Dying for your faith?

It's no secret that Christians have been martyred since Jesus led the way, by being crucified on our behalf. All of Jesus's disciples were martyred, except Judas who committed suicide after betraying Jesus. And since then millions have been given the choice of renouncing Jesus or being murdered and chose death. Most of those killings took place a long time ago. But Christian martyrdom is on the rise. Time Magazine did a story last year entitled Deaths of  Christian Martyrs Doubled in 2013. That story points out that there were 1,201 recognized Christian martyrs in 2012 and 2,123 in the year 2013. But the vast majority of them, 1,213, occurred in Syria.

 As a Christian you may have considered what you would do if you were in their shoes, but then breathed a sigh of relief because you're in the Jesus friendly confines of the United States. But as Lee Corso says "not so fast my friends". Times are changing.

Back in 1999 a 17 year old high school student name Cassie Bernall was confronted by a demon possessed madman who found her hiding under a blanket praying quietly while he murdered her classmates at Columbine High School. He then pulled up the blanket, said "Peek a boo"! laughed and asked "Do you believe God can save you"? She said "yes" and was then shot in the head.   That was the story that got everyone's attention. I wasn't a Christian yet, but admired her faith. Since then I have become a Christian and understand that Christians aren't brave because they're special people. Romans 8:11 explains "the same power that raised Jesus from the grave now lives in you". God is working through a Christian. And when a Christian is confronted with death, like Daniel Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were by King Nebuchadnezzar for not worshiping something other than God, it is God answering through them. our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

Now Christian martyrdom is on the rise. There was the Fort Hood shooting where 13 people died because they were Christians. They were not given the opportunity to convert however so some argue that's not true martyrdom. We then had the Charleston 9 murdered after their prayer meeting with the assassin. Some argue that the only reason they were killed was because they were black. And the killer himself said he was hoping to start a race war. However he also said that he targeted the church because it played a significant role in the black community.   The clearest case of Christian martyrdom to come out of America in a while is the mass execution of Christians that took place recently in Oregon. The shooter shot the professor dead upon entering the room and then asked the Christians to stand up. He then said "Good! because you're a Christian you're about to meet God" and shot the 8 students. 

I've heard people argue that that's not the way it happened. The witness mis-remembered, that Christians are blowing the story up. I don't know. I wasn't in the room. But here's a story this week as told by the murderers. Yes ISIS members are reporting that 12 Christians were given the opportunity to convert to Islam or be beheaded. It's actually even worse then that! The Christian leader was tied up while ISIS members chopped his 12 year old sons finger off! They then warned that if he didn't renounce Jesus and convert they would do far worse things to his boy. As a human father the only answer is of course, I'll do whatever you say to protect my son. But when God our father speaks through you He has the correct answer. There is nothing you can do to any of us, that will last more than a period of time. And once that period has passed, all of eternity will be spent safe, worry free, in holiness with our brothers and sisters in paradise. The leader was tortured for the day along with his 2 co leaders and son. As the day ended all 4 were crucified. That left 8 other Christians. 6 men and 2 women who were 29 and 33. They had watched all of this while in chains. They were now given the opportunity to convert. They all declined. The women were then according to the ISIS leaders dragged out into a public place. A crowd was summoned in order to watch and then they were raped. They both prayed to Jesus throughout the ordeal. The 6 men were tortured during that process as well. At the end they were forced to their knees and just as they were about to be beheaded one of the woman yelled Jesus with her last breath.    

No one is disputing that story. You can read it in lots of papers around the world like The Daily Mail, the London Mirror, or the Toronto Sun. But interestingly mainstream America press hasn't covered it. The right wing publications like American Thinker, Breitbart and Townhall have but no one else. Could it be that this type of news makes them uncomfortable? The fact that it's becoming dangerous even in America, to declare publicly that you're a Christian. I think people need to hear about other people whose lives have been so radically transformed by their relationship with Jesus, that literally nothing can shake them. 

