We recently took the youth to see the movie Selma about the Civil Rights March across the Edmund Pettus bridge in Alabama. We saw a church bombed, resulting in the deaths of innocent     children who were inside. We saw people march and protest courageously, risking being beaten or killed.

 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, an amazing visionary and motivator was an integral part of the story. But what amazed me most were the stories of the brave,   purpose-driven people who marched and protested alongside Dr. King, who laid the groundwork for Dr. King to come in and lead, who faced rejection trying to register to vote and who endured death and suffering for a cause they knew was bigger than them.

We still have so much to fight for – equal opportunity, good education,   accountable representation. We still have some ungodly behavior and decisions affecting us that should prompt us to take a stand and do   something about it. Our youth saw people in the movie taking a stand 50 years ago, and we teach them about the courageous acts of the people in the Bible who took a stand for God. What have our youth learned from us about being a courageous servant of God? As we ready ourselves for service, let us redirect our energy to demonstrating courage and passion about advancing God’s kingdom on this earth, a cause that is bigger than any one of us and a cause that requires us to stand up and fight.