One of the best pieces of advice I received when it came to having the much-needed, but very hard conversations surrounding race, injustice and inequality was this: give the microphone away to those who have experienced the struggle.
So I’ve been doing a lot of reposting of guys like Tony Evans, Derwin Gray and Miles McPherson. Not only are all three of these African American preachers rock solid theologically, they are powerfully practical when it comes to taking action that makes a difference.
A month ago I was able to interview Jerrod Gunter, an inner city youth leader in Memphis (and speaker for Dare 2 Share LIVE as well as Lead THE Cause). His interview can be seen here.
Serving as the youth leader at a church where, a few years ago a white cop shot a black teenager on their church property, Jerrod had many painful but powerful insights. His response to that teen’s shooting then and George Floyd’s murder in May, is rooted in a prayer-fueled gospel response. But it also has huge implications when it comes to creating policies that make a difference. I really encourage you to watch Jerrod’s interview if you haven’t.
Today the microphone goes to my friend, Tyree Sterling. After all his Twitter handle is “RockYourMic”, so today it’s time for Tyree to rock his.
Tyree has been a youth leader as well as a public school anti-bullying speaker for years. He has also been a part of the speaking team for our Dare 2 Share conferences in the past as well as Lead THE Cause, and is a long-time member of our Gospel Advancing Council.
I strongly encourage you to check out this interview. Tyree’s story is compelling and his sage advice is much needed at this tumultuous time in history. It comes with some very practical steps youth leaders can take to truly make a change in their communities and rip racism out by the roots, both in the hearts of their teenagers and the communities in which they live.
May his challenge to us prove fruitful for such a time as this.
