If you turn on the tv or listen to some of our politicians, you will here a lot of racist and hateful comments. This is nothing new in America, but the fact that so many of our leaders are staying silent is very disturbing.

Why does it appear so many politicians are afraid to speak out against racist and hateful comments? Is it fear of retaliation from the leaders within the political party? Are these silent leaders afraid they will lose votes if they speak up? Are they racist? Do they just simply not care? I wish I had some answers to these questions. I really do.

I think it’s a sad state of affairs when elected leaders make the choice to stay silent, as other elected leaders continuously make racist and hateful comments. As voters, we need to demand better from our elected officials. As voters, we need to call, email or visit these leaders when they refuse to speak out against racist and hateful comments. Even if it means speaking out against someone in their own party.

I can promise you, that I will never support any person that spews hateful and racist comments. I will speak out against and write about the wrongs I see. I challenge everyone to step up and speak out against any politician that is sharing racist and hateful ideas. If you don’t, that makes you part of the problem. Remember, as a registered voter you have the chance to make a difference by voting. ~OC

Dear Christian Brothers and Sisters,

I am concerned about the current state of America. If you are not, I am scared for you. The last several years, I have been asking myself the following questions. Now I will ask you the questions that have been haunting me for the past several years.

Are you more concerned about your serving a political party or serving others?

Are you more concerned about worshiping a President or worshipping Jesus?

Are you more concerned about loving your your political party or actually loving people? All people.

Who will you serve? Your political party or Jesus?

Dear Christians, I pray you will take more time searching your heart concerning these questions and less time attacking me. But if you choose to attack me that’s okay. I am a big boy. ~OC

Welcome to Sunday. Like many other people around the world, I will be attending church this morning. It is one of the highlights of my week. I love the worship, the message and the interaction with my church family. The one thing I do not enjoy is when the conversations turn to politics. I did not come to church for a political rally. No, I came to worship and learn more about Jesus.

I bring this up because the political season is starting to heat up. The political conversations have started. Even in church. Heck, you can’t even go to a prayer meeting without someone bringing up their like or dislike for a certain party or politician.

I know this will come as a shock to some, but Jesus doesn’t belong to a political party. I know some people will argue that point, but I still haven’t found any scripture where Jesus talks about living in a Red or Blue State. No, I truly believe Jesus wants us to be more concerned about the gospel and less concerned about politics. I believe Jesus is more concerned about how we treat everyone (regardless of where they come from), than He is about what party name is on our voter registration card.

I think places of worship need to be careful navigating through the political seas. People who need Jesus come from all political and social backgrounds. The church should not be a barrier to the gospel. So pastors and leaders need to make sure all are welcome regardless of what side of the political arena they come from. Church should be a safe place for all. A place that is more concerned about the gospel that who is in the White House.

On a side note, if your church is praying for the current President, I hope you prayed for the previous President and will pray for the next President regardless of what party they come from. ~OC

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During this crazy beautiful journey, many friends have come and gone. I am thankful for the friends who have decided to walk this journey with me.

One of the lessons I have learned during this journey is to never allow friends to be like junk food. Offering little nourishment and robbing you of energy. ~OC

Jeffrey Epstein was arrested over the weekend.. This case is about a man who abused multiple girls. This case is about the rich and powerful receiving special treatment. This is a case of mass coverup. What this case is not is a political issue.

Over the weekend, I saw several post about how Mr. Epstein got his sweetheart deal to protect former President Bill Clinton. I actually lost count on how many people were so quick to invoke President Clinton’s name. I have no idea if the former president was involved in the Epstein case. Guess what? You don’t either. It saddened me that so many people were more concerned about President Clinton than they were about the victims of Jeffrey Epstein. Oh yeah, the victims. How quickly some people forget about them.

The victims, all teenage girls at the time. Their lives ruined by Jeffrey Epstein and everyone else who was involved in these horrible crimes. The victims are who I care about. Their childhoods were stolen by people who were more interested in satisfying their perverted needs, than they were about young vulnerable girls. I guarantee these victims do not care about politics. No, they are concerned about getting their lives back. They are concerned about making sure no other girl ever has to experience what they did. These young women are concerned about seeing real justice in this case and all cases of human trafficking.

So do me a favor. The next time you want to post or comment on the Jeffrey Epstein case, remember it is not a political issue. No, this is a criminal case that hopefully will see true justice served. ~OC

Everyday I see God keeping his promises to me. Not in a way I would ever have dreamed, but still so far and above what I could ever imagine. ~OC