We can be delivered from one kind of bondage and end up in another.
Our broken hearts search for meaning, for belonging, for redemption. But nothing the world offers can satisfy that deep longing.
Without the hope of the gospel, our outlook remains bleak and our souls remain cloaked in despair. But a different hope exists—a palpable, incredible, death-defying hope that whispers, freedom is here: Jesus.
Knowing the gospel, knowing Jesus, is the only way to true freedom. This truth drives the love that rests at the center of the fight against human trafficking—and at the center of our organization as well as many other Christian non-profits.
Our culture often says, “Follow your truth. Do what makes you happy.” But as believers, we know “The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable” and impossible for us to fully understand (Jeremiah 17:9). And even people like Albert Einstein recognize the potential for evil within the human heart. He said, “I do not fear the explosive power of the atom bomb. What I fear is the explosive power of evil in the human heart.”
We are unable to save ourselves from this evil so deeply entrenched in our past and in our hearts. Thankfully, Jesus carried out the greatest rescue of all time when He came to break the chains of sin and death. Sin is the root of all pain and suffering in the world, and Jesus came to defeat it. To pay for our sin and to offer us the path to freedom by believing in His name. This should have a profound effect on the way we stand against evil and help people find hope and healing in a shattered world.
Think of it this way. Atheist Penn Jillette once said, “If you believe that there’s a heaven and a hell, and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life. . . . How much do you have to hate somebody to believe everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?”
Let that sink in for a moment.
Now, think on this with me: Is it compassionate to withhold the truth, even when it isn’t popular? Can we be fully, truly compassionate and bend to culture?
Jesus “had compassion” on the crowds (Matthew 14:14; Mark 6:34)—those who were sick, wandering, hurting, and hopeless. He provided physical healing, but that wasn’t all Jesus did. Jesus also cared for their hearts, cared that they were like “sheep without a shepherd” (Mark 6:34), and cared enough to be the kind of Shepherd who would not only teach them and lead them on the right path but also lay down His life for them (see John 10:11-18).
But Jesus the Shepherd taught bold and honest truth. He called out sin among the religious leaders quite often; He addressed issues of sin and selfishness within His group of disciples; He didn’t avoid certain topics for the sake of popularity. Jesus spoke the truth, and His own people wanted to crucify Him for it.
As a leader of a Christ-centered non-profit, my effectiveness in walking in true compassion is rooted in my faith—in believing what the world needs most is Jesus. He changes everything. I want to keep walking with Jesus, trusting and loving Him, and bending my knee to the authority of His Word, which gives life. And I want to encourage my brothers and sisters in the faith who are devoting their lives to helping others through the nonprofit world: be cautious and aware of the deceitful schemes of the enemy to keep all people blind to their need for a Savior.
I see the enemy using deception to tempt leaders to fall in line with a kind of worldly compassion that sees the gospel and the truth of God’s Word as irrelevant in the work of justice and alleviating human suffering. We should do everything in our power to save people from earthly misery, but that’s not nearly enough. If hell and judgment exist then the most compassionate act of all is to warn people of eternal misery. So, I want to ask you a question that I’ve been asking myself lately too:
Do we still believe Jesus is the solution to the evil in the world or have we been deceived into thinking telling people the good news of the gospel isn’t that important?
Watering down the gospel and exchanging the truth of God’s Word for a lie to be more compliant with the culture will water down the effectiveness and power of our mission. Love does not mean accepting or condoning what God has called sin; it’s caring about people enough to embrace them and to speak the truth in love about salvation.
Nonprofit leaders who believe people can find redemption apart from Christ may still do some wonderful work in the world. Justice and mercy are characteristics of God. As people made in the image of God, we can live out these characteristics while not understanding where they came from. But compassion without Christ can only go so far. Pointing people to Jesus is the most loving thing we can do.
God’s Word is a powerful truth that can change a person’s entire life. It’s God’s love letter to us. It’s the lamp under our feet and the light for our path (Psalm 119:105). It’s medicine for the soul. It’s our map for living a life of purpose and joy and it’s our final authority as the people of God. We don’t rewrite it when it’s no longer culturally acceptable or when it says something that doesn’t align with our sense of compassion.
But the enemy appeals to our sense of virtue and promotes a version of compassion devoid of God’s love, which contains the very truth that has the power to set people free.
This counterfeit compassion leaves Jesus Christ out of the equation. It is ready and willing to ignore God’s Word if God’s truth doesn’t sit right with what we feel or with popular opinion. Counterfeit compassion gives way to rebellion against God, and the irony is that this does not bring greater freedom, it actually gives way to more brokenness and suffering. Counterfeit compassion wants the justice and compassion of God’s kingdom but not the King.
But world-changing compassion doesn’t separate mercy and love from God’s truth.
We must be willing to humble ourselves, receive the free gift of salvation offered to all humankind, and then have our minds renewed so that we might know how to live and love and walk in ways that are truly right and pleasing to God (see Romans 12:1-2; James 1).
Christian non-profits are being asked where they stand when it comes to the centrality of the gospel in their mission and where they stand on hot button issues like abortion, homosexuality, and the transgender movement. This is a critical moment with incredible potential to demonstrate to the world an unashamed love for God and a devotion to His truth, which is the key to the transformation we long to see in the world. We can’t have truth without love or love without truth—we need both to show real, honest, gut-level compassion.
