By now, many of you are probably wondering why I decided to create a blog titled The Culture Code. The title has a lot to do with the name of my company, Culturally Coded Content. Through this company, I have been able to independently publish three books, Adinkrahene: Fear of a Black Planet, Real Men Raise CHAMPIONS: Unleashing Your Inner COACH and Young Achiever Playbook: Planning to Achieve.
While my company was created primarily to produce written projects that educate, entertain and enlighten, I know who I am, a Black man with strong thoughts and feelings – opinions – about the issues of the day. Consequently, I knew I couldn’t remain silent as I watched dark, evil forces suppress full expressions of the spiritual fruit, i.e., love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. I found myself becoming upset at the news media for ignoring the message of peaceful protestors boldly proclaiming, “Black Lives Matter,” preferring to sensationalize the antics of looters and rioters instead. Like many of you, I know members of the news media are being used by these dark, evil forces to spread messages of hate, injustice and chaos. But what they don’t seem to fully comprehend is the lengths these dark, evil forces will go to discredit the Black Lives Matter Movement specifically, the Civil Rights Movement generally. The dark, evil forces seem to have initiated a well-funded and coordinated campaign to cast their agents as the good guys, peaceful protestors as evil.
But we all know how this story ends. When all is said and done, good will always prevail over evil. Good prevails because harboring hatred for one’s neighbor gets old after a while. We humans were created by God the Father, in his image, to be in relationship with each other. He has also gifted us with the ability to be compassionate for earthly brothers and sisters who are being mistreated for just living in the skin they’re in. But the tone that is being set by these dark, evil forces is changing the temperature in the room, causing us to be less compassionate. Instead of creating a more perfect union, some of us want to dredge up the same selfish sentiments from sixty years ago to make America great again.
But why? Why are so many U.S.. citizens allowing the dark, evil forces to lead them down a rabbit hole? I believe it has a lot to do with changing demographics wrought by the browning of America.
Conservative Republicans are seemingly losing their minds because of it, believing they will never win another presidential election due to their apparent disdain for votes from Black Americans and other persons of color. And after voters elected Barack Obama, a Black American man, as the Leader of the Free World for two presidential terms, they thought their fates were sealed. They were, but the darkest, most evil agents in their ranks weren’t about to go down without a fight. They seemingly are in the midst of a last-ditch effort to rig the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government for themselves. By inserting their people in high-ranking government positions, some of them being lifetime appointments, they could at least ensure their futures are a little more hopeful.
Unbeknownst to them, their calculated crimes against humanity are going to be costly.
Right now, we have a generation of children and adolescents who are being victimized by these dark, evil forces. As these young people watch the six o’clock news with, or without, their parents, they listen to the dark, evil forces’ champion talk about “dominating the streets” in an effort to deny U.S. citizens their First Amendment Right to free speech. They listen as the dark, evil forces’ champion says, “It is what it is,” when answering questions about how he feels about the more than 150,000 COVID-19 deaths that have occurred on his watch, not Barack Obama’s, George W. Bush’s, Bill Clinton’s, George H.W. Bush’s, Ronald Reagan’s or Jimmy Carter’s. And they watch as the dark, evil forces’ champion walks around in public spaces without a face covering or regard for his proximity to others. In their minds, if he can behave this way as a 74-year-old Caucasian male, they should be able to do the same.
I still want to entertain, educate and enlighten, so I guess my The Culture Code blog can be seen as a much-needed addition to my portfolio. Just know, my intent is to promote love not hate, justice not injustice, peace not war. We have to be more sensitive to the wrongs that are occurring in our culture, acknowledge how the dark, evil forces want us to fuss and fight rather than kiss and hug. I don’t know about you, but COVID-19 has shown me just how much I took these kisses and hugs for granted. When I am once again able to kiss and hug my loved ones, there’s no doubt I will be more appreciative.
Know this, though. At the end of the day, we are family, a human one, united for all eternity by the Blood of Christ if we have love for God and neighbor in our hearts.
Northern Virginia – Author J. A. Faulkerson announced today the release of the first installment in his Young Achiever Playbook series. Young Achiever Playbook: Planning To Achieve offers adolescents and young adults practical strategies for establishing firmer foundations for prosperous living, and is the latest offering from Culturally Coded Content, a Northern Virginia-based creative writing and nonprofit management firm.
Throughout the pages of Young Achiever Playbook: Planning To Achieve, J. A. bares his soul, recounting how an arthritic hip condition, and the end of his collegiate track and field career, fostered a newfound appreciation for what he calls the Four Pillars of Prosperity – Nurturing, Learning, Working and Leading. After coming to terms with this career-ending diagnosis, J. A. vowed to be the kind of man who:
fell in love with one woman, got married and provided parental warmth to his children (Nurturing);
graduated from college with a grade point average of 3.0 or better to actively pursue and take advantage of educational, vocational and social opportunities (Learning);
developed a strong work ethic derived from an entrepreneurial mindset (Working); and
influenced the society at large through positive investments of time, talent, treasure and testimony (Leading).
“After making this vow,” J. A. said, “I had to connect what I was doing then to what I wanted to do later in life. Making this connection was the first step I took to create a Personal Prosperity Plan. I call it my Adult LIFE Vision. By focusing my full attention on it, I was better able to identify the things I needed to do to grow the right amount of intelligence, personality and character to be successful at whatever I put my hands to.”
