When Jesus and his disciples spread their news of freedom they were persecuted and imprisoned by a very powerful global oppressor. Jesus' own disciples' spirits broke because they could often not see past their oppressors. But Jesus had vision that could surpass the current situation no matter how dark it was. In one parable in particular Jesus puts the gospel mission in terms of agriculture. Instead of paraphrasing I'll just post it here:
“A farmer went out to sow his seed.4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown." Matthew 13:3-8
Thinking about this verse in response to the #BlackLivesMatter movement led me to finding the All Stars Project. "Founded in 1981, All Stars Project (ASP) is a national nonprofit that uses a performance based approach to help tens of thousands of inner-city youth and their families create success in their lives." As soon as I started clicking through their website I was hooked. While it is so immensely important to be active in the current events and use our positions of social influence and money to be active in the 'right now' I think Jesus would also be looking ahead. All Stars Project uses music and other performing arts programs including dance and theatre to empower youth for a life of meaningful success.
I know first had the amazing feeling of being on a loud stage and seeing people clapping, singing, and dancing back at you. I cannot imagine what that feeling is like for these young people coming from the places they come from and seeing how they are treated in our world to be celebrated and praised for their actions and performances and to be supported in such meaningful ways off the stage. I encourage you to take a look at their website and consider making a donation if you are able. https://allstars.org/
I have some new music and other announcements I want to share with you all but for now we all need to focus on our world and it's people.