Here’s what’s at stake for those of us doing non-profit work in the name of Jesus: if we are passionately opposed to the pain and suffering in the world, specifically in the anti-human trafficking movement and the kinds of sexually deviant acts being forced on the vulnerable, then we need to stand against the philosophy that opens the door to the very things we are fighting.
The Christian nonprofit sector must say with Paul, “I am not ashamed of the gospel (good news), because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).
As Christians, we believe in the value and dignity of every person. We fight and protect every person. But you can love someone, in fact you will love them with the best kind of love, when you love them without setting aside the truth. Our greatest hope is that every man, woman, and child would come to know the deep and wonderful love of Jesus Christ and the salvation He offers. And when it comes to discipleship, we are all called to bring every area of our lives under the authority of God. Everything.
So, it’s important for us to ask the question: What does it mean to be a gospel-centered organization today?
To answer this question, we have to examine what we truly believe about God and His Word. When the culture says something completely opposed to what the Bible says, who do we believe? Is God’s Word authoritative in our lives and our mission? Do we believe no one is more compassionate or wiser than God? Do we believe He knows what He’s talking about?
You can know what an organization truly believes by what they do. A drift from biblical justice to worldly justice will always result in worldly mindset creeping in and molding the organization into something culturally acceptable but spiritually compromised.
It takes courage to wrestle with your faith. It takes courage not to walk away when the rest of the world would applaud you for doing so. It takes courage to live your faith authentically, to love people enough to tell them the truth about Jesus—even at the risk of being ignored or rejected. Jesus never said it would be easy to love God most and love others no matter what. But again and again in Scripture, this is the life He calls us to. He is so good and so worthy of all our devotion. How will we respond?
Lisa Longoria Bourgoyne, MEd, LPC-S. Lisa is a member of one of our Alliance churches, Houston’s First Baptist Church, and works as the Program Director at our local advocacy center, The Children’s Assessment Center.
Lisa, thank you for taking the time to tell us more about the terrible problem of child abuse and what we can do to help protect kids.
What can you tell us about your role?
It is an honor to be part of the mission of The Children’s Assessment Center (The CAC) and to have served our community for the past twenty-five years. Since 1991, we have been steadfast in our commitment to reaching the sexually abused children in every part of our community and to promoting the complete healing of children and their families. We are one of 939 Children’s Advocacy Centers in communities across the US and abroad, serving over 386,000 children last year.
As Program Director, I oversee the daily operations of The CAC’s core services: forensic interviewing, family and victim advocacy, medical services, therapy and psychological services, and multidisciplinary team (MDT) coordination. The CAC also leads the Child Sex Trafficking Advisory Council and a robust prevention, training, and outreach program. Our practitioners are trauma-informed and believe in a child-centered, multidisciplinary team response to child sexual abuse. We recognize the courage it takes to walk through our doors, so we strive to give our personal and professional best to all the children and families who find their way to us.
What are some examples of things you might see each day? How do these kids get referred to you? How many children a year do you see?
More than 600,000 children are abused in the US each year, and child welfare authorities oversee the safety of more than seven million children. The most vulnerable being the youngest children, those in their first year of life. In the Greater Houston area, 10,945 children were confirmed victims of child abuse. Nearly 3,700 of those children were referred to The CAC because of allegations of child sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, human trafficking, severe physical abuse, and witnesses to violent crimes.
When allegations of abuse are reported to authorities, The CAC response focuses on safety, healing, and preventing future abuse. We do this through coordinated investigations, specialized medical evaluations, forensic interviews, assessments, and victim and family advocacy. We also provide ongoing therapy, psychological, and psychiatric services, and we prioritize complete healing, authenticity, and transparency regarding the civil and criminal justice processes. There is no fee for services, and all children who need our help receive the same quality of care regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, or socioeconomic status.
What are some common factors of child abuse?
Unfortunately, no child or youth environment, no race, religion, or economic class is free of child sexual abuse; it can happen to any child in any home at any time. However, children are at higher risk for child sexual abuse if they have a family history of sexual abuse; children with parents who experienced child abuse are three times more likely to experience abuse themselves. Other risk factors include children living in homes with parental problems, intimate partner violence, relationship issues, substance abuse—a huge factor— or mental health issues, and children who live in the home with a stepparent or paramour (non-nuclear families).
It is important to remember that a child is never to blame for child sexual abuse. Children may blame themselves because an abuser has convinced them it is their fault. Children may blame themselves because they accepted gifts or because they did not tell anyone, but there are so many reasons why children don’t tell. If you were a victim of child sexual abuse, remember it was not your fault. It was never your fault.
If you were a victim of child sexual abuse, remember it was not your fault. It was never your fault.
What might a typical abuser look like?
90% of children who are victims of sexual abuse know their abuser. Abusers can be friends, neighbors, or family members, and they are in our homes, churches, youth groups, schools, rec centers, sports leagues, online, and other places children gather. The majority of abusers are male, and more than 70% of children who are sexually abused are abused by a peer, primarily at school.
90% of children who are victims of sexual abuse know their abuser.
What do you want the church in our city and beyond to know about the suffering of abused children?
