The C4ME Blog

by Jodie Walton III, Office Manager

Each day I wake up in my three-level townhouse (unless I'm out of town), in my full-size bed, with my 19-inch TV in my bedroom. Some of you may be reading this and saying to yourself, "That's it?" Well, yes. I think that being in America we get VERY spoiled. Things that are really luxuries are deemed as necessities in our culture. We have gone from people who scrapped to survive to a people who do everything in excess. We use the most resources out of any country on the planet. And it's because of this mentality that we (the United States) have dug ourselves into a $ 14 trillion dollar hole that will take years to get out of.

I'm saying all of this to make you reflect on what you think/know to be a necessity in life. The "American Dream" is no longer an innocent one. It once was just the land of opportunity and is now a place of get what you can, while you can get it. And if you can get it, you find a way to get it even if it's illegal. The United States is a statistical anomaly. According to a study done by Harvard University and the Asian Development Bank, 6.7% of the world's population holds degrees; only about half of the world has running water in their place of residence; and about 25 percent (1 in 4 people) of the world has NO access to electricity. These are just a few things that we as Americans see as something that we either need to or are supposed to have. There are countries where people live on just $125 for the month.

I urge you to step outside of your existence and think about how you live. Are you taking for granted your luxuries and making them out to be necessities? Not sure? Take a trip to another country less fortunate than your existence and you’ll begin to see how silly we are when we complain about something not being on sale, the McDonald’s drive-thru being too slow, or the A/C not working in your place of residence. Always remember that there are MILLIONS of people much less fortunate than you, sometimes they are next door.

Jodie Walton is a 2006 graduate of Liberty with a degree
in Audio Broadcasting. He has been serving the Center4ME
as Office Manager for 3 years. He is a native of Long Island,
NY, is the director of Bridging The Gap Urban Ministries, and
hosts the "Gospel Xcursion" Sunday nights from 7p-11p on
90.9 The Light. Visit him on Facebook.

by John Swann, Associate Director

This poem speaks to what happens on a regular basis in today’s society. We all wear masks because there are different masks that we need wear. We have many hours working to craft our mask.  We wear the mask every day.  The mask usually always has a smile regardless of our true circumstance.  Is this something that we do as believers?  We grin to cover up real feelings and lie to get out of situations that we cannot deal with?  We often pay a debt to be crafty or stylish, but is it really worth it?  We have torn and bleeding hearts and yet we do smile. No one knows the pain and agony that is felt inside the soul.  We wear the mask to mask the true reality of our current situation.

Dunbar, just like the average believer wants to be free, clear and honest, but does not want to be made a spectacle of.  That’s why he suggests, “Why should the world be overwise, in counting all our tears and sighs?” unless we wear the mask people will count our tears and sighs.  This is something that the mask covers and stops the world from seeing. He further suggests, “Let them only see us while we wear the mask.”  How many of us are wearing a mask while we are hurting inside? 

Choosing to smile is something that most will do.  Alas, it is Christ who hears our cries and only him who receives them. Dunbar speaks of rapture and being drawn to Christ.  We sing which is often a form of expression in the African American community.  It is through song that we worship and praise a mighty God who has brought us a mighty long way.  Finally, Dunbar speaks about the journey and the mile being long.  Through the middle passage, slavery, civil rights, Jim Crow, segregation, integration and now to the White House some people still wear masks, in spite of their socio-economic status.

Although African Americans have had to wear the mask, Christians have had to wear the mask as well.  On jobs that “black ball” you because of your faith, in the school systems where talking about faith is not a real option, even in some churches we wear the mask over and over again. 

Today, I plead with you take off the mask and allow your face to breath.  Allow people to see the person that you really are.   You can fool a whole village, but you cannot fool God.  God knows the person that is under the mask, the person you are trying to be and the person that you are when you look in the mirror at home.   I suggest this, allow God to comfort your sighs and tears, let Him rock you and comfort you and allow your true beauty to show, TAKE OFF THE MASK!

by Daveta Saunders, Associate Director

The other day while getting ready for work this quote kept going through my head, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” This quote in sum is saying; when your situation is difficult, complicated, or maybe horrific, do your best to make it better, and to look for something positive despite what may appear negative.  Internally, I said to myself, “I like lemonade, but should I like making lemonade based upon the underlying message of this quote?”  Hence, should I like being in complicated situations? So, after, pondering this question, I came to the conclusion, “Yes, I should like making lemonade!”

I should like making lemonade because I know that the only way that I can even go through the process of making lemonade is by trusting God and totally having my strength in Him. This process calls for one to take heed to Proverbs 16:3-4 (NLT),” Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed. The Lord has made everything for his own purposes, even the wicked for a day of disaster”. One also has to be like Paul who definitely was in a situation in which he was given lemons, but he made lemonade when he wrote to the Philippians.  Paul offered this word of encouragement in Philippians 4:12-13 (NLT), “I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ,who gives me strength.”

