Dr. Charles W. Ferguson

When I was in middle school, I wrestled with the challenge of public speaking. (I know you’re thinking, really?) One of my greatest fears was speaking in front of people. Part of the reason I didn’t have the typical teenage dating life was not my lack of interest, but it was my deep fear of talking to young ladies. However, the fear led to becoming a dedicated writer. Go figure..

As I was saying, I had a terrible fear of verbal expressing myself. At times, I felt that nothing I said would have any weight to an environment or conversation. I did not always feel that my thoughts or opinions were welcomed. The moments that I would open my mouth, I found myself at the mercy of criticism, berating, and ridicule. So it is easy for me to see that my younger self had justified reasoning for silence.

These days, I consider the climate of our society  and realize that we are a part of a culture that thrives on the timidity and quiet of others. I am not suggesting that people are not vocal in various areas of our global community. I am saying that many times we dismiss the power of our voices for the sake of getting by. We stay silent knowing that our entire existence can be affected in an instant. Fear overtakes our resolve ultimately cause us to become stagnant in our pursue of the greater good.

The moment that saved and preserved my voice is when I read about Isaiah’s encounter with God. At 14, I felt like I just existed, and my purpose was not much. It was in the reading of the text I discovered how God will make clear your purpose. Isaiah was a foul-mouthed individual with attachments to a king. He was in the midst of mourning the loss of his mentor/hero. Isaiah’s morning found him in the temple.

In the midst of that solemn moment, God revealed the glory. Isaiah encountered the presence of God in an usual and powerful manner. “Woe is me. I am undone…” This statement was the beginning of the recognition of broken and incomplete places. Isaiah acknowledged and confessed his shortcomings and exposed the environment that aided in shaping his existence. Being in the presence of God shed light on the dysfunctional places.

However, an angel took a coal off the altar and placed it on the unclean lips of Isaiah to signify the purging of taint and stain. Isaiah was coming out of this experience at a minimum as a new man. Isaiah was not going to be the same. Yes, he would be changed but not to become an observer.

God asked a question. “Who shall I send?” The nature of the question is one of contemplation for the young man in the room with God. Consider what just took place. The presence of God burned out Isaiah’s immediate broken condition. The coal burn off the residue of previous iniquity. The experience set Isaiah ablaze from the inside out.

When I consider every moment that I encountered God, I can not look back and not feel the fire burning deep within me. No alternative exists when it comes to sharing my experience with others. I feel obligated by my own standard to tell someone how powerful and life changing God is. Yet, moments in life come to suppress that desire.

Whenever the attempt at suppression enter your space, remember this thought, “I have fire in my mouth!” What are you talking about? Any time you can recall making it through tests, trials, or difficulties, God is placing fuel that can be ignited by the Holy Spirit to speak truth to power in the lives of others. You have a witness that will alter the atmosphere. So do not allow anything to keep you silent.

So what about mental health issues? Ask God to help you find deliverance and a therapist. So what about stagnation on the job? Use your network, pray for discernment, and/or tap into your entrepreneurial creativity to make moves. What about ministry? Watch, pray, study, and serve. In every circumstance, find a way to increase the flame. You have the fire. Blaze the path and walk it like you talk it!

In this past week, the news has highlighted the death of two high profile people–Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain. Their deaths come as a shock to people who have watched them through their rise to the top in the respective sectors of fashion and food. Both deaths have been reported as suicides. While many people have decided that it is worth the time now to talk about the struggle of mental health issues in the wake of their deaths, I am convinced people are still unwilling to face the root of issues in the beginning when signs develop.

As a man who has dealt with depression for many years, I can tell you without any hesitation that discussing mental and emotional health challenges at the end of one’s life is not the time to be reflective. Consider for a moment the people in your life that you dismissed when they told you “I am not ok”. Think about the people that you haven’t spoken to in years. Many people could avoid reaching places of despair with a simple, hello.

You may not believe it, but people with great responsibility just want to be treated as a human being first. It may not register right away, but your perception of what a person should be is not the priority when he or she is fighting for level ground in life. God forbid as a person of color that we declare our struggle. We still have to fight the stigma of depression, bipolar disorder, and other diagnoses are strictly demonic and prayer will fix it.

