HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Utilizing the theme, Our Votes Matter, a coalition of organizations is launching a nationwide Voter Empowerment Drive to encourage civic participation through nonpartisan voter registration, education, and engagement in preparation for the 2026 U.S. midterm elections.

The initiative, a collaboration of the Bradford-Brooks-Cleveland Leadership Center at Oakwood University, Breath of Life Television Ministries, the Conscience & Justice Council, Message magazine, and the Office of Regional Conference Ministries, begins July 4 and continues through Election Day, Nov. 3.

Rooted in the commitment to religious liberty and freedom of conscience, this initiative encourages informed civic participation while respecting every individual’s right to make voting decisions according to personal conviction. Organizers emphasize that the campaign is strictly nonpartisan and does not endorse political parties or candidates.

“The gospel is compromised when the church remains silent on voter suppression,” said Edward Woods III, chairperson  of the Conscience & Justice Council. “We are encouraging every eligible voter to research the issues and candidates, vote according to the dictates of their conscience, and make a plan to participate because our votes matter.”

The coalition’s effort is built around three objectives:

• Register to vote or verify voter registration status.
• Educate voters on issues and ballot information from the local to the national level.
• Plan and Vote by developing and carrying out a personal voting plan.

Throughout July and August, participating churches will focus on voter registration and registration verification. September and October will emphasize voter education and individual voting plans, culminating in voter mobilization leading up to Election Day in November.

The coalition is encouraging  churches, schools, health-care institutions, and community organizations to incorporate voter empowerment into existing ministries and outreach events—such as Vacation  Bible School, health expos, food distributions, block parties, and other community service initiatives. Simple voter engagement stations can help eligible voters verify their registration, locate polling places, access nonpartisan election information, and develop a voting plan.

To support local efforts, the coalition recommends VOTE411.org, the League of Women Voters’ nonpartisan voter information resource. Beginning in July, monthly training sessions will equip church leaders and volunteers to use the platform and implement voter empowerment activities in their communities.

Churches interested in participating or receiving training and resources may contact info@cjcouncil.org.

About the Coalition

The National Voter Empowerment Drive represents  a collaborative effort of the Bradford-Brooks-Cleveland Leadership Center at Oakwood University, Breath of Life Television Ministries, the Conscience & Justice Council, Message magazine, and the Office of Regional Conference Ministries. Together, these organizations seek to strengthen civic engagement by equipping communities with trusted, nonpartisan resources that encourage informed participation in the democratic process while honoring religious liberty, freedom of conscience, and voter privacy.

Media Contact

Edward Woods III
Chairperson, Conscience & Justice Council
Email:  info@cjcouncil.org

Web: www.cjcouncil.org

EMPTY REVIVAL VERSUS A REVIVAL OF EMPTINESS

 | In our innermost, willing, and Holy space we find, no-thing |

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That night, my eyes popped open like a spring-blade. What was that?

Not a bump in the night. Not a burning smell. Not a bright light. But deep inside, I felt my heart turn a flip. It squeezed. It shifted. It jolted. It raced.

In the darkness of my hotel room, I remembered I was away from home, my husband, my family. Fear turbo-charged the beating in my chest.

Against everything we’ve ever learned about emergencies, I stood up and debated my options: A. I could call 911 and have paramedics monitor me while transporting me to the hospital*; or B. I could pull on clothes, grab my suitcase, Google the directions and get myself to the Emergency Room, or C. I could wait until I passed out and housekeeping could discover me in the morning. 

What is this?

That’s the question for the times that arrests our hearts.

As we speak, organizers trumpet the 250th Anniversary of the United States of America. Our nation’s leaders appeal to the masses for a religious revival, while a record nightly average of 60,000 people, apprehended sometimes for nothing more than looking or sounding undocumented, are languishing in very profitable, detention centers, human warehouses. The highest court of the land determined that race can’t be use to analyze the effects of racial gerrymandering and voter suppression, when it eviscerated the 1965 Voting Rights Act in April. Promptly thereafter, Tennessee, and Alabama initiated changes that could affect the collective votes of black voters for generations. The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) claiming its payments to undercover operatives in the Klan constitute a fraudulent use of donor funds. And a court found that grants cut by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) were illegally based on protected characteristics such and as race and gender. Supporters of our President presented him with a statue overlaid with gold, sparking social media posts on everything from the Golden Calf to Nebuchadnezzar’s statue, but really prompting more questions as to corruption and access. And, while overlooking potential corruption, other supporters are seeking to impose a National Day of Rest, a Sabbath. 