He added, “I’m a firm believer in the old saying, ‘If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.’ During my TRIO Upward Bound days, when I was a Director, I made sure we engaged our young scholars in activities that didn’t just prepare them for college. My staff and I also thought it was important for them to envision the kind of adult lives they wanted to lead. The stakes are even higher for me now, as I am raising a son who I hope will unashamedly embrace all of the concepts outlined in this book.”
J. A. believes we now live in an era where personal achievement is becoming synonymous with the amount of money people have in their bank accounts (and what they do with it) rather than the amount of neighborly love they have in their hearts (and what they do to bless others). He contends that Achievers who are in touch with their selfless selves impartially consider their neighbors needs to become concerned enough to care. “Because they care,” J. A. said, “they give freely of their time, talent, treasure and testimony. And by engaging in these philanthropic endeavors, they are letting others know it’s not all about them, it’s about us.”
The 121-page book is available now for online purchase as a paperback or ebook through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
J. A. Faulkerson is a Strategist, Author and Speaker with Culturally Coded Content, a Northern Virginia-based creative writing and nonprofit management firm. A Master-level Social Worker who has worked on behalf of disadvantaged and disenfranchised children, youths and adults for over 20 years, he is committed to producing creative works that don’t just entertain, but educate and enlighten as well.
J. A. is the author of Adinkrahene: Book One (Fiction) and Real Men Raise CHAMPIONS: Unleashing Your Inner COACH (Nonfiction). Adinkrahene: Book One was one of three titles honored at the 2015 Phillis Wheatley Book Awards ceremony, in the First Fiction category. The Phillis Wheatley Book Awards are held annually on the campus of Columbia University as the kickoff event to QBR’s Harlem Book Fair.
A portion of all proceeds from the sale of Young Achiever Playbook: Planning To Achieve support the work of ACHIEVEMENT SQUARE Development & Training Centers, Inc., a registered 501(c)3 charitable organization. To make a tax-deductible donation, visit www.achievementsquare.org/give.
Here’s what I learned about Lordship from Crossover Church Pastor Tim Seay on Sunday, February 10, 2019:
If you view Him as Savior, you ask yourself, “What did He give up for me?”
If you view Him as Lord, you ask, “What must I give up for Him?”
We need to recognize His Lordship in everything we do. This approach is based on the reality of who He is.
Position for Salvation: Must confess and renounce our sin for it to be forgiven. Say exactly what God says about sin.
Position for Lordship: Must declare that Jesus died and was resurrected for our sin, and because of that, He is Lord. Say exactly what God says about Jesus.
How do we practice His Lordship in our lives?
Disciplinary Trials – God has to intervene to bring us back into alignment.
Developmental Trials – God brings a trial in our lives so he can advance us. He is trying to get us ever closer to Kingdom Perfection.
Under his Lordship, there is safety (Divine Protection) when we are obedient. We must never get tired of carrying his over-sized Umbrella of Protection (i.e., Cross), or try to reduce its size.
The sport of track and field has been good to me. It is what kept me moving forward and upward at Dobyns-Bennett High School and the University of Tennessee when I could have easily chosen mediocrity over excellence. So when I sat down to write my latest novel, The Bear on My Back, I set out to craft a story where what happens off the track is just as exciting as what happens on it.
This next statement emerges from the admiration I harbor for my characters. You’re going to enjoy the story lines that I have created for Jason Black and Mitch Newman. These brothers, both elite sprinters, become entangled in situations that I dare say the average person would be hard pressed to overcome. These situations require that they make the kind of choices that enable them to get their lives back on track. And with both of them endeavoring to compete in the 2012 London Olympic Games, for the title of “World’s Fastest”, the stakes are high.
I’m still mixing in essential ingredients, but, soon, I will be placing the cake in the oven. Thereafter, I will be icing it up, relying on an artist friend to provide the window dressing it needs to motivate you to give it prominent positions on your bookshelves. When it becomes available for purchase later this year, it is my hope you will purchase online copies from my Amazon Author Central page , or in person at one of my public events. Without you, I would not be able to live This Writer’s Life.
As always, thank you for your purchases, but, more importantly, your thoughts and prayers.
Living in the Washington, DC/Metro area has been one of the highlights of my life. Besides being a hop and a skip from President Barack and First Lady Michelle, I am also closer to family, friends and relatives. What more could a man want? But, for me, going through the relocation process is more than just […]
Throughout the pages of Young Achiever Playbook: Planning To Achieve, J. A. bares his soul, recounting how an arthritic hip condition, and the end of his collegiate track and field career, fostered a newfound appreciation for what he calls the Four Pillars of Prosperity – Nurturing, Learning, Working and Leading. After coming to terms with this career-ending diagnosis, J. A. vowed to be the kind of man who:
J. A. Faulkerson is a Strategist, Author and Speaker with Culturally Coded Content, a Northern Virginia-based creative writing and nonprofit management firm. A Master-level Social Worker who has worked on behalf of disadvantaged and disenfranchised children, youths and adults for over 20 years, he is committed to producing creative works that don’t just entertain, but educate and enlighten as well.
Here’s what I learned about Lordship from Crossover Church Pastor Tim Seay on Sunday, February 10, 2019:
