A few years ago when Amazing Grace came out, I remember being fully moved by the film. The story of William Wilberforce and his fight to end slavery in Great Britain changed me. He literally gave his health, his life and his passion to stop the atrocities of slavery.  It was then that I really learned of the existence of modern-day slavery and the fact that it’s everywhere… even here in Dallas. Something in me hasn’t been the same ever since.  The words of Micah 6:8 continue to run around in my head: “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”  It makes me wonder how I can be an advocate for people that can’t fight for themselves.

There is a new “Rockumentary” that is out in select theaters across the country- Call + Response?  Okay people - it is incredible! It is essentially a musician’s response to the trafficking of humans throughout the world. He and many other talented artists are coming together to “sing the song of the enslaved.”  It is their Call.  And we are responsible to Respond in whatever way we feel led.

The movie doesn’t manipulate your emotions or give you tons of graphic pictures… the facts speak for themselves.  The information and stories are incredibly engaging and make us understand what people… and children… many children… are going through.  What is our response?

We ROOVers would encourage you to get a group of people to see Call + Response.  Support the movement… Because, like they said on the movie… The people that are enslaved can’t build a bridge to us… We have to build the bridge to them… And as Christians… that, my friends, is what we do!

Fireworks

Hope everyone is looking forward to the weekend events! We’re heading out to the boondocks of Dallas/Ft. Worth for some good, old fashioned fireworks! Gatherings are being posted as well as ROOVers are deciding to do something fun for the Fourth together… Ah… I love community.

Some other thoughts…

I have been really humbled through conversations I’ve had over the last few weeks. After talking with people across the country that are passionate about Jesus, I leave each one stirred up… From pastors to passionate 20-somethings one phrase keeps running through my mind at the end of each conversation, “The Church is vibrant.” Sometimes I think it’s easy to think of all the things that we wish we could change or wish weren’t like they are. But when I stop and take a look into the hearts of so many people… the church is vibrant and it’s moving forward. That’s exciting and I’m motivated.

I had dinner a few nights ago with a guy named Dave that I just recently met. I met him at an art show of a mutual friend. He made me see my friends in a completely different light. He started with asking a few questions that together were very, very telling.

First, he asked me, “How many friends do you have on online on your ROOV thing and Facebook and whatever you have?” I told him I have over a thousand and he scoffed. He asked, “How many friends do you have?” I started to think of how many of the 1000+ people I would call a friend. In the middle of my thinking and making that “uhhhhhhhh…” sound we all make, as we enter into that pensive state of pondering, he stopped me. He asked me the exact same thing, but with a tone that let me know he was asking a deeper question than I was answering.

He added how in certain cultures a friend is someone who “reflects truth to you.” In other words, someone that is deeply honest with you for your complete wellness. Someone who knows you…really knows you and has your best interests at heart. He asked me again, “How many friends do you have?” I stopped and thought again. This time he let me think. I abstained from the “uhhhhhhhh…” sound. “Probably 10 to 15″ I said.

Then Dave asked me, “How many people are in the world?”

“6 Billion.” I said.

“So what are the odds of having a friend?”

I paused. I didn’t quite follow him.

“You have 10 friends. There are 6 billion people in the world. What are the odds of having a friend?” he asked again.

I understood. “10 out of 6 billion” I answered.

“Value your friends.” Dave said. Dave is a wise man.

The odds of having a friend–a real friend, a reflector of truth–are less than the likelihood of getting struck by lightning or attacked by a shark. Remember your friends and invest in them. Pick them wisely and value them. I’m going to be doing this a lot more than I have been.

Thanks Dave.

Trey

The sun is out, the temperature in Dallas has topped 100 degrees and vacation plans are underway. I’m curious about your favorite summer memories. Discuss.

For me I think it was the summer that I was 17. I had wanted to go on a mission trip for years. Finally that summer everything started working together, and I went to Hong Kong for 2 months. It was when I was in Hong Kong that I discovered my heart for missions and God’s heart for true relationship with me. It was on the mission trip that I finally began to taste what a relationship with God can be. I guess before that point being a Christian was what I did. I was just sort of good at being good, you know? But that summer… I began to see the heart of God and began to understand that I really could have a real relationship with Jesus. Yeah, that was a good summer.

Missions. I definitley always want to be a part of what God is doing in the world. It’s easy for me to get distracted by “things” and forget that God’s heart is for all of His people. His heart is that all would know Him and I want my heart to be as much like His as possible. For me, I can’t go on missions this summer, but I can still be a part of it. I can give and I can pray… I can pray like it was my real-life brother over in Burma with no clean drinking water. I can pray and ask God to deposit His heart into mine and show me what to do. Yeah, there is something I can do.

If any of you are looking to go on missions, there are several groups that organize these types of trips. One of the groups is called Adventures in Missions. They do college-aged trips and have been around for a while. There is an AIM ROOV as well. You can also check out the Overseas Missions ROOV and get some more dialogue going.

Okay… now I’m going to get back to work. Have a great weekend!

To our new ROOV blog viewers, welcome! Up to this point, the blog has been mainly for updates on the site… but blogs are so much more useful than that. So, from here on out, the blog is for both updates AND our candid thoughts on life, God, culture, community, the church, funny stories about Chris or just cool things we found on the Internet. So keep checking in.

Personally, I’m a huge fan of blogs. However, I have never actually written one (don’t judge) so I’m very excited right now.

The other day I read something that got me thinking…

It was an article talking about the importance of excellence in everything a church does… The author mentioned music, videos, communication style, etc. He said that, “each thing, if botched up, could be the thing that turned someone off to your church.” I know everyone probably has an opinion of how church should be done. Some will say that all of that is trivial and the service is simply a tool. Others are devoted proponents of the high end production style church service. I’m not taking sides. However, I want to reference this idea—that a random person just checking out this whole God and church idea might be turned off by a poorly orchestrated and disorganized presentation. Whether it’s a very simple or elaborate production, if it is done poorly it can really have a negative effect.

The idea got me thinking a little deeper on the subject. Personally, I don’t work for a church, so, the way I show the Gospel message is my life. Hence, some questions: What if I understood that every part of my life was representing the transforming message of the Gospel? What if it was more than a nice thought I considered once in a while? What if it was actually a conviction I held? Would I live certain parts differently? My bet would be yes. Right now I’d probably be graded with a D if I’m lucky.

A very simple example—imagine if I’m sitting in a restaurant and am a complete tool to the waiter, and they then overhear me talking about God or the church. That’s some bad publicity right there. What if I lived constantly understanding that I may be the only Jesus many people I meet ever come in contact with. I would hate to botch that up. I know we have tremendous freedom from legalism and from doing things to justify ourselves before God. I’m not talking about that. I’m saying what if my typical MO was driven constantly by this understanding that I represent Christ on earth to some people. I’d probably be doing things differently. Ok that’s all for now. I would love to hear your thoughts.