Child sexual abuse is one of the most prevalent public health issues facing our communities today. One in ten children will be the victim of sexual abuse before their eighteenth birthday. Last year alone more than 56,000 children were victims of abuse or neglect across the state of Texas. Tragically, twenty-eight Harris County children lost their lives to child abuse and/or neglect, many at the hands of a parent or caretaker.
Every day critical work is being done across our state to keep families safely together. We invite the church to help us spread the word that child abuse prevention cannot be done alone. Some of the ways we can work together to help prevent child abuse and neglect is found in trainings like Darkness to Light’s Stewards of Children®. Their training is built based on the 5 Steps to Protecting Children®: Learn the facts; minimize opportunity; talk about it; recognize the signs; and react responsibly.
As a faith community, we will cause a tremendous reduction in child sexual abuse when we take these steps together. When we see a reduction in child sexual abuse, we will also see less violence, less substance abuse, less mental illness, less homelessness, and less of many other adverse effects on our society.
What does it mean that sexual abuse of children is often a gateway to trafficking?
Child sex trafficking (or the commercial sexual exploitation of children) is one form of child sexual abuse, and child sexual abuse makes children more vulnerable to sexual exploitation. In fact, more than 90% of children who are commercially sexually exploited have been sexually abused in the past.
I think what most people don’t know is that many victims of child sex trafficking live at home and attend school; some are exploited by their family or family friends, and no one chooses this life. But even with increased attention, stronger laws, and policies available to assist victims, breaking this cycle of abuse can be incredibly difficult.
More than 90% of children who are commercially sexually exploited have been sexually abused in the past.
What can we do to help stop child abuse and child trafficking?
If you SEE something, SAY something. DO something. Intervene when child abuse occurs to ensure safety, justice, and healing for victims while holding offenders accountable.
If a child discloses abuse to you, the most important thing you can do is believe them.
Learn the early warning signs and report suspected abuse to ensure early intervention with victims and offenders. Make sure staff and volunteers are trained, know the signs, and respond responsibly. Establish a code of conduct in your church for appropriate interactions with kids and ensure that staff, volunteers, and members of the church commit to it.
How have you seen the breakdown of the family in our society affect the well being of children overall? Does the problem seem to be getting better or worse, or is it staying the same?
We know from ACES (Adverse Childhood Experiences) research that child abuse, neglect, and family dysfunction are linked to increased risk for poor social, emotional, and physical health outcomes. We also know children living in troubled homes with parental problems, domestic violence, relationship issues, substance abuse, and mental health issues, as well as children who live in the home with a stepparent or paramour (non-nuclear families), are at higher risk for abuse. So the breakdown of the family definitely impacts the wellbeing of children.
I have also seen an increase in severity of the abuse over time. Children are exposed at higher rates and offenders are younger and younger. It’s heartbreaking.
What are some ways we can contribute right now, right where we are?:
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, and we need your help to protect the children in our community. There are many ways to contribute:
*To Report an Incident of child abuse, call 1-800-252-5400.
* If you are a survivor of sexual abuse or intimate partner violence, you are not alone. Free, confidential help is available 24/7 at (346) 295-8994.
As Christians, we ought to pursue justice because we serve the God of justice.
Leigh Kohler
In light of the grievous killing of George Floyd and the discussions on racism and injustice happening in our culture, I wanted to share a piece I wrote a little over a year ago on the justice of God. My hope is that you will be encouraged and inspired by how great and holy our God is and how important it is that we continue to align with His heart of righteousness and justice. We are His image bearers and what a tremendous opportunity we have to model our heavenly Father’s character to the world right now.
As the President of the Freedom Church Alliance, I want you to know that my desire is to be teachable and always eager to learn and grow. Thank you for your partnership in the work of the Freedom Church Alliance. I believe there is still much ahead that God is preparing us for. By His grace I’m all in and I hope you will be too.
THE GOD OF JUSTICE
As Christians, we ought to pursue justice because we serve the God of justice. Years ago, I was attending the IJM Global Prayer Gathering in Washington D.C. I was shocked and saddened to hear the story of a widow from Africa talk about relatives coming in after her husband’s funeral and encroaching upon the boundary lines of her property to steal it away. Day after day they threatened her. One day they cornered her children with machetes in hand and threatened their lives if they would not leave. She said this was common. People would take advantage of widows’ vulnerability and steal their homes and land, leaving them destitute and without the means to provide for their families. Her situation grew increasingly hopeless as she spoke of local authorities looking the other way and doing nothing to bring justice to her situation. It’s bad enough to have a crime committed against you, but when the rulers and authorities put in place to enforce laws refuse to lift a finger, what is one in a powerless position to do?
Sometime later, I came across Proverbs 23:10-11, which says,
“Don’t move an ancient boundary marker, and don’t encroach on the fields of the fatherless, for their Redeemer is strong, and He will take up their case against you.”
Before knowing this woman’s story, boundary markers and encroaching on fields didn’t have much meaning in my world. Suddenly, this verse had new meaning to me – it took my breath away. Never had I appreciated or loved the justice of God more.
One of the most devastating effects of sin is the horrible injustices that take place under the sun. We look back in history at events like the holocaust and the slave trade and we wonder how human beings could treat other human beings with such cruelty. Children are born into abusive homes where they are traumatized before they can even speak. There are leaders in places in the world today who look away, and often even participate in, the selling of women and children for sex. There are millions of women all over the world today who are still victims of forced marriage, honor killings, and female mutilation. There are people falsely accused of crimes they didn’t commit. The earth groans beneath the weight of sin and injustice.
