In honor of National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, this is a repost of an interview held with International Justice MIssion staff member Lauren Johnson in early 2010. IJM currently is one of the world leaders in combatting slavery today. 

 

Last month I visited the International Justice Mission headquarters, not far from the Pentagon and just outside our nation’s capitol.  It was a beautiful day. The air was crisp and cool and the ground layered with the remnants of the recent snow storm.

Inside IJM headquarters - aka HQ -, you’ll find a quant, but inspirational photo gallery. The walls are lined with telling photographs of beautiful people who are part of IJM’s work abroad. Each face on each photo tells a different story of survival, of redemption and of justice at work.

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Have you ever broken a bone? I have. When I was 11 or 12 years old I broke a finger playing in what was likely a fierce game of handball. You read that right. I was one of the cool kids who played handball in elementary school (green with envy? I thought so).

The thing with breaks is, in order for them to heal correctly, they need to be reset, realigned or readjusted to the way they were designed.

When I first learned of the realities of modern day slavery, it felt like a bad break. How could things be so off set, out of order, out of place and in desperate need of healing and resetting? I felt a burning rage boil up in my gut and an overwhelming desire to barge into a brothel or brick kiln to rescue the oppressed and give the oppressor a piece of my mind, or, let's be honest, my once broken middle finger gesture.

The following transcript is from a conversation with Russell Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. You can also listen to the audio interview conducted by Phillip Bethancourt. The issue at hand is how to help churches navigate the types of controversy that’s going on in the wake of the decision of the Grand Jury in New York City to not indict an officer in the choking death of Eric Garner. Dr. Moore was asked  and what it means for racial reconciliation in our culture and in particular, the church. 

Russell Moore: Well, I've said quite a few times that when it comes to the Ferguson decision you have a lot of white people, particularly, who look at it only in terms of Ferguson itself. And they're saying, and they're right, that we don't know exactly what happened between Michael Brown and this police officer. We don't know exactly what happened between Michael Brown and this police officer. We don't know exactly what this altercation was about. 

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At 6,000 feet high, seated in a single engine Cessna next to my husband at the controls, my mind ran a marathon of thoughts about what it means to be concerned with what concerns the ones I love. As we flew along the beautiful coast line of California, making our way from the sandy beaches of Orange County to the coastal cliffs, rolling hills and mountains of Big Sur, I realized that I would have never agreed to sit in a teeny-tiny airplane for those 3 hours if it wasn’t my husband doing the flying.

Before I met my husband, I couldn’t tell you the difference between planes other than some are big and some are small; some are painted cool colors and designs and some not so much.

I wrote this last year when the Martin tragedy first came to light. Today, it's still important.  

In literature and mythology, Shape Shifters are deceptive characters who cross boundaries at will, moving between worlds to confuse the sacred and the profane. Sometimes a character even finds its shape changed by someone else through a curse or spell. The transformation may or may not be voluntary. 

And so goes the tragic story of Trayvon Martin, the newest Shape Shifter in a long history of American journalism. 

In this world, some things are pure and innocent while other things are evil. Racism and bigotry are transcendent evils, while defending the innocent is universally just. But Trayvon’s tragic death--and its chaotic aftermath--teaches us that perception is often a Shape Shifter. Under the spell of one version, Trayvon teaches us that trigger-happy racial profilers are alive and well. Under the spell of another version, Trayvon teaches us that young black men often contribute to their own violent downfall. 

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Originally posted 3 years ago, here is a Christmas season repeat of hope, justice, Jesus and latte's. 

 

I broke routine this morning. I interrupted my morning commute to work with a pit stop at Starbucks and a book in hand. It’s been a very long time since I have sat and read over a latte and to my surprise, Jesus was there.  

 

I ordered a sinful Caramel Brulee Latte and took a seat along the perimeter so that I could watch the subtle rain drops collide with the ground outside. I opened my book in hand, Just Courage by Gary Haugen and reached for my latte. But before I could take in my first sip of that delightful little beverage, I was met by Jesus who had appeared somehow on my Christmas themed cup.

 

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It seems as though the Christmas shopping season, which officially kicked off on Black Friday, is a bigger deal than ever this year. For the first time stores opened on Thanksgiving rather than waiting until the wee hours of Friday morning to welcome hoards of shoppers. Some people, eager to be the first to snag a killer deal on a 50-inch LED television, camped out in front of stores like Target and Best Buy Best for a week.

Truth be told, I don’t have a problem with Black Friday and Christmas shopping or with people camping out on sidewalks across the nation for days in order to get a good deal. I mean, who doesn’t want a great price on everything these days?

But I do have a problem when this consumer nation is uneducated about the products they are buying such as how objects are made and where the materials to make all the products we love so much come from. Sometimes it seems that America, a country in which education is freely available to any and all who desire it, operates as one of the more ignorant, uneducated nations in the world in terms of understanding how things work globally. 

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“Where exactly do you seek justice?”

“Seek Justice? I have no idea what that means.”

“SEEK JUSTICE!”

“Excuse me. Are you a law student?”

I sometimes wear a T-shirt from International Justice Mission that says Seek Justice on the front. Inevitably when I wear it, I get comments or questions about it. The above are some of what I’ve heard while wearing the shirt.

When I first bought the t-shirt, awhile back, never did I anticipate it would draw the attention it has as I sport it around town from time to time. Actually, the first time I wore the shirt on casual Friday’s around the office, it was a co-worker who stopped me to ask me “where exactly do you seek justice?” While I was completely caught off guard by the questions, thankfully the Holy Spirit was not and instantly this verse was brought to mind and so I responded with:

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you. Psalm 89:14.

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When working on projects, we often say, “Chaos will ensue” and we’re happy when it does because it means we’re making progress. It’s also often said that “Inventions should cause disruption.” Sometimes that disruption is good and sometimes it’s bad. The kind of chaos and disruption Invisible Children’s #Kony2012 campaign has caused is good. No matter what side of the debate you’re on, you can’t argue against awareness about child soldiers and child sex slaves. If we don’t know, we can’t do anything. But there’s more to it than that, isn’t there? The concern is, “Should I donate?”

I serve as the treasurer for an NGO, as co-chair for a government set-up advisory board, and as the president of a church.

Jocelyn White is Co-Founder and CEO of Slavery No More. Taken from the Slavery No More website, the mission of Slavery No More is to resource a diversity of the most effective organizations working to combat and abolish modern-day slavery and human trafficking, and to create awareness and a diversity of opportunities for meaningful personal engagement.

Recently I  had the priviledge of asking Jocelyn a few questions about Slavery No More and how they are working to abolish modern day slavery.

How did you become aware of modern day slavery and human trafficking? I first became deeply aware and moved to action when watching a Leadership Summit DVD that featured Gary Haugen, President of International Justice Mission.