If you are what's known as a lukewarm Christian, God says in Revelation 3:16 that He will spit you out. Just before that He says; I would prefer that you were cold or hot. If your cold towards Him he can rattle you like he did me and millions of others. If you're on fire for Him, you want to hear from Him! But if you're lukewarm there's nothing He can do with you. So he spits you out. I'm not saying that if you imagine yourself in one of these people that were martyred shoes, that you know decisively how you would respond. I'd like to think I would do what they did, but I'm scared that I might "wimp out" and take the path of least resistance. (I say least resistance instead of easy road because when you're dealing with ISIS and other demon possessed people I doubt that there is an easy road). But you need to be building a relationship with Jesus which is the most important relationship in your life. More important than your spouse or children or your pet or your hobby or whatever other relationships you have. Luke 14:26 Jesus says "If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters--yes, even their own life--such a person cannot be my disciple". Matthew 10:37 has a gentler way of translating it. "Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me". Are you willing to do something for a person that you wouldn't do for Jesus? If so, you are lukewarm.

 But all is not lost! While there's breath there's hope! Ask Jesus to help you place Him at the center of your life. If it was possible for you to do that on your own, you could then take credit for some of your own salvation. As Ephesians 8-9 remind us; For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.So simply ask Him over and over to help you. Matthew 7:7 assures us He will answer. Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. I pray God blesses every one of you who are beginning to confront your lukewarm hearts. 

Who is your audience?

Today Adidas released a new commercial for their Original line. Ad Age spoke with Alegra O'Hare, global senior director-brand communications for Adidas Originals about the commercial. "It really takes it to another level," said Ms. O'Hare. "We're giving people the opportunity to really create conversations around what it means to be a superstar. It sends a very powerful message [to the] younger generation. It's just a great moment to be yourself and express yourself."

The gist of the spot is that social media responses doesn't dictate what these artists do. A montage of these artists is clipped together after they have each read the entire script so every couple of words switches to a new voice to produce the sentence. "Comments and reviews can measure popularity but could never measure my courage".  The final line in the commercial is "I create for an audience of one"

An audience of one is one of my favorite lines! I try to remind myself of that often. The difference between myself and these artists is who the one is. The previous sentence to "I create for an audience of one" was "I create for myself". That changes the entire meaning of the commercial. Adidas is saying 'be courageous and create whatever you really want to. If it's not popular don't worry. Perhaps it will be in the future or maybe it never will but the important thing is to be true to yourself'. And apparently you can be truer to yourself if you are wearing Adidas.

My audience is my creator. To create in a way that my creator finds pleasing also takes courage. Likewise it's not always popular. But if you are true to Him you are blessed with a peace that surpasses all understanding as was promised in Philippians 4:7. The Bible also says there is a way to man that seems right but leads to death (Proverbs 16:25). If you muster the courage to create things that please yourself for your glory you will become frustrated. The tortured artist syndrome is real. Some of the most miserable people to ever walk the earth are those who have followed their hearts... and been successful at it. Your entire life perspective changes depending on who you believe your audience is.  

The danger of liberals definition of racism

Last month I was driving along with the NPR cranked up like I always do when I heard the hosts struggling to define why Hillary Clinton was being lambasted on social media. At first I figured it was folks on the right who started some new clever hashtag campaign like #HilLIARy or #ItMakesALotOfDifferenceKILLary. But no. This social media wildfire was being fueled by the left. NPR's headline reads Hillary Clinton's 3-word misstep: 'All Lives Matter'. "Wait!" I thought. "She's in trouble for saying all lives matter"? Yes was the response from NPR and twitter.

I hope that the @HillaryClinton speechwriters realize that "all lives matter," in any form, will cost more than its benefits for black folk.

— deray mckesson (@deray) June 24, 2015

Tweets like these filled the Twitterverse and were liked and re-tweeted.

HIllary Clinton, you went to a church in Ferguson to speak to the community and you say, "all lives matter?" YOU ARE CLEARLY NOT LISTENING.