Our hope as Christians comes from the confident assurance we have that we serve a just God who is going to set all things right. A.W. Tozer once said, “Justice is not something God has, justice is something God is”. God’s justice flows from His holy nature. Man’s justice can become skewed and perverted because of sin, but God is not capable of any wrongdoing. The Bible says He weighs all things in the balance, and He always judges correctly. He rewards uprightness and He punishes sin. The world often scorns the notion of God being a judge. They want to picture him as a cuddly grandpa or nice guy who tolerates sin and looks the other way when we do something wrong. But if God did not punish sin, He would not be good. For example, if we saw on the news tonight that a child molester went before a judge and the judge gave him an innocent verdict and let him walk out the door with no punishment, we would be out of our minds with anger. We definitely would not say he was a good judge! Why? Because we are made in the image of God, and we have an innate sense of justice. We want life to be fair. We want evil to be punished and good to be rewarded.
I see this God-given sense of justice in my kids. When someone takes something out of one of their rooms without asking, or says something really hurtful, they run to me to tell me how they’ve been wronged. If I look at them, shrug my shoulders and say, “so what?” they would be outraged. They would question my love and concern for their well-being. Their understanding of my love for them is wrapped up in the knowledge that I am looking out for them and that I am here to protect them. I’m going to try to judge fairly between them and set things right the best I know how. Of course, I don’t always get it right. I don’t always see everything. I might even make the wrong judgment or be too strict or too lax in my punishment because of my own blind spots, sin or weakness. Solomon sought God’s wisdom so that He could rule and judge fairly among His people. We too need God’s wisdom to understand justice and get it right, because our Heavenly Father always gets it right. He sees every injustice. He sees when we’ve been wronged and when we’ve wronged someone else.
The ultimate demonstration of God’s justice is displayed at the cross. Because God is a righteous and just God, the penalty for our sins had to be paid. There was no way around it. So, God in His mercy, sent His own sin to pay for our sin. He willingly and lovingly humbled Himself, came to this earth and suffered our punishment so that justice could be met. And all of those who put their faith in Jesus for salvation are no longer subject to the punishment of sin and death. Justice was met by our Savior.
The enemy is always at work trying to cast a shadow over the goodness of God. He points to the evil and injustice in the world and the pain in our own stories and says, “It’s not fair. God’s not fair.” He calls into question the character of God, and says a good God would not allow the world to be so complex, so difficult, so deplete of equity and justice. Let’s not agree with our enemy or call into question God’s character. Instead, let’s declare like the Psalmist, “The LORD is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in Him” (Ps. 92:15). There is justice that comes now, and for reasons only God understands, there are some things that will not be set right until He returns. Scripture says God’s ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts, but He promises to work all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Nothing is escaping His notice. He is coming back, and the just Judge who reigns over all the earth will put an end to every injustice and make all things right.
As image-bearers of Christ, as long as we live in this world, we are called to always be on the side of what is good, right and just according to God’s holy Word. The Bible is our guide as we navigate through the complexities of this life. The Holy Spirit is with us, guiding us and empowering us to carry out God’s justice in the world. The widow’s story that I spoke of earlier ended wonderfully! She rejoiced as she spoke of God raising up workers from IJM who came to her aid to fight for justice for her and her children. The Church has always been God’s plan A for bringing His redemption to the world, and we must never lose sight of that. Proverbs 31:8 says, “Speak up for those who have no voice, for the justice of all who are dispossessed. Speak up, judge righteously, and defend the cause of the oppressed and needy.” May God empower us in these days to love Him, one another and those around us in a way that brings Him much glory!
Like many of you, I don’t want to go back to normal after this. I want God to refine me. I want God to refine the Alliance and to do whatever He wants to do in us and through us. One of the things I haven’t been able to get off my mind comes from Matthew 5:16. This scripture has always been the core motivation for me and my calling with the Alliance. Here are a few things I think are important for us to remember about the work of social justice, or as I prefer to call it, Biblical justice.
“In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”
Matthew 5:16
Matt. 5:16 is an important passage for those of us involved with justice and mercy ministries to treasure in our hearts. It speaks to what our deepest passion and greatest motivation ought to be. While we earnestly desire to meet temporal needs and solve physical problems, our supreme desire is for people to know and love God.
I have found that it’s easy to drift from this core value when we live in a society that embraces good works but wants people to keep their religious beliefs to themselves. In the nonprofit world it’s not always politically correct, or financially beneficial in some cases, to keep these priorities straight. It also might mean that you are not taken as seriously or praised by certain groups. But all believers at some point find themselves having to ask the question that Paul asked in Galatians 1:10, “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
I don’t think this means that we have to have a Christian symbol or Bible verse on everything we do. But it means that we keep straight in our minds and hearts what we’re doing and why. It means that we don’t give way to the philosophy of humanism that permeates the culture. It means that we understand that for people to thrive and flourish they need God-empowerment, not self-empowerment.
As for the Freedom Church Alliance, we want to support everyone doing good, but our deepest levels of support will be behind ministries and organizations that share the priority of building the Kingdom of God and helping people physically and spiritually. This is because we care not just that people have a better life in the here and now, but that they are saved and live with God forever.
