By Nora Crouch
I have been blessed with the opportunity to intern with my home church, Ardmore Baptist Church, this summer after completing my Master of Divinity. I started this StudentServe internship at a Collegiate D.C. trip. I was the co-leader with my supervisor, Rev. Dane Martin, who has led this trip annually for the past few years and is a passionate leader in educating students on the importance of public advocacy alongside one’s personal faith.
We began the trip by exploring the National Museum of the American Indian and the National Museum of African American History and Culture where we were enriched in the beginnings of our country. A country built on immigration, colonization, slavery and genocide that was often done in the name of “God’s Will.” Analyzing and examining the past through these two museums brought just anger to my soul. I found that our history reflects our current situation in America because often in the search for our own liberty, we do not think about the oppression and hurt it causes others. But as Christians, we are called to care for the “least of these” and so we must approach our actions as justice oriented and with a whole lot of prayer. The day was somber but also fruitful as we left more educated and empathetic towards groups of minorities.
The second day of our trip was advocacy day. We were grateful going into this day that we had become more educated in America’s past and came prepared to fight for America’s future. The museums reminded us of America’s history of hurting and oppressing others that often was disgracefully done while warping the Word of God and God’s will for selfish purposes. We went into our day pumped to advocate alongside our faith in productive and healthy ways.
Our day began with visiting a partner of CBF, Baptist Joint Committee (BJC). Here we learned about Baptist’s history with social justice work for religious liberty. The BJC took us to see the Supreme Court to learn more about the process of bills and laws.
After experiencing this education from the BJC, we went to meet with Jennifer Hawks, who is the Director of Advocacy for CBF. At this meeting we learned what advocacy is and how we can be people of faith who advocate in very attainable ways. The trip ended with us going to speak with a Legislative Correspondent at the U.S. House of Representatives to discuss our grievances against certain bills and to advocate for our neighbors in North Carolina with compassion and consideration.
This trip overall worked to educate us on our past and present and how we can step out in faith to advocate for liberty and justice for all. America is known for being a free nation, but it is important to remember that America was considered a free nation when slavery and segregation were legal. To be considered a free country does not mean that everyone is free and that is something many people residing in America are still facing today. People’s rights are actively being stripped or impacted in the name of God’s Will.
A country that claims to be Christian and doing God’s Will, is choosing to ignore Jesus’s call to care for the poor and to love thy neighbor as thy self. We are ignoring that it is biblical to be social justice advocates as seen throughout the Bible with prophets such as Amos, Micah and Isaiah. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament point to being advocates of the poor, oppressed and marginalized.
The idea that a loving God, who created everyone who has existed and will ever exist, is still being used to justify corruption fuels my passion of being a front-liner of godly advocacy. Though at times advocating seems bleak or impossible, it is good work, and I know that it is my call as a Christian. I can take useful steps to advocate with other people who also feel called to advocate. When advocating, it is important to stay humble with a listening ear to God as He calls out in love to His people so that we do not insert our own agenda. I am grateful to be a part of a church and a denomination who values advocacy for all people as we are all made in the image of God and deserve to be treated as such regardless of race, gender, ethnicity or sexuality.