by I-Heart.org

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Are We All In This Together ??

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by I-Heart.org

by I-Heart.org

Location :: Chicago, IL
Read Time :: 4 minutes

The much anticipated debut of The I-Heart Revolution documentary rocked streets and cities around the world.  While I sat at the AMC River East Cinema in Chicago, thousands had experienced the film only an hour earlier.  SMS messages flooded my wife’s handset, telling of how great and inspiring the film was.  The usual popcorn crunch and soda splashes were prevalent.  Mystery swirled in our minds as we awaited the countdown on the screen.  For a second, it felt like a prelude to New Years Eve, but then again, the United Crew are always up to insanely creative exhibitions.


So there we sat, waiting for the syndicated launch of a friend’s passion project, just minutes away from global distribution.  Just like that, a simple thought that had leaked into Joel Houston’s brain (somewhere in the world) and is now complete.  It is being broadcast to 500 cinemas throughout the United States and Canada.  The questions I had were:

1. What was the catalyst to this thought’s social replication?
2. How does a person capitalize on a thought to change something?
3. What was the reaction to a thought of this caliber?
4. How many times had this thought knocked on his door?

While I watched a host of United crew members and band members travel throughout the world, my mind kept rewinding to how the idea grew legs?

During the film, I listened and read quotes from John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., William Tyndale, William Booth and heaps of others. These quotes – while inspiring and engaging – kept reminding me of the importance of a team. Each one of these social justice catalysts grew a team of those around them, who were mirrored thinkers. They understood the paramount idea that, there is no “I” in team. If you believe this thought as I do, then ask yourself this question: Are we in this all together?

God enables interesting things at significant times, and I believe this was one of them. The United Crew, led by Joel Houston, tackled tough issues with solutions. They strangled sterotypes and introduced L-O-V-E. Too simple you say? I dunno.  I even caught myself singing the Beatles, All You Need Is Love track.  Maybe the Beatles-boys were onto something much deeper than they truly understood? Nevertheless, this film stood tall to thousands of professing Christians to do 1 thing.

Love is a large solution and a vague word.  Love to many is intangible, and it can be a horror for some.  Love, when used in Christian settings, can be too merciful or reserved for the immature.  Love for millions around the world is one thing that is far beyond reach.  Why is that? How could the greatest word on Earth gain a bad rap?  How is that even possible?

What if we imagined ourselves as workers against Christ?  Crazy thought… I know.  Just bare with me.


Imagine the simple things we would do so someone would not be able to see or know Christ.  We would probably introduce them to as many sinful pleasures we could.  The obvious that instantly pop in my head are: drugs, alcohol, pornography, lying, cheating, stealing, murder, deceit etc, right?  All of these acts would show us the opposite of what Christ did for us.

Our job of continued obstruction would include: wrath, anger, manipulation, laziness, negativity and others. What I think is so important in listing all of these actions is how it distracts an individual from what Christ did for us.  Let me put a quick idea in front of you to think about:

What if we are distracting people from Christ by not displaying Love?  Is that too simple to get our head around?  No theology or apologetics involved.  What if we thought like John, George, Ringo and Paul?  Or,  is that too sinful and complicated?

Zephaniah 3:17:
17 For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior.
He will take delight in you with gladness.
With his love, he will calm all your fears.[a]
He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”
What was so great concerning the film and the United Crew was their ability to focus on the 1. While they traveled and saw thousands of faces… maybe even millions, they were able to stop and see the need in 1.  While all of these faces would bounce like balls at concerts or wave from the road as they rode by on buses… and while they were stopped at airports, check in counters, hotels, restaurants, villages, elevators, parking garages, bus stops, city squares or holiday excursions, their body stopped, their eyes focused and their heart connected to – the – one.


What was inside of them causing them to stop?
What thought seized their mind and said, NO, we have to do   something?
What thought froze every action of their day to remind them of why they were doing it?

This team travels the world, switches time zones more than most people roll over in one night, and yet they stopped for the 1. Somewhere inside of each of them, a revolution had replicated in their thoughts.  A goal had been formed to outweigh sleep and the boredom of playing another show.  We can ask and ask how a blueprint like this is formed and you will come up with the same answer.  There is no blueprint.  The blueprint lies in what you do today.

An Indian man in the film, who was a leader in one of the social movements they were working with, said something that I have always believed. He said something to this notion:


Many people are waiting for the call of God to tell them what to do or where to go. The call of God is right in front of you every single day in the people you meet and the places you go. The question is, do you listen?

Are-We-In-This-Together?

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About the author

ThompsonWrites

welcome to a brash, loud education platform concerning a little word which has been raped and pillaged. this word is "church" and its surrounding society. feel free to yell back at me, makes for interesting reading.

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