
Sackclothed with trays full of fair trade chocolate, the group engaged in conversation from 5.45- 8.00 bringing awareness to the 2,500 festival participants. The response was amazing! From young children to the elderly, many were amazed that slavery still exists. "I had no idea that slaves made some of our chocolate", exclaimed one. Of course, my favorite response was, "so what can we do about this?" Our fliers pointed them in the direction of fair trade. We can begin with smart consumerism (see: www.fairtradefederation.org and www.globalexchangestore.com).
Others reported welling outrage that the F.B.I has pulled 900 children out of brothels in the U.S. over the last five years (http://www.fbi.gov/innolost/innolost.htm). From my perspective, the myriad of college students were the most impacted and had the most inquisitive hearts. All, it seemed, enjoyed the chocolate, which was miraculous in its own right.
At 6.45, it was looking like our supply was running out fast. The softball size pile of chocolate chunks needed to last until 8. People kept plucking pieces, but the pile didn't change. It just lasted. The group felt a keen sense that God truly blessed this chocolate and our conversations. When we step out with Him and risk ourselves for the things that burden God's heart, we experience miracles, from multiplying chocolate to surprisingly open hearts of the young and old.
Thousands now know about Human Trafficking in a way that they would have never if this group didn't risk themselves on a cold Christmas evening. It is now up to our Mightily Complete God to grow the seeds that were planted on Saturday.
We count this as activism success number-one for the Modern Abolitionists (http://modernabolitionists.wordpress.com/). Come today and Thursday at Noon for prayer in AHOP, and stay tuned for information on the upcoming stakeout this week. The Lord is moving among us, most of all changing our hearts into the Samaritan Heart as we become more Christ-like, and therefore more who we were created to be.
Nativity Blessings,
Keith
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
CCDA: You've Got to Try It
Just got back from CCDA, one of the largest evangelical conferences on redistribution, reconciliation, and relocation in our country. In short, picture 3 thousand community development workers who have devoted their lives to neighboring in the ghetto, ministering to prostitutes, and experiencing the realities of our immigration complex first hand.
Primarily, I'm most impressed with the group's stark honesty disclosed about working with the 'poor', the rootedness in the biblical witness, and the stunning example of racial unity and love. The organization, in it's ripe 20th year of work now attracts to its conference recovering drug addicts right off the streets to former prostitutes now working to help free their sisters from the lifestyle. One man, noticeably uneducated, stood up to comment in one session. He tried to give words to his overwhelming feeling of joy at the abounding level of interethnic love. "I'm so happy", he noted,"there are Chinese people here, white, black, spanish. I feel like I've won the lottery!"
The sessions challenged me to think more closely about how I spend my time and how I engage with even the six families that live on each side of me. Combining a busy lifestyle with a subconscious perception of just how messy a relationship with our neighbors might actually get, results in a subtle avoidance of the humanity around me.
There's a lot to say. I'm grateful for the experience. To sit at the feet of civil rights hero John Perkins, ordinary radical Shane Claiborne, Reconciliation Guru Chris Rice, Sojourners Master Jim Wallis, and Princeton Prof. Gabriel Salguero was a truly marked experience. I perceive deeply a just noticeable shift in my heart, one that adds to the myriad of subtle shifts, in which I am experiencing profound life transformation. If you ever have a chance, you've got to go!
Primarily, I'm most impressed with the group's stark honesty disclosed about working with the 'poor', the rootedness in the biblical witness, and the stunning example of racial unity and love. The organization, in it's ripe 20th year of work now attracts to its conference recovering drug addicts right off the streets to former prostitutes now working to help free their sisters from the lifestyle. One man, noticeably uneducated, stood up to comment in one session. He tried to give words to his overwhelming feeling of joy at the abounding level of interethnic love. "I'm so happy", he noted,"there are Chinese people here, white, black, spanish. I feel like I've won the lottery!"
The sessions challenged me to think more closely about how I spend my time and how I engage with even the six families that live on each side of me. Combining a busy lifestyle with a subconscious perception of just how messy a relationship with our neighbors might actually get, results in a subtle avoidance of the humanity around me.
There's a lot to say. I'm grateful for the experience. To sit at the feet of civil rights hero John Perkins, ordinary radical Shane Claiborne, Reconciliation Guru Chris Rice, Sojourners Master Jim Wallis, and Princeton Prof. Gabriel Salguero was a truly marked experience. I perceive deeply a just noticeable shift in my heart, one that adds to the myriad of subtle shifts, in which I am experiencing profound life transformation. If you ever have a chance, you've got to go!
Friday, October 9, 2009
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