Billy Graham on Techonology, Faith, and Suffering

On my flight back from Seattle last Sunday, I watched a recently posted presentation of Billy Graham by TED.com. It was a recording of a talk that Billy Graham, a world renown evangelist, gave back in 1998 during the formative years of the Ted Conference (an annual conference that brings together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers).

On this recording, Billy Graham spoke on the topics of technological advances, faith, and the reality of human suffering around the world. I was deeply refreshed by his perspective on man’s inability to resolve some of the most foundational problems of mankind even in the midst of great innovations.

As someone who thrives on new ideas and means for progress, I was once again reminded of our need to keep perspective on our own finiteness. It is always humbling to listen to people like Graham. It was especially good to hear him in the midst of our current series through the book of Ecclesiastes at New Hope (see previous post).

I hope you take a few minutes away from your work of progression and advancement to listen to a voice that has experienced much in life through trials, a remarkable journey of faith, extensive travel, and interaction with some of the greatest thinkers of human history.

Click here to see this video of Billy Graham’s talk.

Also, feel free to share your thoughts about his presentation afterwards.

A Life of Choices (Life Under the Sun Pt 11)

This message entitled, “A Life of Choices”, is Part 11 of a current series called, “Life Under the Sun” (A Study Through the Book of Ecclesiastes). This message focuses on practical values one should carry in making decisions in life.

“Life Under the Sun” describes the world under the realm of the gods. In this book, the author takes his readers through a vivid depiction of a world without God. The dark nature of this book invites us to take an honest look at life with all its imperfections and implications. Does existence really matter?

My keynote presentation is embedded below.

Click here to hear this message on the New Hope South Bay podcast (iTunes required). Just click on the “subscribe” button for download (even if you don’t actually see this episode yet…It’s there and will be visible in the next day or so.).

Please feel free to share your thoughts about this message after you have listened to it.

The Freeze Project Seattle (Sept. 6th)

Our next Freeze Project will be in Seattle, Washington! We’re excited to partner with people up in the Northwest on our next Freeze. Here is the info:

Date/Time: Saturday September 6th

• Meet Up at 1:30pm
• Actual Freeze at 2:00pm

Location: Freeway Park (700 Seneca St. Seattle, WA 98101) - Please look for the Freeze Project signs…

Contact Information for this Freeze:

• Email: tristaduval [at] gmail.com (Trista - Coordinator for this Freeze)
• Contact number for the day of the Freeze: 978.257.1772

Also, if you haven’t already, please join our new Freeze Project groups on Myspace and Facebook.

For more information what and how the Freeze Project works, click here.

Please help us get the word out and we hope to see you there!

Faking the Opening Ceremony in Beijing

I read a report this morning from BBC about Lin Miaoke, the cute 9 year old girl that captivated the world with her singing of “Ode to the Motherland” during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. It appears that she was not singing, but rather, miming the song of another young girl, Yang Peiyi (age 7).

Mr. Chen, the music director of the ceremony, went with the more “flawless” looking girl instead of the less presentable one because, in his words, it was a choice for “our country’s interest”. In addition, Chen stated that Lin had greater stage presence.

For me, I think it is another social commentary on the value of image over substance in humanity.

Do you have any thoughts on this?

The following is the performance that is being referenced from the opening ceremony:

Also, check out the following CNN update on the story:

Freedom Fest This Weekend Near Seattle, WA

I am headed up to speak at Freedom Fest 2008 this coming Saturday (August 16th) at Stocker Farms near Seattle, WA. Freedom Fest 2008, the largest Christian music festival in Western Washington, has partnered with JustOne/One Voice to End Slavery to bring awareness and create networks for mobilization towards the issues of poverty, orphans, and human trafficking.

JustOne will host a booth, facilitate a workshop, and share from the main stage during Freedom Fest.

If you are in the Seattle area, I would love to see you there. Although I will only be there for Saturday’s activities, Greg Russinger (our President) will be available the whole weekend along with many of our friends from JustOne.

Check out the following promo video for Freedom Fest:

A Life of Desire (Life Under the Sun Part 10)

This message entitled, “A Life of Desire”, is Part 10 of a current series called, “Life Under the Sun” (A Study Through the Book of Ecclesiastes). This talk makes the case that our pursuit of our desires must be placed in its proper context in order to find true fulfillment. Any desire, even the noble ones, will lack the God-desired dynamic unless it is centered upon his heart.

“Life Under the Sun” describes the world under the realm of the gods. In this book, the author takes his readers through a vivid depiction of a world without God. The dark nature of this book invites us to take an honest look at life with all its imperfections and implications. Does existence really matter?

My keynote presentation is embedded below.

