HONORED to be invited back on Capitol Hill to be part of a panel at the Department of Education and speak at a round table discussion with Faith Based leaders from Dept. Education, Commerce, Homeland Security, Labor respectively and others including ministry leaders and school officials on the pressing issue of opioid epidemic, human trafficking and suicide prevention.

I shared how I flew to Phoenix, AZ to preach the closed casket funeral of a young man who died of an overdose and addressed a packed grieving crowd that our hope is in Heaven not Heroin. I shared another instance I heard a funeral director mention, “We are burying almost as many 18-24 year old prematurely due to drugs than senior citizens dying of natural causes.” God help us!

My buddy, Randy gave me a quote and I told them, “you can live 40 days without food, three days without water but not one minute without HOPE.” The world has HYPE but we have HOPE. I shared regardless if speaking to world class athletes, powerful public servants, Hollywood elite, corporate America or inner city teens in public schools or on the sidewalk of a street the opioid problem is not just limited to the down and out but the up and out.

It effects blue collar, white collar and no collar jobs and it’s not a poor problem, rich problem, white problem, black problem, Asian problem but an American and world-wide problem! I shared in public school Assemblies I have spoken coast to coast and on five continents and we play by the School Rules by day and invite them to another event and play by God’s Rules at night.

In closing, I shared “more that mentoring and tutoring we need to be reaching our students with God’s love. The greatest HIGH in life is living for the Most High God! True “high” is not in snorting CRACK but serving CHRIST, not Marijuana but meeting the MESSIAH, not PCP but giving your life to the PRINCE of PEACE and it’s not Acid but finding acceptance and freedom from the ALMIGHTY.” LSD has nothing on the LORD and unless we turn to Jesus as the Answer we will continue to throw billions at the problem and still have questions. God showed up today in that government entity. Last week, I was blessed to return to the United States Capitol at an event with the Speaker of House and Members of Congress and later this month speaking at the United Nations (UN) for a meeting with an Ambassador but regardless if on a big stage or a student down and out we are hoping to inspire ONE more before hope runs out. Actually the bigger privilege and platform is people not buildings.

Encouraged by all the dedicated, selfless servants today and pray for all those in the education field. It’s a calling not a career and thank a teacher today because they are not only on the front-lines but a lifeline between life and death. 🎯🙌🏻