— Jason Pollock (@Jason_Pollock) June 24, 2015

Since her faux pas Bernie Sanders and Martin O' Malley have made the same mistake of saying "all lives matter".

Here's the basis for the outrage. Black Lives Matter became a rallying cry because every 28 hours a black person is murdered by a police officer or vigilante law enforcement and there's never a price to pay according to BlackLivesMatter.com. So when you say 'all lives matter' you are clouding the issue. And it's a very important issue because black lives are the lives that are being taken or ruined by a country steeped in systemic racism and through a biased judicial system and no one is paying attention.... If this was the reality of the situation then I too would be jumping on the Black Lives Matter bandwagon. Thankfully that is not the reality of life in America. The Black Lives Matter movement is all based on a liberal lie. Unfortunately due to great marketing, the lie is believed by far too many people and it has now becoming dangerous.

The every 28 hours stat was debunked by dozens of media outlets after a professor said it on CNN. Months later the 28 hour stat was still being cited in news reports and of course all over social media so the Washington Post debunked it again. There were 136 unarmed black people killed in 2012 by anyone who could be classified as  a police officer or the very wide description of vigilante law enforcement. And so that would bring it to 1 every 64 hours. But even that is an outrageous stat. However the Post points out that even that stat is misleading as it includes unarmed blacks being killed in bizarre ways For example, a 24-year-old woman died in July 2012 at her birthday party, where she hugged an off-duty police officer from behind. He was carrying a loaded gun, which allegedly went off and killed her. A 59-year-old woman died after she was hit by a police officer driving his patrol car responding to an emergency call. A 31-year-old man was fatally shot by police when he ignored commands to stop eating a homeless man’s face.

The lie that is being marketed to Americans is that this country has systemic racism from the cradle to the grave. If you say it isn't true you are then classified as an uninformed white person or if per chance you are of color, then someone who has benefited, or hopes to benefit, from your relationship with the white ruling class. The majority of people have become afraid of being called ignorant, Uncle Tom, or racist and are remaining quiet. That quiet gives power and legitimacy to the lie. They are quiet despite the proof being contrary to the lies claims! And that is where it gets dangerous.

 Today I read where the singer/actor Tyrese Gibson is voicing his complaints that the radio industry is racist because "I'm only played on black radio". He penned an open letter to Ryan Seacrest to complain about the lack of diversity on pop radio. He says that today, on the week that according to Billboard Pop chart (white radio according to Tyrese) 4 of the top 5 songs, and 7 of the top 10 songs are from black artists. Maybe white artists should be complaining about the lack of diversity on pop radio? Yet Tyrese is praised for taking a bold stance against corporate racism. Also today Colin Cowherd was fired from ESPN for clarifying a comment he made on his show yesterday that had been blowing up the internet for his racist attitude. You can hear the segment here.   In trying to point out that you don't have to be brilliant to play baseball he stated that only 4 percent of current MLB players and coaches had graduated from college. He went on to say that a lot of the players don't even speak English. They have no way to communicate with their coach or teammates on a significant level. And then he messed up. He said "a third of the sport is from the Dominican Republic. A country not known as having world class academic abilities. A lot of those kids come from rough backgrounds and haven't had the academic opportunities that other kids have had". Today he attempted to clarify that statement. So he said "they do rank 122nd out of 144 countries in primary education according to the world economic forum global competitive report". He went on to say that he has reports in front of him from World Bank, OECD and others where they are describing major deficiencies in the Dominican Republic education system at all levels. "It's not a shot at them, it's data". For saying that ESPN fired him at the end of his show. Their statement said Colin Cowherd's comments over the past two days do not reflect the values of ESPN or our employees. He has since apologized.

I did not intend to offend anyone w my comments. I realize my choice of words was poor and not reflective of who I am. I am sorry.