Click here to hear this message on the New Hope South Bay podcast (iTunes required). Just click on the “subscribe” button for download (even if you don’t actually see this episode yet…It’s there and will be visible in the next day or so.).

Please feel free to share your thoughts about this message after you have listened to it.

Should Olympic Athletes Use Their Platform to Address Injustice?

I was listening to a great conversation on the radio today about whether or not Olympic athletes should use their world platform to create awareness about the social injustices that exist around the world.

I have personally been processing the tension of supporting the Olympics (an amazing world event that I thoroughly enjoy) in a country that is known for numerous documented humanitarian offenses.

What do you think? How role does/should sports play in world affairs? Are athletes morally obligated to speak out (or not speak out) against the injustices they are passionate about?

Lakeland Revival with Todd Bentley (Your Thoughts?)

During the last few weeks, I have been in several conversations about the “Lakeland Revival” occurring in Florida under the ministry of Todd Bentley. Honestly, I haven’t done much research about what is happening at Lakeland. I found the following (anti-Bentley) clip on youtube that show some of the extreme methods used for “healing”. Although I have not concluded on what is going on, I am definitely disturbed by what I see here…

Q: Do you have any thoughts on what is going on? Have you seen other clips or have read up on what’s going on? Have any of you actually visited for yourself?

North Korea, Social Justice, Animation, and the Option

During my trip last month to speak at a youth camp in North Carolina, I met Justin and Kira Wheeler, founders of The Option, a newly formed organization that seeks to engage the masses by providing creative outlets to share in telling the stories of North Korean refugees along with bringing them to safety through an underground networks across eastern Asia.

I admire their passion and willingness to focus on one of the most horrific humanitarian crisis around the world: North Korea; a country with hundreds of thousands suffering from poverty, oppression, political corruption, public executions, concentration camps, human trafficking, and diseases.

In their efforts to expose the reality of the crisis and highlight the stories of those fleeing the country, they have produced the following animation short to share the story of one such person who fled in hopes of finding freedom. I thought this animation short was well done, informative and powerfully invites the viewer to consider the story of one who is living in this reality.

We must never allow the magnitude of such an injustice to distance us from remembering the individuals that are directly affected.

Please visit their Facebook Cause page by clicking here. (Their website (www.theoption.org) is currently in development.)

Free the Slaves - August Highlight for Catalysts for Change

For the month of August, I would like to highlight Free the Slaves (FTS), an amazing organization that literally “liberates slaves around the world, helps them rebuild their lives and researches real world solution to eradicate slavery forever” (www.freetheslaves.net). FTS uses world class research and compelling stories from the frontlines of slavery to convince the powerful and the powerless that slavery can be abolished.

Free the Slaves was birthed primarily in response to Kevin Bales’ award winning book, Disposable People. This book introduced much of the world to modern-day slavery. Bales formed Free the Slaves shortly after the writing of the book. Recently, I had the privilege of sharing a meal with Peggy Callahan, one of the early co-founders of the organization, and talking about some of the key issues that surround such an effort including organizational methodology, government policy-making, networking, sustainable projects, use of communication mediums, and practical entry-points for participation.

I am really impressed by Free the Slaves’ commitment to research. They go the extra mile to make sure that all of their public statements about the state of slavery around the world are indeed accurate (to the best of their knowledge).

Secondly, I love their posture of openness to help and partner with anyone interested in fighting slavery in our modern-day world. I have already heard from numerous organizations about their openness in sharing their research and resources. They understand that no one organization can solve the problem alone.

Thirdly, FTS does an excellent job of creating long-term and holistic solutions to this injustice. They are definitely NOT a temporary or “fly-by-night” entity. FTS deeply cares about the numerous related issues that are interconnected with slavery (e.g., poverty, economic alternatives, community development, education, etc.).

Free the Slaves is an organization that is well respected around the world. I encourage you to take the time to learn more about their efforts and join in the mission to end slavery in our lifetime.

Side Note for People in the LA Area: Free the Slaves will be hosting its annual “Freedom Awards” on September 15, 2008 at the historic Bovard Auditorium on the campus of USC to honor survivors and abolitionists from around the world. The keynote message will be delivered by Desmond Tutu. Please click here for more information.

Catalysts for Change: This group is dedicated to living as catalysts for cultural change as it relates to the injustices of the world. Each month, I will highlight a non-profit that is making a significant difference in the world to bring relief and development for people who experience injustice. My hope is that these highlights would bring awareness, create conversations, strengthen networks, and mobilize us into action. I invite you to add your comments about and experiences with the various organizations highlighted each month.

Link to Catalysts for Change Facebook Group (Click Here)