An Update for You
Forgive me if I tell you something you already know, but in the essence of clear communication….
The way I publish my blogs/articles is that I create the article. I then upload the article to a site called Squarespace.com which publishes the article to my website. Since it is not possible to email people in bulk (to let them know I’ve written a new article), I use a mail sending service called MailChimp.com. This is where my list of subscribers lives.
On July 16, 2021 I published an article titled, “What Are We Thinking and What Must We Do?” Here is a link to the article on my website: https://www.prestongillham.com/blog/what-are-we-thinking-and-what-must-we-do
You have not received this article in your Inbox because it wasn’t delivered. You can click the link to read it. But here’s why it wasn’t delivered:
Normally, I publish on one day and MailChimp.com delivers the next. However, the above article was not delivered.
Turns out, MailChimp.com blocked my article because it violates their compliance standards. My violation is daring to write candidly about racism, inequity, and current issues in society from a conservative and Christian perspective. I have appealed to MailChimp.com to send my article. We will see. (Should MailChimp.com decline, there are other mail options, but changing will not only cost a lot of money, but it also assumes MailChimp will let me download my database and export it. Ordinarily, this isn’t an issue, although difficult, but I can foresee them blocking this action given that I’m now a known malcontent.)
As you know, Facebook throttled my account for writing about America’s obsession with abortion—meaning, while my Facebook account remains active, the Facebook gods do not let anyone see what I post. This effectively blocked me from my several thousand readers.
Now, with my writing of this last article, my mail delivery service, MailChimp.com, has blocked me from contacting you, my actual subscribers who number in the several thousand. This effectively silences me from writing to you. (I’m currently testing workarounds until I get this figured out—even though I’m supposed to be on vacation. Arggh!)
Bluntly stated: I no longer have any direct way to express my thoughts, let people even know I’ve written something, or communicate with those who’ve signed up to read what I write (and unsubscribe from if they no longer want to hear from me). I’m effectively silenced.
I am in the market for some pigeons—carrier pigeons, to be specific. Let me know if you know anyone with pigeons. I also need a handbook as I know nothing about pigeons.
On the one hand, this fact lets me know I’m writing ideas that are striking close to home and our souls’ true needs. On the other, this silencing makes me angry. It also is deeply offensive. Candidly, it feels hopeless. I know it’s not, but it feels that way to me. Still, to write for no one is a mental trick I’m having to manage—with varying degrees of success.
To my thinking, this censorship is spiritual in nature. Would you please pray? Would you please pray for the status of my soul and would you please pray that my writing will be uncensored (although many of my friends in Eastern Europe managed similar issues with wonderful grace and ingenuity—of which I’m currently lacking somewhat)?
Also, you should now realize that this censorship is real. It’s not something happening to people in the news or to Donald Trump supporters. You know someone first hand. The stuff going on our universities, schools, media, etc. creates this sort of outcome in society, i.e. elimination of those who won’t go along.
I exhort you: Pray diligently, asking your Father in heaven what your role is in society. Complaining, ignoring, tolerating—at some point, you must engage. Do not forget the words of Martin Niemoller:
“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out, / Because I was not a Socialist. / Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out, / Because I was not a Trade Unionist. / Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out, / Because I was not a Jew. / Then they came for me, / and there was no one left to speak for me.”
Do not be bashful, friends. Most of all, wage war within your soul against indifference or apathy, the great curses of western humanity. Let it be said of us, “They were men and women of action.”
Do not aim to stop what is wrong. Aim to create momentum that not only stops what is wrong but advances what is right. I’m trying to figure out how I do this for myself—currently without any significant inspiration. Please pray in this regard for me as well.
Pray! It should be apparent by now that this is a spiritual issue plaguing our country. God never wastes a hardship or challenge. Ask for His guidance on the action you take. But to assume you stay home or safely cloistered within your Sunday School class, etc. is a flawed assumption. I refer you back to Niemoller above.
Thanks for your prayers. You subscribed to hear from me. We are in this deal together. Thanks for having my back.
Not to sound self-serving, but I’m astounded at how God formed thoughts that became my last book, Swagger: Keeping Your Wits When Others Are Not. Why do I say this? Because when I wrote, I certainly did so from my heart, but I had no way of knowing then what would be transpiring in our society today. The book is sharp and on point. Yes, my name is on the front, but the interior belongs to God. I encourage you to read and share.
Now, keep your wits about you. Pray. Take courage. Act. Faith without action is worthless, James wrote. What will Father have you do?