— Colin Cowherd (@ESPN_Colin) July 24, 2015

As Americans become frightened to appear ignorant to say Colin Cowherd may not be very smooth in making a point but it's a long way from a racist rant. Or to tell Tyrese if he wants to get on pop radio he should record a pop song with out being called racist bigger issues are allowed to grow.

A couple of years ago there was a federal report what I thought was great news. Incarceration rates for blacks had been dramatically cut over the past decade. The first decade of the 2000's saw black incarcerations drop for men by 10% and women by 30%. Yet that story was buried. The story we hear is that black people are being locked up at record rates. Here's a NY Times story from this year reporting on the historic incarceration rates for black men in America. To make it even worse they factor in deaths and then compare the number of black men and women in the 25-54 demo. This is to demonstrate that in America there are 99 white men for every 100 white women but only 83 black men for every 100 black women. The takeaway is America is either killing or locking up black men and it needs to stop. #BlackLivesMatter

The reality is most black men are in prison for the same reason white men are in prison. As this Yale study points out;  the vast majority of  prisoners were juvenile delinquents. Children are exposed to neighborhood modeling influences, at times favorable to criminal attitudes and behaviors. It is also impossible to separate out bad genes from either parental examples of criminal behavior or inadequate parenting which is likely to connect with childhood delinquency. In other words if you grew up in a rough neighborhood you are a lot more likely to go to prison. And the US is locking people up at record rates!

What isn't reported and destroys the narrative is that most of these prisoners are white. There are 64,800 black females and 841,000 black men in prison. There are 201,200 female prisoners, and 2.1 million men in prison. That means 39.4 percent of the prison population is black. Hispanics and Asians make up 13.6 percent. 47 percent of prisoners are white. Of course by percentage of race, blacks far out number whites which is what is reported all the time. But whites are being incarcerated at historical rates and far out number any other race in the prison system. That's not reported because...why?

The truth is we have too many Americans in jail because too many Americans are committing crimes. They are committing crimes because they come from bad neighborhoods. The reasons we have bad neighborhoods has a little to do with racism and a lot to do with culture. Poor people of all races need to be shown the path out. That's where people who are on the other side of poverty (aka middle class folks and all politicians) need to volunteer their services to mentor. America needs people of all races to better themselves. 

Yesterday the VA reported they are unable to find qualified applicants to fill the openings for 41,500 Doctors, Nurses, and other medical professionals. This Spring the Post & Courier reported that in SC there are over 70,000 jobs employers can't fill because of the lack of skills in the applicants.There are literally millions of great jobs in America that need to be done for big money, but we don't have people who can do those jobs. And the education for a lot of these jobs is FREE for the asking. They're called apprenticeships. In our state we have Apprenticeship Carolina which has already trained over 12,000 people and is begging for more. But if you grow up in a bad neighborhood you won't know about this path waiting to lead you to prosperity unless someone goes and tells them. Big Brothers is desperate for men to to help a boy who doesn't have a father. I have done it and it's an awesome experience that can take as little as a couple of hours a week. I used to spend Saturday mornings from 9-11 with my little bro and we both looked forward to it. 

While liberals try to convince Americans we need to make tuition free for universities in order to help minorities the reality is we have too many college graduates already. Did he just say that? Well I actually just repeated what the recently retired  SC Superintendent of Education, Mick Zais said. "16.6% of the job openings require a bachelors degree or higher. 26% of our workforce has that degree. So a lot of them end up working minimum wage jobs because their degree doesn't fit the labor market. On the other hand 41.1% of the job openings require some technical certificate and only 30% of our workforce has that".   Those stats are pretty similar around the country as well. But we don't hear the media or politicians urging people to skip college and go to technical school. Why?

