A Series of Books, Videos, On-Line Resources, Presentations and Networking
Publish Date: 2022, First Quarter
My Heart to Yours
Elusive Freedom is a term I coined some years ago while on the trail of my immigrant ancestrors who were first generation off the boat from a war-torn and brutally hostile Germany. They came here, and as naiive young people, took up the fight for the freedom of all people. Their lives were greatly affected by the American Civil War. One, my Grandfather, Benjamin would survive the war and become a heroic personality that lived humbly with his family in the Ohio Valley.
He would give his life after the war to labor, but then eventually became a responsible citizen, involved as a “Republican” and in the right of all to vote in free elections. He would also have to at time confront and be responsible for his brother Leo, who became a hardened criminal and an outlaw. Their lives were shaped by the same events, but through very different choices each one would make as they traveled life’s journey.
I began a site to build their stories, as that alone is literally epic, but I have also found much wisdom in knowledge in my own journey tracking them on the battlefield to their homes in Louisville, Kentucky. I share some of that with you as I journey in search of this elusive thing we call “Freedom.” I also have shared with you from many years of life, experience, and travel around the United States and the World.
My heart is simply to share with you my experiences and provide a little perspective that I have worked really hard to strip of my own biases and ethnocentric tendencies.
It is my sincerest desire and mission for these books to bring reconciliation and harmony to an otherwise broken nation and people. Much has taken place in recent days to peel back the layers that reveal an underlying level of anger and hatred that has created a root of bitterness embedded in the hearts of many. I pray that the Lord will rise in our behalf and pluck this bitter root from our hearts and make us uniquely one people – His people.
After earning a four-year bachelor’s degree in Police Administration from the University of Louisville, and subsequently serving seven years in big city law enforcement in the largest city in the Southern United States, I came to the realization that if I was going to be involved in changing a very broken system, it was not going to be by serving inside the system itself.
After much prayer, God provided a plan and strategy that would take years and require a lot of sacrifice, grit, and grief. Now, 34 years later (after that first day on the job as a cop in Atlanta), I am sharing with you some of the findings of that great journey and adventure that has taken me around the world numerous times, caused me to nearly lose my life several times, provided first-hand experience with matters from National and Homeland Security to going hands-on with street ministry and global Christian Missions…
The professional and spiritual journey was much like a real-world tour in Charles Dickens’ “Christmas Story,” where the ghosts of Christmas forced him to take a closer look at the past, the present and to consider implications of the future based on decisions he was yet to make…
Maybe, just maybe, if you will take a moment to consider this book is written from first-hand experience and not a bunch of “theory,” we could travel together for a little ways and see if together, we can come up with some real-world solutions to heal a broken nation, awaken a sleeping Church and shine a light on the false doctrines and accusations abounding in our society and around the world today.
The Mission of this book is to do a few things that I hope and pray will bless you and all who dare to enter this tome of truth. Consider these objectives:
- Find a heart of gratefulness in the midst of some dark and difficult days in our nation and around the world.
- Lament together some of the tragic and catastrophic events of the past and present – coming together to pray, fast and plan how we might ease the burden of the oppressed, focus on the blessings that God has given us, so that we may bless others, and turn our hearts and the hearts of our brothers and sisters toward a holy God that wants far more for us to be free than even ourselves long for and desire our own freedoms.
- Provide short correspondence – Letters to my Friends – that stimulates discussion, discourse and engagement at the local Church and community levels.
- Shine some light over the false accusations and distorted “truths” being reported today in the news, books and media. With a humble heart, seek to provide a way for those who are confused and stressed by all of the chaos of today to know true Justice and Peace.
- Provide a contrasting work for the volumes of hate-filled and false accusations being heralded by those who seek to use race as a weapon, and shine light on the Bible’s true intent for Justice, Mercy and Humbleness in human culture.
Each Chapter will end with these three symbols. A corresponding message constructed from the chapter will provide guidance and tools to facilitate discussions, solutions, and alliances. I hope we can start with this as a place to praise together, weep together and talk together. Here’s a brief explanation of the three categories:
Let’s Be Grateful
As I have written each chapter of this book, I have become keenly aware of how many things All of us, especially those of us living in the “free world,” have to be thankful for… I thought it would be good for us to begin our discussions with an awareness and acknowledgement of some of those “things” that might escape our grateful hearts if we don’t take a moment to acknowledge them.
A Lament
We all suffer at some point in this life – some more than others. We know that “racism” and cultural bias exists in our nation and around the world. We know that explicit and implicit bias exists in nearly every one of us. There is enough pain to go around for many lifetimes. Let’s take a moment here, as we finish each chapter to acknowledge some of the things that we should ALL lament together. I’ll share more about lamentation as we do this together.
Open Letter to My Friends
Can we be real with each other? I’m going to write an open letter for discussion and so local churches and community groups can use the narrative as a place to start discussions, address on-going arguments, and work toward solutions – TOGETHER. I’m not trying to convince you of anything in this book. My goal and objective is to shine light on truth and to point us toward answers to some pretty tough questions in our generation.
CenturionXL 