May the body of Christ be bold and distinct in these days. May we love people enough to make it our highest aim for them to know our gracious and loving Savior Jesus Christ who can do more for them than any human - far more than they could ever ask, think or imagine (Eph. 3:20).
With Love,
Leigh
All it took for Cassie Noel to have a sweeping impact on the girls and staff at the Krause Children’s Center was a love for kids, some basketball knowledge, and a willing heart.
Last year Cassie received a last minute invitation from her friend Maria Tyra to attend a volunteer training at a place called the Krause Children’s Center in Katy, TX. Maria had been introduced to the center through attending a GoBox class hosted by the Freedom Church Alliance. She quickly took to Krause and thought that Cassie might as well.
Cassie learned all about the girls who live at Krause, the struggles and harsh circumstances that they’ve lived through, the hard road of healing, and the staff who serves them each day. Then she had an idea.
She's always had a deep love for the game of basketball. Cassie coaches her own kids’ teams and has thrived in that position. She also loves kids - especially kids who have lived disadvantaged lives. Why couldn’t she bring these two great loves together here at Krause and see what happens?
Thus began the building of a basketball program so the girls at the Krause Center could play in the Kingdom League in Houston. She worked to make sure that the team was fully covered with scholarships and her community rallied to provide basketball shoes and all the team’s equipment needs.
The program quickly took off! The girls loved this outlet, this gift, this team. The girls were told they had to earn their place at practice and at each game - they eagerly stepped up to the plate. Soon after, the staff at Krause shared with Cassie that the girls’ behavior and performance in school was improving dramatically. Basketball was all they talked about! The girls who were regularly practicing and playing started to grow in character and skill. Cassie, as with any gifted coach, turned basketball practice into life practice. Through this game she was teaching the girls life lessons about teamwork, self confidence, trust and empowerment.
Those who weren’t on the team wanted in. To compensate for the high demand of a spot on the basketball court, Krause formed a cheer team. The girls who joined the cheer team started practicing regularly and started performing and cheering at the basketball team’s games. Once again the girls were thriving on their new team by having to earn their spot, and the Krause Center felt a refreshing of spirits.
Staff shared with Cassie that these teams have brought a whole new life to the Krause Center. Not only were the girls dedicated to their new favorite pastime, but the staff was attending games to support and cheer the girls on. Cassie and Maria rallied their family and friends to attend the games and cheer the girls on.
“This is one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. This is clearly what God wanted to happen,” Cassie reflects as the season comes to an end. With the changing of the seasons, she is planning to start two volleyball teams at Krause and the girls are looking forward with boatloads of anticipation.
I share this story with you because often we feel overwhelmed with the issue of human trafficking, and we wonder what we can do to make a difference. Demonstrating the love of Jesus by showing up and caring is perhaps one of the most powerful ways to intervene in the life of someone who has faced severe trauma and in need of hope. You never know what can happen when you say yes, when you bring your gifts to the table and let the Lord lead.
“...let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” 1 John 3:18
Allison Sims
Last month, many of you joined us for a 21-day prayer and fasting journey. We did this because we wanted to dedicate the Alliance to the Lord, seek His face, and ask Him to use us mightily to do great works of justice and mercy in 2019.
I woke up one morning, during the fast, with the words of Daniel 11:32 ringing in my head, “the people who know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.” Another translation puts it this way, “the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.” I was so excited and invigorated by this phrase and have been praying it over the Freedom Church Alliance ever since.
As I began to research this passage, I learned that this prophecy was fulfilled in part by the Maccabees, who were a small band of devoted God-followers, who attacked and defeated the forces of Antiochus Epiphanies over and over again. Antiochus was a God-hater who desecrated the holy temple of God. He even went so far as to sacrifice a pig to Zeus on the altar in the temple. The Maccabees took action leading to many victories, and their exploits became legendary.
But there is a principle here that goes beyond the prophetic fulfillment by the Maccabees. Throughout the Bible we see mighty exploits done by the people of God:
“And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies” (Hebrews 11:32-34).
Daniel 11:32 teaches us that the knowledge of God combined with the strength that comes from God is the most powerful and enduring force against the evil in the world. As believers, when we see what is sacred to God desecrated all around us, we cannot just sit idly by. The great preacher Charles Spurgeon once said: A church that does not exist to reclaim heathenism, to fight evil, to destroy error, to put down falsehood, a church that does not exist to take the side of the poor, to denounce injustice and to hold up righteousness, is a church that has no right to be. Not for yourself, O church, do you exist, any more than Christ existed for Himself.
And so, may our fight against human trafficking and our zeal to see every soul set free be tied to the wonderful knowledge that our God is a strong Redeemer who fights for the vulnerable and the powerless. May we stand in awe of His wisdom and love the light and goodness that emanates from His holiness. May we love His Word and stand firm on His truth - declaring it boldly. May we listen and obey as He commands us to “Provide justice for the needy and fatherless; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute. Rescue the poor and needy; save them from the power of the wicked” (Ps. 82:3-4). May we be like the great heroes in the faith and walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7).
Many have asked, “Why the Freedom Church Alliance?” My reply is, because The Church has a unique role to play in the fight against human trafficking and all of the many issues connected to it. There is a blessing and power that comes upon us as we unite and stand shoulder to shoulder. Individually it is up to each one of us to pray, abide and make war with our own sin. We cannot give the enemy a foothold. When the individual parts of the body are healthy, then the whole will be healthy. As we seek the Lord, He will show us, through His Spirit, how to use what’s in our hand (our gifts, talents, influence, resources) to strike a blow against this evil.