All lives matter and far too many are being wasted because of poverty, lack of education, and most importantly lack of hope. If saying that can be shouted down as racist then we all suffer. That's why we need to get the truth out. The people of the Black Lives Matter movement are for the most part great people who are fighting for a chance at a good life and for their race to be treated as equals here. Don't let the fact that they have been tricked by a lie intimidate you from trying to help them see that it's already possible. As for racism, it along with sexism, ageism, weightism, and every other ism will be a part of the human condition for as long as we are around. There's no cure for sin, which prejudice against people based on appearance is. Well there is one cure. Jesus becoming Lord of your life and transforming every dark part of you into light. That is my ultimate prayer for all Americans and honestly all people. That Jesus sweeps into your life, filling you with the Holy Spirit and the joy that surpasses all understanding. 

    

Why would I be for the Supreme Court ruling but against gay marriage

I join millions of Americans in celebrating what I believe is a just ruling that finally affirms that gay marriage is just as legitimate as straight marriage in our country.  For far too long they have been treated as second class citizens in that straights have been afforded dozens of benefits that gay couples were denied.
As a Christian my personal belief is that homosexuality is a sin. But the federal government government is passing judgment on my or anyone else's personal beliefs.  They can't.  It is actually protected. It would also be impossible to define marriage based on a religious belief as there are dozens of religions who have lots of different opinions on what makes a marriage.
I have thoughtfor years that CS Lewis was correct when he stated in his radio address to Britain during WWII that the word marriage is a government institution.  Christians who want to hold themselves to the Biblical standard should first make sure they know what that standard is and then have a 2nd word for it. Marriage from a Biblical point of view has little in common with what most Americans call marriage.
Like all standards set in the Bible it is humanly impossible to meet. They are only possible with the Holy Spirit living inside you. And that is impossible without Jesus. As Christ said when asked about the possibility of the rich man entering heaven.  "It would be easier to thread the eye of a needle with a camel. But with God all things are possible".  May God richly bless you in this life and the next.

Careful you don't get too creative on your ad campaign

An ad agency (not in Columbia) was recently boasting on their site about creating a campaign for a minor league sports team (not baseball...stop guessing). The goal of any campaign should be to make the client money. This agency had some very creative ideas to help get their sports team noticed in the community. It included motion activated messages placed inside seashells and then have those shells all over the beach and a treasure hunt to win free tickets to games where the clues are posted on their Facebook page. I asked the simple question of how does this make people want to see a game? Crickets. Ticket sales for the team had actually gone down year over year. 

Advertising, marketing, promotion whatever you want to call it can only be deemed successful if it makes the company money! And the only way to make money is build desire. If your idea doesn't make people want to experience your event, taste your food, use your service, wear your outfits, drive your cars then you can't sell them. Audi sales dropped after their 2011 Superbowl commercial won awards for creativity. They would have been better served to save the money and not advertise at all then to run this award winning campaign. 

I think it's stupid... but acknowledge it's brilliant!

As a child of the 70's and 80's I was a WWF fan. The Macho Man, Hulk Hogan and the assorted group of bedazzled freaks were some of my heroes.

So when the World Wrestling Federation was sued by the World Wildlife Fund for the rights to WWF I was ticked the goofballs won.

I celebrated people mocking the new WWF.

So I'm not a fan of this organization and believe they are a generally ridiculous group of folks wasting time and money on an activity of limited impact. As New Scientist pointed out the WWF is almost single handedly responsible for the wiping out of millions of Saiga Antelope. About 97%in less then a decade. They have been caught fabricating facts that have hurt countries like Vietnam and Norway. Kroger and other chains have been the victims of WWF's misunderstanding of facts. Big hearts, little brains is what this group consists of. 

So when I read their newest plan to save endangered species by having people tweet Emojis of their favorite endangered specie I immediately referenced back to the simpletons with the big hearts. But this plan was launched by a top notch ad agency Wieden & Kennedy! The W in W&K is Dan Wieden who came up with "Just Do It" for Nike. Interesting side note Dan got that line from convicted murderer Gary Gilmore when asked if he had any final words before being executed. 