Absolutely no irony detected here. For America’s 250th birthday, it has renewed its commitment to contradiction. The very core of American incongruity has risen to the occasion, consistent with its history, but not its creed. And while some pray on the National Mall, our hearts are racing and many of us are standing in the middle of the living room, immobilized. What is this?

The morning after my scare, I thanked God for my life. I could have left this world in a quiet heap behind the steering wheel (I chose option B), but God saw fit to give me more time. I then remembered that the day before, a male colleague had threatened my bona fides. When I disagreed with his aggressive and competitive ideas against another woman, my system flooded with adrenaline. As a black woman director I wanted to neutralize this guy. I wished for allies whose organizational savvy could help me execute like a cold boss. With those designs on my mind, I fell asleep, until my heart skipped a beat at 1 A.M..

Now, as I waited for the physicians to release me, I pored through a Bible lesson study on my phone and came across this spiritual concept: “For those who are living according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh [which gratify the body], but those who are living according to the Spirit, [set their minds on] the things of the Spirit [His will and purpose]. Now the mind of the flesh is death [both now and forever—because it pursues sin]; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace [the spiritual well-being that comes from walking with God—both now and forever]; the mind of the flesh [with its sinful pursuits] is actively hostile to God. It does not submit itself to God’s law, since it cannot” (Romans 8:5-7, Amplified Bible).

I like the Amplified Bible translation for this passage because it highlights the idea that our choices implicate our lives now and for eternity. The passage saturated my mind, and I took this as responsive and instructive to my heart scare, and I committed to the Lord’s methods and timing thereafter.

This means that as a Christ follower, I accept that two things are operational in my experience: recognition that there is a spiritual dimension to our existence, and my choice to live in the Divine reality. Moreover, I recommend this rubric as you see the headlines, as you plan your next moves, as you live your life in these perilous times: there is more to this than what meets the eye. Do not meet whatever it is with your bare hands, but with the “sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God” (Ephesians 6:17b) We must unlock our personal complacency, and even community paralysis using the approach given by Jesus Himself (Revelations  3:18)—stock up on His gold, which has nothing to do with money, rather, it is knowing we can bank on His  faithfulness, His love, and His peace.  Proceed with confidence under His robe of salvation, and model of right-doing, and then, do right things, especially for others. Finally, perceive these times through fresh, perceptive, discernment.

*A. is the correct option, SMH.

Message Day in Beaufort, South Carolina this spring honored Christ-centered fellowship, history and culture. Members of the Beaufort Seventh-day Adventist Church seek to create lasting contributions in this community, a vibrant fabric of low-country traditions and Gullah Geechee influence. 

Take a listen to oral history from the church’s Pastor, Dr. Christopher Thompson who wrote this issue’s African American Freedom Timeline.  Thompson tells of the escape and capture of the C.S.S. Planter by Robert Smalls, Harriet Tubman’s civil war spy technique, Black folks winning in Beaufort in 1862 Beaufort.

On Robert Smalls, Civil War hero, and iconic “Beaufortonian”:

“Our people have always had agency. Our people have always operated with innovative and genius ideas and strategies,” says Thompson. “Our people have always fought for freedom. We found any way possible to take our dignity back, seize the moment to empower ourselves. Who would have thought of, just a chance opportunity, a chance moment at the dock, seeing the ship, seeing the soldiers leave the ship, saying, “wait a minute,” and just taking it? So, sometimes, you gotta just seize it. Carpe Diem. 

They knew how to get stuff done.  . . . That’s something we can be proud of and hold onto.”

Dr. Kim Cliett Long’s series, “Black Wealth Activated” is borne out of decades of scholarly study into the global impact of African market women, trade and industry. As the Founding Director of the Jonathan Green Maritime Cultural

Center in Beaufort and partnering with long-time friend, world renowned artist Jonathan Greene, the center  captures both Gullah Geechee life and history, and collects artifacts and information regarding the economic skill and trade of African descended peoples. 