People are fighting daily to hold on. I believe that God has kept me. I also believe that God led me to counseling. I believe that medication aided me when I needed it. I am grateful to connect with friends when it is important. I am grateful to be present for people in their struggle through simple conversation. It is called wisdom. It is called human decency. It called interaction. It is called no judgment. It called facilitating an environment of “going to be ok”.

I will never forget this one encounter. I preached at a church I formerly pastored. I talked about my struggle with depression and suicide attempts that happened in my past as a teenager. Some people in this predominately African American Baptist congregation gave me the “you don’t talk about that here” look. Those individuals did not realize how many people struggle with the same things I was talking about.

A couple of days later, I was in the office. I received a phone call from a member. She always seemed pleasant. Every time I saw her, I tried to go out of my way to speak to her. However, she seemed withdrawn always. The member called to tell me something I did not expect. “Pastor, I wanted to thank you for your message Sunday. I don’t always talk all the time. I struggle with depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia. I didn’t always feel comfortable at church. But when you preach Sunday and shared your story, it was the first time I felt safe.”

The church ought to be a place of safety and refuge. The people ought to be a resource for commonality, relationship, and fellowship. We ought to be experiencing these elements not only in places of worship, but our everyday lives. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Be the change. Be the vessel of hope. Do not wait to be sparked by the plight of more known individuals. Check on your friends and family. Tell them that you love them and show them the same love. The proactive agent aids in producing the change.

#mentalhealth #katespade #anthonybourdain #hope #change

One of the greatest challenges for an athlete is finding the positive in a loss. Playing sports, I fed the idea that you must always gain something from every victory and defeat. However, the 16-year old me could not stand the thought of losing. Winning became part of my DNA. I had to become the best student. My team needed a winning record. Losing was not a part of my road map to success.

The years have taught me that you can learn much from a defeat. Difficulty can be an unbelievable professor. Challenge works your mental, emotional, and spiritual endurance. Yet, I believe that we are in a day and season where people are beginning to settle for way too many moral victories. Let me explain.

Starbucks, Roseanne Barr, “BBQ Becky”, the NFL and countless other social media captured personalities have what in common? They are the manifestations of the symptoms of racism in America. Notice, I said symptoms. They are not the roots. They are the fruit. They are not live-givers to hatred. They are the benefactors of supremacist ideology.

When ABC cancelled Roseanne this week, way too many people were excited about the move. I submitted to you that for every show cancelled in the name of promoting values of equality for a company, there are multiple programs that still promote the ideas of devaluing people.

If we push this thought further beyond just the specific scope of race in America, consider many maligned individuals among us. Every time a major figure faces judgment for sexual assault, thousands of victims wait to see when their time for justice will come. Every school shooting is met with gun enthusiasts stating that more weaponry is necessary. For every LGBT individual who seeks basic equity as a human being in this continuous life experiment, we uncover continued oppressive activity in various arenas in the name of profitability.

In 2018, more people willing to settle for the moral victory than fight for the justice that will ultimately build, enhance, and revive our communities. A few bad cops being brought to justice will never substitute for the elimination of systematic bigotry, classism, and misuse of power within police departments across the country. Canceling a few shows, publicly shaming people, or any other method of exposure does not replace doing work on every level to reach the goal equality, equity, and justice for all.

The prophet Amos declared a simple phase that rings true to transitioning context–“Woe to those at ease in Zion”. For a period of time, we became so consumed with the gains made and peace that appeared to exist that we forget that enemies regroup. Silent racists were waiting for a time to return to an open platform. Bigoted ideology was creating strategy for the next move. While we rested in moral victories, others plotted. While we said, “we can finally live”, enemies looked for new ways to silence the oppressed again.  Moral victories do not produce ultimate change. Moral victories should incite within us the necessity to not rest or accept scraps.

We are in the midst of a wake up call, brothers and sisters. It is not the time to attempt to prove who is more “woke” than the rest. It is time to consolidate our power to move the atmosphere in the proper direction. We must do as the saints of the past declared “watch, fight, and pray”. Anything less than that mentality is a defeat.

Please take the opportunity to check out my first published work, Led to the Stream: Refreshing in Life’s Valley available on my online store: squareup.com/store/ledtothestream