Here's how the campaign works. Working with the international emoji creator Unicode and Twitter under the creative commons license, WWF will today (May 12) launch the campaign in the U.K., France and Holland, tweeting an image showing all 17 "Endangered Emoji," and encouraging its followers to retweet. For each emoji people tweet, WWF will add the local currency equivalent of 0.10 euros (10 cents) to a voluntary monthly donation. At the end of each month, people will receive a summary of their use and choose how much to donate. Anyone interested can sign up at endangeredemoji.com. 

Of course it's ridiculous. WWF isn't raising money any real money. Maybe a few million. And they are matching a fraction of that with their own money (which was given to them in large part by taxpayers of the US). But here's why it's brilliant. The type of person they are marketing to is also a simpleton with a big heart. They like to believe they can change the world by tweeting. It's called Hashtag Activism. W&K understands that's their target audience and knows how to tug on their heart strings. "Would you retweet this message to save a penguin"? Their little brain and big hearts screams 'yes'! Suddenly their friends, many of whom are similar in heart and brain stature, notice their twitter feed filling up with retweets about saving endangered species "and you can too by retweeting". They join the goofball parade. A percentage of them will actually follow the instructions and sign up on the website to donate some money. I think it's particularly brilliant that WWF is donating a dime for whatever you donate. You donate a dollar or a thousand, and WWF matches it with a dime. The real cost will be the ad campaign which will cost far more than it raises. But if they can get hundreds of thousands of people on their mailing list...that could be worth tens of millions of dollars. Either in actual donations over the years or more likely in sales of said list to other marketers. 

The lesson has nothing to do with the destroyers of my heroes, but rather in W&K simple approach. Know your audience and their hot buttons to get them to engage. That's all it takes to win.    

The new way to advertise may not be the most effective way.

 When it comes to the advertising business...business is good and looking to get gooder!

For years TV has won big and is expected to continue to win for a few more years, but the tide is turning to digital.

You see by 2018 Digital is expected to be the #1 form of advertising in America. I received an e-mail today about a press release from BIA/Kelsey who states; Online spending is growing on ads viewed through desktops, but general online ad unit pricing faces headwinds as the attention of audiences and advertisers alike drifts more towards mobile,” said Mark Fratrik, SVP and chief economist, BIA/Kelsey. “Online will gain just a few points of local advertising market share, as mobile nearly triples its share.”

It's all about the phone! 

The general thinking is someone is online and they search for new cars or mattresses or whatever then it's safe to believe they are about to make a purchase in searched category. At that point their inbox and sides of their social media pages are filled with ads for those products. It's obviously very appealing to a business owner to put their ad in front of someone who is looking for their product at the moment they are searching for it. BUT....

Be warned. You are suddenly in a battle that may have no winners. Recently I was searching for a watch to buy. I noticed the ads suddenly on every site I went to. Admittedly the first day or so some caught my attention. However by day 2 I had blocked them all out. I actually had bought a watch by then and for weeks everything being shot at me was attempting to influence a decision that had already passed. On top of that due to the avalanche I subconsciously blocked all ads out. It wasn't until some ads popped up for new swimming pools that I noticed ads again. I had searched for pool prices to show a friend how it would be more cost efficient to go visit a 5 star hotel the 8 times a year his family actually wanted to use a pool than to buy 1. So I wasn't in the market for a pool. But money was spent to influence that non decision. 

Clearly Digital advertising will get better with time. But don't write off Radio and Outdoor. They are under used and quite honestly under valued mediums. The power to influence people towards a product happens there. In reading or listening it's a solitary activity. There may be other people with you but if you're involved in a conversation you're not paying attention to the billboards or radio. If you're paying attention I can influence you on products you currently have no interest in.

 You are a pool dealer well put up billboards showing that instant access to family-fun is priceless. Run radio ads where I hear grown people reminiscing about the impact their family pool had on them as kids and how much they love their parents for sacrificing to get one. Once you have me thinking about this incredible product that will have my kids gushing about me for decades to come, you slide in your info. If the idea of advertising is to influence buying decisions that's one of the most powerful ways to do it.