So, you may be having difficulty in a few of your classes this semester, or you may be in a difficult situation in which you want to give up. I implore you to have faith and seek God for wisdom on how to handle your issues. Most importantly, consider your adversity as another opportunity for God to get the glory. Also, if you do decide to make lemonade out of a situation that has given you lemons, be sure to ask God for strength to complete the process. As, 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NLT) addresses how God’s grace is all you need because God’s power works best in weakness.

Daveta Saunders is a 2004 graduate of Liberty and 
received her Master's from LU in 2007. She is an author and
hosts a radio program called "The TakeOver," which airs
every Friday night from 10PM-1AM on the campus radio station,
90.9FM The Light.

by Dammy Onafowokan, Administrative Assistant

Those of you who are avid gamers of the Xbox generation are familiar with the term “Achievements.” These are basically rewards you receive for completing certain tasks in a game, such as collecting five widgets, completing the tutorial level or making it through a stage without being detected. Whatever shape or form achievements take, they give the player extra incentives to complete tasks that may or may not add to the experience. Your achievements can be viewed by your friends and other players via an online profile. Call it “digital bragging rights,” if you will.  Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter also use a similar system for achievements for posting your high score from Bejeweled, broadcasting the new farm animal you acquired or highlighting your current location. All these things are done not only to give you a warm and fuzzy feeling about accomplishing some small task or checking in at some cool (or mundane) location, but to entice your friends, family and followers to perhaps try to beat your score, raise more crops than you, or dethrone you as the mayor of the local Starbucks.

Recent studies have shown that now more than ever before we are an incentive-based society. “What’s wrong with incentives?” you might ask. After all, isn’t a little motivation a good thing?  Of course it is, but a problem begins to emerge where incentives become expected for things that would normally be done out of a sense of duty or responsibility.

Growing up, I didn’t receive an allowance for making my bed, or doing the dishes, or cleaning my room, or mowing the lawn. I did those things because it was expected of me as a responsible contributor to my family.  With society training us to expect a reward for every little thing we do, do we run the risk of needing additional incentives just to do the right thing? Don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe that we will wake up tomorrow in a world in which a young man or woman would demand kudos for helping a senior citizen across the street, but if we have reached a point in society where we even have to incentivize fun (because having fun for the sake of fun is so 2010), what does the future hold? We are constantly plugged in via our laptops, tablets, netbooks and phones to our own personal cheerleading squad that comments on and applauds (or mocks) our every utterance.

So I ask you, where do you draw the line on incentives? Do you still believe that doing good is its own reward? What does the Bible have to say about doing the right thing just for the sake of it? James 4:17 tells us  “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.” It is important for us as Christians to remember that we have a God given instructions to strive to do that which is right at all times.  I think that all social media taps into a little bit of the narcissistic nature of mankind. Don’t get me wrong, I use Facebook just as much as the next person, and I find it to be a great way to communicate with family and friends who are far away and also to keep updated on the latest goings on. But I try to remain conscious of the fact that my identity should not be tied up in how people perceive me on a social network. My self worth should not be tied to how many “friends” or “followers” I have or how many people commented on the cool thing I just posted. These may sound like obvious things to most people reading this, but just take a moment to think of all the bragging celebrities and the competition to have the most Twitter followers. Then think of all the people that idolize those celebrities. I think you get the picture. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have widgets to collect and achievements to unlock.

by John Swann, Associate Director

You may may have just got back to LibertyU after spring break and your mind I’m sure is still on break. You may have even served others in a third world country. Wherever you ventured to spring break is fine, I am going to ask you to do one thing. Can you please share your break with the Center4ME? I know some of you may be thinking why this request?

Most persons while at Liberty will not get a chance to have an adventurous spring break, so give us a chance to live vicariously through you. It’s easy just go on Facebook and "like" the Center4ME then post your spring break story on our wall. Doesn’t matter how long it is, just post it so we can all live through you on spring break

Again this is a small request. Just to let the world know about your experience. In the scriptures it talks about letting the redeemed of the Lord say so! I am challenging you to share your spring break story. I know it may have been all fun or all ministry. No matter what the story is, I know God can use it. This is also a great opportunity for you to post pics from spring break and allow others to see what the Lord has done in your life over the course of one week.

John Swann comes to us from Paterson, NJ by way of Hampton, VA.
He is a 2004 graduate of Liberty and is husband to the former Daniela Flood.
In addition to his work in the Center4ME, he also serves as pastor of Ebenezer
AME Church in Roanoke, VA. Visit him on Facebook.