Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we’ve come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the “unalienable Rights” of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.”

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we’ve come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.

We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.

We cannot turn back.

There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, “When will you be satisfied?” We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: “For Whites Only.” We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until “justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.”¹

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest — quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of “interposition” and “nullification” — one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; “and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.”²

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

And this will be the day — this will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning:

My country ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.

Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim’s pride,

From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.

And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that:

Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

                Free at last! Free at last!

                Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!³

George Bernard Shaw wrote about his desire to be empowered to live life when he wrote:

This is true joy in life:  being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one…Being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy…”

Make it your goal to call out the potential that exists in those you influence.  God didn’t make a mistake when He created them and He didn’t make a mistake when He created you!

What do I believe is impossible to do in my field…but if it could be done would fundamentally change my business?

Pursuing a picture of a preferred future energizes everyone with at least one leadership bone in their body.  The challenge? Vision almost always outpaces the capital needed to pull it off.  Don’t sit back and wait for a better set of circumstances.  Your calling is too important to back down from just because it presents a challenge that you can’t afford to solve.  Besides, what you are called to do always precedes how you are going to do it.

—-
My friends Casey Graham and Joe Sangl have written an important book specifically for church leaders that will help you navigate and prepare for the challenges/opportunities that are ahead.  Don’t just “hope” to generate a culture of generosity at your church.  Embrace the tools needed to see that culture become a reality.  Here is a link to purchase Funded and Free. Do it today!

That favor has produced a lot of things.  One of them being more than our fair share of criticism.

Nobody likes to be criticized and some handle it much better than others.  I’ve been blessed to have some great leaders speak into my life on the subject. (One conversation actually turned into a blog post from Pastor Perry Noble that you can read here.)

Since there are already such great resources available – my point is not in helping you deal with criticism. My point is this…

Has God called you to do that which you are doing (whether in the church world or not)?
Are you being obedient to the calling that He has on your life?

If fulfilling your calling causes you to be criticized.   The Cause is Worth the Criticism

Perry Noble has been very influential in my life over the past three years.  When he told me they were doing a leadership conference at Newspring – I knew it would be a can’t miss event!

It’s one day…six speakers…and only $99 until Friday!

Mark Driscoll
Jud Wilhite
Judah Smith
Francis Chan
Steven Furtick
Perry Noble

I know Pastors Steven and Perry very well and the two of them alone make this thing worth your time.  I met Pastor Jud last year in Vegas and he is the real deal!  I could go on and on.  Bottom line – don’t miss this thing.  sign up now and I will see you there.

So…get registered…and we will see you on September 16th!

Pastor JR,
Message today was right on. I want to share my story about giving…I have been a tither (10%) since I accepted Christ in 1955 – even though I had three small children and lost my husband only 1 1/2 month’s after I accepted Christ.  I have never become wealthy, but my needs have always been met. When I get my Social Security and retirement checks, the tithe comes out first.
If we put God first in our finances, he promises to meet our needs. Maybe not all our wants, but all our needs. It just seems to make the rest of the money’s go further. At least that is what I have found to be true over 54 years of trusting the Lord. Mal 3:10 says, Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there may be food in my house, and test me now with this, says the Lord, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.  This is the message I heard back then and it hasn’t changed over the years. God is faithful to His word. When things get tough, He always has made a way, it would be hard to not trust Him after over 54 years of His being faithful to His word.  He always has been and He always will be.

Just about all sabotage is self-sabotage.

We don’t get forced to eat that cookie, we choose to. And so the diet is ended.

Marketing self-sabotage is fascinating to watch and understand. Consider the college application: it’s primarily an opportunity for teenagers who aren’t sure of where they want to go to undercut their chances by exposing their uncertainty. The lizard brain, the voice in the back of the head that wants security and safety–it’s not eager to go to a college that might be ‘too hard’ or ‘too good’. The easy thing to do is to scale back the effort, not do what works, but do what feels right instead.

Or consider the way we resist opportunities to lead, to connect, to do work that matters. We don’t resist because we’re not capable of it… we resist because if our marketing fails, if we don’t get the job or earn the trust, then we’re off the hook. No promises made, which means no promises to keep.

We know more than enough about marketing now. We know how to craft a story that will spread, we know how to find and lead tribes. The thing we have trouble with is making the commitment to do it even when it’s frightening and difficult.

“If God gives you something you can do, why in God’s name wouldn’t you do it?”

God knew what He was doing when He gave you gifts and talents.  Don’t be afraid to use them.