Our courage in the face of incredible odds and the rising tide of wickedness will come from knowing our God intimately. Not just knowing about Him, but living in relationship with Him and experiencing Him in the day to day.
Jeremiah 9:23-24 says, “This is what the LORD says: The wise man must not boast in his wisdom; the strong man must not boast in his strength, the wealthy man must not boast in his wealth, But the one who boasts should boast in this, that he understands and knows Me – that I am Yahweh, showing faithful love, justice, and righteousness on the earth, for I delight in these things.”
My prayer is that we continue in the unity of John 17 and press on in 2019 to be strong in the Lord (Eph. 6:10) and to make our aim to know God and make Him known. May God position YOU this year for mighty exploits. The good news is that we don’t have to figure out what to do on our own; our work is to abide and to just keep being faithful to take the next step. He leads us step by step. We just have to say “Yes, Lord. Whatever you have for me today Lord. I’m at your beck and call.”
These are exciting days! I believe 2019 will be a year of many mighty exploits being done by God’s people for the Kingdom of God. I’m so grateful to be part of God’s family and His unfolding story in the world. I’m so glad we’re all in this together!
With Lots of Love,
Leigh Kohler
This week many of us were completely outraged - first of all by the fact that robot brothels even exist in the world - and secondly that our city was being targeted as a host city for such a business. One day this week I called a friend for prayer because besides the robot brothel ordeal, I was confronted by two other very troublesome realities that are dark beyond belief. There was a heaviness in my soul. As we prayed, my friend reminded me of something very important that I want to pass along to someone else who may be feeling a bit hopeless by the condition of our culture.
In the fight against human trafficking, there is a temptation to get overly preoccupied with the darkness. I’m sure Satan enjoys the attention, and the subtle danger is that we begin to unconsciously ascribe too much power to the enemy and the dark forces at work in the world. John 1:5 says, “Light (Jesus) shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it.” This means that though sin is disastrous and has unleashed so much gloom and pain and perversion, it will not be triumphant. The darkness will never be able to snuff out or overtake the light. We are fighting from a place of victory. The enemy knows his ship is going down, and we are with Jesus on a rescue mission to get as many people off that ship as possible. Jesus stretched out his arms and let himself be nailed to a cross so that anyone and everyone who believes on His name will know what it means to be rescued from the kingdom of darkness and brought into the kingdom of His marvelous light.
My friend’s challenge to me was, for every minute I’m listening, reading or confronting the darkness in some way, I spend double the amount of time worshipping, praying, reading and meditating on the Word - focusing my gaze on Jesus.
It’s also important to remember that there is wisdom we need to apply in this battle. Scripture tells us to be, “shrewd as serpents, but innocent as doves” (Matt. 10:16). We are also instructed to, “take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them” (Eph. 5:11). This means there are issues The Church must face and discuss - like robot brothels, pornography, prostitution - and at the same time guard our hearts and minds so as not to have our hearts stained by the world (James 1:27). The enemy would love to take us out and render us useless and ineffective. This is another important reason for keeping our gaze on Jesus – so that we can know His will and walk in discernment as we go(Romans 12:1-2).
May God help us be immovable in our belief that we gain the victory as we set our gaze and affections on the might, the power, the goodness, the glory, the justice, the mercy, the love, the grace and the beauty of our God! This is our protection from the enemy, this is where we find our confidence and courage, this is where the daily victories will be secured.
I have asked one thing from the LORD; it is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, gazing on the beauty of the LORD and seeking Him in His temple. For He will conceal me in His shelter in the day of adversity; He will hide me under the cover of His tent: He will set me high on a rock. Then my head will be high above my enemies who surround me.– Psalm 27:4-5
Leigh Kohler
Executive Director
Last spring I had the opportunity to attend and speak at a breakout session at the National Center for Sexual Exploitation Global Summit in Washington D.C.. Leaders from organizations all over the U.S. and the globe gathered to learn, collaborate and discuss strategies to put an end to all forms of sexual exploitation. Sex trafficking, prostitution and pornography are all heads of the same monster and are destroying lives.
I was particularly grieved to hear from one of the speakers about the date rape epidemic happening on college campuses. She gave several examples, from disturbing slogans on T-shirts and banners hanging from frat houses, to very specific stories of girls being raped while unconscious. In one particular instance, guys put special bracelets on girls as they came in the door of a frat party as a signal for their drinks to get spiked with a date rape drug so that they could have sex with them later while they were unconscious. While shocking and disturbing, this is only the tip of the iceberg. The perversions coming down the pipeline are nothing short of frightening and demonic.
When you look beneath the surface of this growing violence and abuse, you find that we are facing a porn epidemic that is unlike anything the world has ever seen. What’s more disturbing is how violent and perverted porn has become, and yet how widespread and accepted it is. We are only just beginning to see the effects of a generation that has grown up being assaulted and infused by the porn industry. Research shows that the average age a kid sees porn for the first time is 11. According to a survey by Covenant Eyes, 93% of boys and 62% of girls are exposed to Internet porn before the age of 18. Shame keeps many kids from saying anything, and as they keep watching and get in deeper and deeper, that destructive seed gets nurtured and grows into something very destructive. Kid on kid assault is increasing all over the world as kids act out on siblings or neighbors what they see in porn. Porn trains boys to see girls as sex objects rather than people to be valued and treated with honor and respect. And while not every person who looks at porn is going to act out in violence, what has become very apparent is that we are seeing the devastating effects of a pornified culture.
