Dr. Charles W. Ferguson

I have been grieved for a long time about the direction of Christianity. At the core, the faith provides a message of love, justice, and equity that can be extremely transformative to the nature of humanity. Yet like many faith traditions, it is found to be misused in the name of maintaining status quo bigotry, injustice, and inequality alive. The expression of the message of the Gospel has taken a back seat to the rise of platform religion. What am I talking about?

Consider for a moment the climate of our society today. Most people today are being pushed to take sides in arguments that have existed for ages. It appears that more causes have risen due to the nature of social media and extended platforms of media. People are taking the opportunity to speak on more subject matter than ever before. The Internet has become the hub for an overabundance of information and a suffocating place for truth. More individuals fuss and fight to prove that a certain idea is right at the risk of denying the sanctity of thought and process.

What has know become more evident in church life is the desire to reflect society through setting up platforms rather than speak truth to power. As a young man who grew up in the prophetic preaching tradition of the African American church, it bothers me to see individuals take liberty to preach platform over truth. Yes, a person should question the nature of their national leaders. The Office of the President is always going to be seen as the office of Pharaoh by me as long as the suffering of maligned is monetized and profitable to the greedy. We ought to be able to speak truth to power regardless of who is in position.

At the same time, we must stop taking on the characteristics of institutions that we can not stand always. At some point, living out our most holy faith must begin with real engagement with the Word we declare to follow. It should never take a vote for me to love my neighbor. It should never take an act to demonstrate the love of God to anyone that comes my way. I should never worry about my reputation if my witness is help the least of these. My preoccupation in life should not be governed by a platform, but by God Almighty.

When my faith can be reduced to the argument over gun owner, I have chosen to serve the platform. When you can judgmental about people still eating meat while you have chosen to be vegan, your commitment is to the platform. When you political affiliation covers your ability to see the hurting, you serve at the will of the platform. No one can serve two masters. No one can serve at the pleasure of more than one entity without neglecting the other.

The introspective, contemplative believer will always be challenged to live openly regarding the message of Christ. The same believer is being pressed on every side to choose a platform ultimately reducing their faith to one idea. Chris Rock stated in a stand-up special that nobody is one thing. The faith of a Christian has many elements that when rooted in God gives a unique perspective to the movement of the Kingdom of God within the earth.

Until we return to a genuine engagement with God, we can’t stand to show the world the power of an ignited witness. The debates will remain. The love will not be present. Our witness will not bear under the weight of discord. We must be determined to fight for a day where our relationship with God will dictate how we truly engage the world and transform lives.

It has been a little while since I have posted. It is not for a lack of trying. Yet, I have found myself in the midst of a serious wave of new opportunities and new projects. Two days ago, I did my first book signing for my project, Led to the Stream: Refreshing in Life’s Valley.

I can’t express how much joy I have experienced in being able to finally get this work into people’s hands. I am now a published author. It is awesome. It is wonderful. It is cause to pause.

What do you mean? I am reminded of the many moments that God has given me victories, triumphs, and moments of extreme blessing and did not slow down to enjoy the process. The easiest way for a blessing or joy to become a curse or regret is not taking time to reflect and feel the depth of your own gratitude.

The last two weeks have produced some of the most banner moments of have experienced thus far. In time, I will be able to share one more experience. However, I just want to sit in this space for a moment and say Thank you, God….

If you have not had the chance, visit my online store to learn more about my new book…

squareup.com/store/ledtothestream

For the past 20+ years, I have been attempting to find who I am as a man, a preacher, servant, and a human being. It is quite difficult trying to discover the deep places of you. It’s even more difficult to admit that years have gone by and I wasn’t always able to pinpoint who I was or who I was going to be.

Different capacities of life have allowed me to search and discover major aspects of who I am. I have discovered that I am creative, intellectual, deeply spiritual, and a fun person. I love to write and express my feelings through many different mediums. I am passionate about execution of the gospel. I desire intellectual stimulation from those willing to engage in important dialogue.

Being engaged with each of these revelations have allowed me the opportunity to complete my first book. It was nothing more than a cathartic expression of my emotions, thoughts, and deep-seated feelings from a period of time that, at one point, I wanted to forget. Nevertheless, God has used catharsis to produce a work to help somebody going through similar trying times.

Normally, this portion would be the opportunity to push my book, Led to the Stream: Refreshing in Life’s Valley (https://squareup.com/store/LedToTheStream). However, I wanted to express the challenge of seeing something you hope for become very real.

I have been scared to death. I can’t believe that something in my mind and heart is now in black-and-white on pages in published print. I can’t explain in detail the challenge between fear and excitement. What I am able to express is that when God gives it to you and you trust God, it must come to pass.

I have high expectations of this work. I have great desire to have this book help somebody somewhere. More importantly, I am seeking God now to see how this endeavor becomes a launch point for greater works in my life and in aspects of ministry that I have never explored before.

You may be in the same boat as I am. You were trying to make sense of a new venture. You were trying to understand next moves that you didn’t see coming. Know this. The uneasiness is normal. The apprehension is not unusual. However, I have been told that at moments when these emotions come, we must not allow those deep moments that can arrest us keep us fulfilling our purpose and destiny.

In this season, everything God has destined and promised us will be calm as real as it gets. We have prayed for this. We have petitioned God for this. Now is the time to embrace the fulfillment before we miss our opportunity to see God at work. Touch it. It’s real now.