editorial

Growing up in a large family, my parents always taught us that, although we were poor economically, we were rich in love. Therefore, God always provided enough for us to feed someone else. So, without fail, we always set out an extra plate at the table, expecting that somebody would knock on our door in need of a meal.

I hear the beeping of machines, distant chatter and a grumpy voice calling for attention. These are the sounds of the Emergency Department where I currently find myself just two weeks before school begins.

​At the age of 16, I became a staff member at Georgia Cumberland Conference’s Cohutta Springs Camp, and later at Northern California Conference’s Leoni Meadows Camp. Because of the positive influence summer camp had on me as a child, I wanted to make a difference in the lives of others too.

Our winter baby was born in January on the coldest day of the year. She was 7 pounds, 11 ounces and 21 inches long. She had 10 fingers, 10 toes and thankfully only one nose. Her hair was soft and curly, and her skin against ours was tender and moist. And when she looked at us—her eyes wide with wonder—we melted.

When I arrived to the United States as an international student in 2004, I was faced with a financial challenge. How would I pursue my education with so little money in my pocket?

When the pandemic hit, I witnessed a decrease in youth attending church and a lack of leaders available to minister to those who remained. This afforded me the opportunity to step up and make a difference.

If you say we are living in perilous and challenging times, times that try men’s souls, we agree. If you say we are living in the best and worst of times, we also agree. If you say we are living in the very last days of earth’s history, we most certainly agree.

Jesus gave us the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18–20, a charge not affected by a pandemic, for the Great Commission is not in quarantine.

For many, social justice is a volatile subject. Some feel the time for open and honest, even painful, discussion has not yet arrived. As followers of Christ, our privilege is to create an environment where we can discuss and live out a biblical perspective of justice. As theologian Russell D. Moore says, “The gospel drives us to an understanding that the ultimate accounting of justice doesn’t rest with the state, or with ourselves, but with the Judgment Seat of the kingdom of God.”