The Church must awake to the enemy’s schemes and sound the alarm so that we can take seriously the high calling we’ve been given to walk worthy of the calling we’ve received in Christ Jesus. The enemy is devouring hearts, but God is coming after them to redeem and restore. You and I must not lose sight of the spiritual battle we are in and the truth that Jesus is the solution to every evil in the world.
Perhaps some of the most lasting grief for me has come from watching even those so adamantly speak out against the effects of pornography, remain so blindly adherent to the philosophy that opens to door to its use. I can’t get out of my mind the tentacles of Satan’s teaching, his false philosophy, on “freedom”. This root is not being touched. Many who hate the porn industry, trafficking and other forms of exploitation, at the same time adhere to moral relativism. Many in academia applaud women standing up for their self-worth, while teaching students that there is no such thing as absolute truth and that right and wrong are subjective. The recklessness and danger of abandoning all logic and truth, blind to the connection between this philosophy and the evil and oppression in the world, is tragic. Underneath the reckless abandon is the false belief that moral relativism produces “freedom” for all. People believe that sexual “liberation” and the pursuit of pleasure at any expense leads to freedom. Nothing could be further from the truth. Rom. 6:16. That pervasive lie, from the Father of lies, is unleashing all sorts of hell on earth.
It is a troubled history repeating itself. The book of Judges is the history of God’s people neglecting God’s Word and turning away from His commands to do what they want in the name of “freedom”. Judges 21:25 says, “In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.” God kept sending judges like Deborah and Gideon to rescue His people from their enemies and lead them back to the Lord. But the downward spiral continues, and by the end of the book something grotesque happens (see Judges 19). The truth is that everyone doing what is right in their own eyes does not lead to greater freedom and happiness, it leads to the exploitation, destruction and oppression of people. Proverbs 12:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” In other words, not every path leads to God or to life. Lots of people are on the path of their truth, their choosing, but the Bible says if it’s not God’s path, in the end it will lead to death. This is weighty. There is too much at stake to embarrassed or afraid of speaking God’s truth in love. Souls are at stake, and lives are being crushed by the devastation of sin.
The Church has always been God’s plan A for redemption in the world. The Church has by no means been perfect. We are saints who were former sinners, who still have the capacity to be deceived and walk in the flesh. But it is important to understand that in the wake of The Church what you find are orphanages, hospitals, schools, freedom fighters and much more. This is because of the Spirit of God who indwells His people and fills them with love, compassion and a passion to see righteousness and justice fill the earth.
In the time of Rome, perversion and depravity was the norm. The Romans valued pleasure above all else, and they put no restrictions on their appetites. Excavated household items like bowls, cups and utensils, reveal drawings of all kind of sexual acts, many very obscene. Pedophilia was common. Nero had a young boy, named Sporus, castrated and then married him. This was not an uncommon practice in that day. Seriously, anything went, no matter how barbaric and grotesque, and sadly the women, men and children who were the sexual objects of the day, suffered immensely. When the Christians came along, they had entirely different values on sex and marriage. Hebrews 13:4 says, “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.” Paul told the believers, “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God” (I Thess. 4:3-5). He also reminded them that their bodies were “a temple of the Holy Spirit” (I Cor. 6:19). Many of the early Christians were coming out of that lifestyle, which is why Paul talks so much about sexual immorality and the need to flee from it and pursue purity. The Holy Spirit lives in us and we’ve been called to walk in the light and in purity. We’ve been called to love one another and lift people up, not use them to get our desires met. As Christians, we believe that every women, man and child has inherent value and dignity because they are made in the image of God (Gen. 1:27).
We must heed the warnings of the apostle Paul to not be deceived by the many false teachings and philosophies of the world. In America, as I’m sure elsewhere, we tend to bottle up things that are evil and package them as light. Scripture says the days are going to get darker before Jesus returns. We are not to put our hope in anything but the Lord. The enemy counterfeits everything God does. We must be committed to doing things God’s way, and to know God’s way we must be men and women of the Word, cherishing God’s every word and holding it close to our heart. He is leading the way to life and happiness, or as God puts it, to “love life and see good days” (1 Pet. 3:10).
The good news is that Scripture says that where sin abounds, grace abounds more (Romans 5:20). We have the power, through the Holy Spirit, to overcome sin. Many men (and women) who have been in bondage to porn and sexual immorality are walking in freedom. Men are telling their stories and encouraging others to walk in freedom. Bringing light into the darkness. It will take a commitment to fight and rigorously renew, re-train, the mind (Rom. 12:1-2), and it will take accountability (James 5:16). We cannot walk in real freedom alone. Let’s encourage each other to not grow weary doing good. Let’s keep fighting the good fight. Let’s keep encouraging one another to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Heb. 12:1). Let’s continue to fight oppression and injustice with spiritual weapons like prayer, obedience, and grace. Let’s be a voice of truth is a world of lies. Light in an ever-darker world. May the Word of God, not empty philosophies, be the “lamp unto our feet and the light unto our path.”
