It’s far and few in between when something new comes along that really is different. The fine folks at Idea Camp have been super intentional about creating an environment that facilitates healthy conversation, real questions, and honest feedback. This year I’ve been invited to speak on human care and the work I do at The A21 Campaign.
I’ve been featured on their blog today and wanted to share the interview with you here as well. For more articles, interviews, and information about Idea Camp, check out their website. If you’re in the Austin area and are passionate about justice, human care, and Jesus, this is your jam. See you there!
- Tell us a little about what you do for the A21 campaign.
As Chief Storyteller for The A21 Campaign, I’m single-handedly responsible for kicking down doors of brothels and sweat factories a la Liam Neeson and rescuing the over 27 million enslaved across the globe without breaking a sweat. I subdue evil with my pinky finger and I’ve been told that villains fear my shadow.
But on a daily basis, I handle external communications, story-telling, and social media for our global organization. With eight offices in seven countries, it’s a job that only Chuck Norris could handle. But he was tied up, so I accepted to role.
- You haven’t always been involved in justice work. Was there a catalyst that took you from what you were doing to the work that you are involved in now?
A catalyst? Funny you should ask that. I was actually at a
Catalyst conference in 2010 when I first heard about the injustice of modern-day slavery. I was excited there were dedicated Christians who passionately gave up normalcy, comfortability, and safety to pursue the heart of our Father. But when the call came to me, I—like Gideon—questioned if the Lord really wanted me. Am I
really the person He wanted to participate?
Untrained by worldly standards (I have an Masters of Arts in Aesthetics, for crying out loud?!), I didn’t know how God could take what was in my hands and use it for good. To fight injustice you need to be a lawyer! A social worker! A psychologist! Right? Wrong. This journey has revealed to me if God could use stones in David’s hands, a jawbone in Samson’s hand, oil in Mary’s hand, He could use the words I carried in my hands.
Can I get an amen?
- What is the most difficult thing about what you do?
Ouch. Now we’re getting real, aren’t we? The most difficult thing about what I do is ingest pain, darkness, trauma, and loss not from the statistics or facts or data… but from real life people we serve on a daily basis. The numbers are overwhelming; the numbers jarring; the facts depressing. However, when we welcome ONE more person in our shelter, when we win ONE more court battle, when ONE more person has found freedom, the darkness is pierced by light, the numbers decrease, and the facts? Well, let’s just say we are changing the facts, Jack!
We speak boldly behind pulpits or in prayer circles about a God who is Mighty To Save and a Savior who can move mountains. But our theology is worked out not in holy huddles or while speaking Christianese, but when we practice what we preach. It’s high time we as a body of believers not cower on church pews because evil exists, but stand for what is right, good, and true.
Don’t tell me about the sermon you heard on Sunday. Live it out on Monday. If we truly believe the God who set captives free, broke prisoner’s chains, and releases the oppressed, then let’s start living like it.
- What does the American church still need to understand (and maybe hasn’t grasped yet) about human trafficking and related issues?
The basic economic principles driving our global market are effecting slavery around the globe: supply and demand. Whether it’s the chocolate you buy, the shirt you wear, the shoes you run in, or—dare I say—the porn you download, there is a slavery footprint related to each purchase.
No one is really talking about how online access to porn has piqued the market and sex industry in the past 15 years. There is a correlation between the internet and the rise of sex trafficking, but it’s not openly addressed enough. Considering that 50% of church-going men struggle with pornography, it’s something that should be spoken openly about on a spiritual, ethical, and cerebral level.
- Tell us about an experience that has inspired you/ given you joy/ shown you why you are doing what you are doing.
Like I mentioned earlier, we fight for the ONE. We can’t do everything, but we can do something. EveryONE matters.
The thing that gets me out of bed in the morning and fuels me to work late into the night is the fact that I know our team around the globe passionately lives out the love of Christ to those who are hurt, broken, and forgotten. Every person who has been helped by The A21 Campaign knows what freedom feels like… but what they may not realize is that it’s the gospel lived out. Galatians 5:1 says that it is for FREEDOM that Christ has set us free. If we are free, we have the duty and obligation to free those who are not.
But the personal stories of those
I’ve come in direct contact with also fan the flame! You can’t beat seeing life-change in someone you never knew existed, but now can never forget.
- How can someone get involved who, perhaps, doesn’t know where to start?
This is a massive question we get all the time. There are a number of ways to get involved, but the point of entry may look different. To make things easy, we’ve come up with
21 ways to get involved so people have various ways of engagement. Whether writing a local politician or interning in one of our international offices, we want to create paths of involvement and activism!
More than anything, prayer is the tool each of us have. Being on team for over two years I have witnessed that no amount of money, no connections made, no endorsement given has been as powerful as the power of prayer. So get on your kneels, y’all! We have some praying to do!
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Thanks for letting me share a piece of my world with you! I feel like I’ve been on this cyber journey for a number of years now and I’m honored to share this with you. Pray for me as I prepare of not just this conversation, but the many more that need to be heard inside and outside of the Church.
Thank you Bianca for doing this! We love you and can’t wait what you have you to say in September!
you’re my hero. 😉