Describing the market women:

“They’re making the things. They’re selling the things,” said Cliett Long. “Right here in Charleston, which was the Royal African Market, African market women ruled the market for over 200 years into the mid-20th century. They ran that market. And when I say ran, you didn’t come in there if you were disrespectful, even [though the market women were] enslaved. They were “bought” as investments, like stocks and bonds. And, there are records, Charleston city records of people complaining, ‘They’re telling me I can’t come in there.’ ‘They said do you like eating? You better go in there and do what they say.’”

This article is part of our 2026 May/June Issue
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 ARMAGEDDON? 

 | FEELING PINCHED BY THE SPIRITUAL POWER BROKERS? |

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I couldn’t resist. A November 2025 “Marketplace” report has given me reflux ever since, because it burned with prophetic irritation. The Public Radio International (PRI) production often frames specialized economic news for the uninitiated masses like myself. 

The American experience is losing its appeal and standing in tangible ways. Brands as American as “mom and apple pie” like McDonald’s and Coca Cola recently launched ad campaigns distancing themselves from their American-ness. It’s just not cool anymore. 

Said host Kai Ryssdal: “The institutions of this economy depend on the institutions of this democracy. The rule of law, fair regulation, recourse when wronged — it’s why people come here, and it’s why businesses invest here.” 

International students coming here to study — down 17%, and fewer tourists to the U.S. in 2025 have analysts estimating losses at $12B according to the report. Of course, our current presidential administration with its cuts to foreign aid, student funding, and increasing restrictions on travel and study contributed to these numbers. Thus, how we’ve treated others has a “better than 80% correlation” on global national rankings, according to Simon Anhalt who conducts annual rankings of countries as brands. This, in turn, has a direct tie to revenue and trade. 

America, look at you slippin’ now — slipping in the perception that it’s desirable, that it is advanced, that its products are superior. More than anything else, and as implausible as history has shown it to be, our claims that we are the ethical and moral superpower of the world have eroded in recent, drastic and measurable ways. 

“America stood for predictability,” said Usha Haley, a professor of management and international business at Wichita State University, and immigrant from India. [The United States was seen as] the shining city on the hill, an educational system par excellence, and the ability to be what you want to be, but most of all, America was a market that you could understand, where data were transparent, where regulation was understandable, where you didn’t have to bribe somebody to get ahead.” 

And there, in a nutshell, Haley described the downfall of our preeminence and self-declared primacy. It pivots on justice, ethics, morality, and basic humanity. As Simon Anhalt explained in the Marketplace interview, Japan and Germany — once globally viewed as pariah, after the astronomical life tolls in two World Wars — have taken 80 years to re-brand themselves into the “paragons” they are now. 

I don’t know how long it will take to rebrand, so comprehensive has been the dismantling of the institutions that promote and protect humanity, education, voting, fairness and impartiality in the courts, news and issues with disinterested journalistic ethics, malicious and partisan prosecutions. Fallen, fallen. 

So shocking are the headlines that declare ICE door-to-door raids, or the accession of a whole other country, or the cruel and capricious threats to opposition. Our nighttime doom scrolling, the angst and the anxiety-filled inertia, I would suggest come from a spiritual instinct. There’s more to this story than the brand analysis Kai Rissdal prophesies. 

John, the prophet, journaling a series of visions from God in Revelation, contends that all of humanity’s plans and strategies, ideas and achievements — as they operate in opposition to God’s words, will and works—are destined for a breathtaking failure in the near future (Revelation 14:8; 18:2-5). Babylon (the sum total of corruption and opposition fueled by demonic interests) is fallen, is fallen, declares the heavenly messenger to John, and to us. The falling status of the United States strikes a chord within our psyche, therefore, because it shakes our worldview and sobers our giddy confidence. It reminds us that no matter the aura of invincibility and dominance, every corrupt, abusive and oppressive power will have its comeuppance. We see it in real time as to our own status. 

Without saying when, and using plenty of symbolic language to describe the how, the Lord in mercy will exercise His judgment. As for you and me — our task is to live our lives in close relationship with the Lord of love, operating in justice, mercy, and selflessness — the commerce and trade of heaven (Revelation 18:4). 

