{"id":90,"date":"2016-09-30T19:19:05","date_gmt":"2016-09-30T19:19:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/lovemercydojustice\/?p=90"},"modified":"2016-10-03T19:31:12","modified_gmt":"2016-10-03T19:31:12","slug":"scandalized","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/lovemercydojustice\/2016\/09\/30\/scandalized\/","title":{"rendered":"Scandalized"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Rev. Dru McLeland, serving\u00a0on the Compassion, Mercy and Justice Commission of the Central Conference<\/em><\/p>\n

\"ebfa5b2afea115ff6ba5ce9a04b9c43f\"<\/a><\/p>\n

24,000 a year in Chicago alone, average age is 13\u2026<\/p>\n

These are images, events, numbers seared in my mind.\u00a0\u00a0 They have shocked me to the core of my being.\u00a0 They have struck fear in me beyond what I thought possible.\u00a0 They have made me angrier than I knew I could be.\u00a0 The stories, statistics and startling images of human trafficking in the sex trade scandalize me.<\/p>\n

All those years ago when Ruth Hill introduced the Break the Chains Initiative in the church I was attending, I felt overwhelmed with the enormity of the problem of human trafficking.\u00a0 I began to ask God what I could do.\u00a0 The problem is too huge, too evil, and too terrible.\u00a0 But God (best two words ever!) reminded me that nothing is impossible with him, so I kept listening and seeking and taking the next step.<\/p>\n

This past year I have seen God connect a whole church to a ministry that helps women transition from lives of sexual exploitation to lives of hope and healing.\u00a0 Here\u2019s the story.\u00a0 I had the privilege of doing a pastoral internship at the Evangelical Covenant Church of Hinsdale, IL.\u00a0 When the internship started, I met with six women who wanted to see the women\u2019s ministry get involved with a justice ministry.\u00a0\u00a0 When we gathered, we didn\u2019t expect that God would show us what that was right away and we entered into a discernment process.<\/p>\n

Our discerning questions were:<\/p>\n