You are so loved by God, and He wants you and I to walk in abundant life today. Let’s press on!
Just a couple of months ago, our great city was turned upside down by the arrival of Hurricane Harvey. Time has passed, but the images and implications of Harvey are still with us and will perhaps be engrained in our minds forever. The images of fellow Houstonians, thousands of them, emerging from the floodwaters from rescue boats, trucks and helicopters were overwhelming. Harvey hit both rich and poor and impacted every stream of society.
On the Monday after Hurricane Harvey, I tore myself away from the news to take some much-needed time to pray for my city. My mind was filled with images of my husband, sons, first aid responders, and even the Cajun Navy! My heart grew tender thinking about them refusing to do nothing in the midst of danger, panic and fear. I had been watching with wide eyes and a full heart as good men (and women) were risking their own safety to rescue people stranded in flooding cars or hanging on to tree branches and street signs. People saw the damage and the needs, and immediately took action.
Our boys were becoming men right before our eyes, and we blessed them to go and help because the time and opportunity had come for them to take their place as good men in this city who - in that moment of truth - chose to do the right thing.
God used Hurricane Harvey to remind me, confirm in me, the truth that men were wired to defend and protect. This was the heart and soul of the City of Defenders campaign. City of Defenders was launched by our Alliance at the beginning of 2016 as a response to the demand for sex trafficking and exploitation in our city and in cities around the world. It is a call to men to acknowledge that if systemic sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking are to ever end, more men, in all sectors of society, must rise up and use their spheres of influence to affect change.
What I did not see coming was another kind of devastating storm that had been brewing and was about to make landfall. Another “Harvey” emerged in the news, which led to unprecedented revelations of sexual abuse and harassment. The Harvey Weinstein story sparked the #metoo campaign on social media that suddenly provided a space for hundreds and thousands of women to gain the courage to speak up and tell their own stories of painful abuse. The act of sharing stories and realizing how many other women have had similar experiences was cathartic and powerful for many survivors. Yet in all likelihood, it barely scratched the surface. The reality is that there are masses of women and young girls and boys around the world who are silently drowning in sexual abuse and violence - and their voices are silent.
For many men, the revelation that their wives, their sisters, their mothers and their daughters and friends were victims of sexual harassment, abuse and exploitation was deeply shocking. There was a palpable sadness, with the question left hanging, “How did I not know?” Likewise, you wouldn’t know it just from looking at the surface, but Houston, like every city in the world, is full of sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking. There are women in our backyards being sold in brothels disguised as “massage parlors.” There are traffickers using social media to woo and manipulate high school girls right from under our noses. There is an epidemic of pornography addiction unlike anything the world has ever seen. Kid on kid violence has escalated because of the horrific violent pornographic scenes they are watching that they then act out. There are thousands of men buying sex off of backpage daily. Over a year ago, a father was arrested for selling his own four-year-old daughter off of Craigslist. The ad was titled, “Play with Daddy’s little girl.” And while it is easy to point fingers at such extremes of moral deprivation - at that total stripping away of all dignity and respect - at what point, when it is no longer so extreme, do we tolerate it? At what point do we become complicit?
The Church needs to be engaged and leading these conversations. Change must begin with us because the truth is that pornography addiction and the victimization of women is alive and well in the Church, and this should not be. Sexual sin is so grievous because it perverts what was meant to be good and makes it something damaging. It starts off in disguise, in what is deemed culturally acceptable. But somewhere along the way, courage becomes cowardice, sacrifice turns to selfishness, protection turns into oppression, and the consequences are spiritually and emotionally devastating - like the force of a relentless hurricane.
The goods news we find in scripture is that, “Where sin abounds, grace abounds more” (Romans 5:20). Because of Christ, there is hope and there is healing. My prayer and hope for Houston is that in the aftermath of these storms we would do things differently and rebuild a better city - one without an underbelly. One with nothing to hide or be ashamed of. One where men are defenders and protectors of women and children, not just in boats, but in the way they refuse to participate in jokes or words that deny the intrinsic value of women, or tolerate women and little girls being made objects of lust and abuse in pornography.
Men of God have a unique and powerful opportunity in the world right now to rise up and speak out against what is happening. In a Christ-exalted culture, the oppressed are defended and lifted up. Women are honored and treated with dignity. Let’s build a perpetual shelter of protection in our city that says we honor the women in our city, and it’s never okay to buy or sell a woman or child off the street or online; it’s never okay to talk about women and girls as sexual objects in the locker room; it’s never ok to stay silent when you know what just happened was wrong. This is about following hard after Jesus. It’s about our deepest moral values. It’s about those men who refuse to do nothing.
Thankfully, these men exist. But many more heroes are needed to aid the devastation that isn’t as obvious to see with the naked eye - or that we don’t want to see. We need a culture change, and this will mean letting change begin in our own hearts. We need to let our grief and brokenness lead to repentance and a deep moral and spiritual revival throughout our nation.
This can begin here in Houston. It can start with us. Let us pray that our city will be known, not as a hub for strip clubs and sexual exploitation, but instead as a city where its men will brave a storm and launch a mission to rescue, help and protect the honor and dignity of every man, woman and child. More men of courage are needed at this hour!
Written by Leigh Kohler
Executive Director