This article is part of our 2026 March/April Issue
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COURAGE TO SEE BEYOND

 | When they weaponize cruelty, we answer with compassionate defiance. |

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You know the Bible character Mordecai for his most famous quote. It was an imperative uttered to Queen Esther regarding the imminent existential threat to the Jews. She possessed the power to halt a genocide using her influence with the king. But, even as the queen, her intervention required her to breach protocol. It required her to risk her life. This was no time to shrink, Mordecai insisted.

“Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king’s house, more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:13, 14).

You may not remember, however, that it was Mordecai who started the whole thing. Esther’s pivotal role notwithstanding, Mordecai resisted the power of the regime in strategic and provocative ways.
On background, Mordecai, a Jewish captive in the court of the Persian King Xerxes, worked in the courtyard daily. Mordecai had essentially adopted his orphaned cousin Esther and hovered at a safe distance to ensure her safety. He strategically admonishes Esther to conceal her Jewish ancestry when she gets hauled in as part of an empire-wide search for a new queen. And though he is a captive foreigner, a slave, Mordecai duly reports an assassination plot on the King. But, in all this, make no mistake, though it is rule or custom, and though other subjects and captives perform obeisance, Mordecai refuses to bow down or reverence the number-two-in-charge, Haman. Upon discovering this, Haman’s injured pride knew no bounds, and that’s how Esther and the her people faced a genocide.

“And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath. And he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had shewed him the people of Mordecai: wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai,” (Esther 3:5,6).

Such a personal conflict with the world’s most powerful empire at the time reads both rationally, and miraculously. In other words, we can both understand Mordecai’s reasons for standing his ground, especially as his faith is implicated in a perceived act of worship. We can also understand that only the hand of God could rescue him from an arrogant and vengeful official.

I think about this point of conflict in the aftermath of the Minneapolis shooting of Renee Good by veteran ICE agent, Jonathan Ross. A protestor, a “neighbor” seeking to observe, or support, or oppose the work of ICE versus the “conservative Christian” ICE officer, tasked with seeking and removing undocumented individuals.

Whether it is the questionable self-defense argument in the shooting of Good — say her name — or the work of U.S. military aircraft killing the operators of fishing boats in the Caribbean, or searching door-to-door to remove undocumented individuals, or the specialized operation to kidnap the President of a foreign, sovereign nation, how does one resolve conflict of conscience and conflict of duty with the powers of this world?

The ethical, moral, Constitutional and spiritual responsibility to challenge authority, from the inside is not evidenced by carrying the label “Christian” or “conservative,” but acting in conscience.
Ever since former astronaut and now U. S. Senator from Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, along with five other members of congress — all former military or intelligence workers — released a video in November 2025 reminding troops of the longstanding rule to disobey an illegal order, we’ve come to learn the nuances of military command. One has both the distinct responsibility to disobey such an order, and the distinct vulnerability to suffer severe consequences if it is determined that the act of conscience lacked a defense.

“The Greatest Generation would be stupefied that we appear to have forgotten the horrors that the U.N. Charter intended to ensure never happen again: perhaps 90 million people dead from two world wars between 1914 and 1945,” wrote Kevin Carroll in “The Dispatch.” “Conspiracies to wage aggressive war, and not subsequent war crimes against noncombatants such as the Holocaust or Rape of Nanjing, were the main charges against Axis leaders at the postwar Nuremberg and Tokyo tribunals — with American prosecutors levying the charges and obtaining death sentences in several cases.”

These were obtained against people following orders. Generations thereafter learned the horrors of blind obedience, and unquestioning compliance in the face of inhumane treatment and cruelty. Carroll notes that the historical record in the United States reflects pivotal crisis moments in which someone on the inside resisted the overwhelming momentum, even orders, to overrun the rights and humanity of the people: after the Civil War, after Watergate, when President Trump had “notions of shooting demonstrators in 2020”, and during the January 6, 2021 insurrection.

“Christian” isn’t necessarily co-extensive with obedience to all authority, but God’s people hold the distinct responsibility to counter acts that are inhumane. We must both encourage the independent exercise of conscience, and prepare ourselves to once again brave moments of crisis of faith and conscience.

This article is part of our 2026 November/December Issue
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A CONTEMPORARY BEAST

 | Smart, Spiritual and Still Deceptively Short of the Ideal |

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