reb•e•lu•tion (reb’el lu shen) n. a teenage rebellion against the low expectations of an ungodly culture.

10/07/2005

A Rebelutionary Opportunity

The Quick Facts: We're Off To Alabama!

Brett and I are incredibly excited to announce that we have been accepted as interns in the chambers of Justice Tom Parker of the Alabama Supreme Court. In less than two weeks, we will be moving to Montgomery, Alabama, to serve Justice Parker and his staff in the areas of historical and legal research and in any other capacity in which we prove ourselves capable. It is a rare opportunity to serve one of the great men of this age in a work of strategic importance.

The Long Story: A Picture of God's Sovereignty

In November of last year — on the spur of the moment — our family decided to attend the first annual San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival (SAICFF). While attending the event, we made the acquaintance of a young lawyer from Virginia. Little did we realize — at the time — the great significance of that meeting.

Nearly a year passed; Brett and I participated in our final NCFCA (National Christian Forensics and Communication Association) tournament season, and many of our plans — including submitting a film to the SAICFF, and the Phase ONE Christian Teen Conferences — were postponed due to a medical crisis within our family.

In early August, our father received an email from the lawyer we met in San Antonio, along with an attached court opinion by Justice Tom Parker of the Alabama Supreme Court. The lawyer — now living in Alabama and serving on Justice Parker's legal staff — had attended one of my father's seminars in early June and believed that the opinion would be of interest to him. Not only had the case received national attention — Justice Parker's dissenting opinion in particular — but at its foundation was the limits of the state's jurisdiction in relation to that of the family. Heartily agreeing with Justice Parker's treatment of the different spheres of government created by God, my father passed the opinion on to Brett and me.

A few days later, after reading more of Justice Parker's work, I posted an entry entitled, "Tom Parker: A Justice After God's Own Heart." In it, I wrote:

"In a day and age where leaders of principle are few and far between, there are several things you quickly recognize about Tom Parker. The first and foremost is that he fears God more than man and is consequently the personification of principled, Christian leadership. He is a skilled thinker who understands the Constitution, but more importantly recognizes the Christian presuppositions of all law. Finally, in a demonstration of great wisdom and foresight, he has surrounded himself with strong, Christian legal minds and a staff that will stand with him and not give in to the pressures of those who viciously oppose the truth. On all accounts, Alabama Justice Parker is a justice after God’s own heart... [T]he more I learn, the more I admire this man, and the more I desire to follow in his footsteps."
Shortly afterwards, the lawyer contacted me. He had happened across my blog entry, remembered my brother and me from the film festival, and desired to alert us to the internship program. Our parents agreed that it was an opportunity that should be pursued, so we called him and began the application process.

What This Means: Less Writin', More Livin'.

One of my favorite quotes, by Henry David Thoreau, reads, "Do not sit down to write until you are ready to stand up and live." Brett and I see this internship — an opportunity usually reserved for college students or those attending law school — as a chance to live the truths we have been writing about on The Rebelution for the past several months.

We will continue to post on The Rebelution while in Alabama. However, the frequency of lengthy posts will likely decrease. We shall be attending and covering the Film Academy and Festival in detail later this month, but prior to leaving for Alabama, and during our stay and work there, expect slightly longer gaps between articles.

Because of this, we would put out the following invitation: If anyone finds an excellent blog, blog entry, article, cartoon, or news story that you believe complements the message of The Rebelution, please contact us with the necessary information. If you are interested in writing a guest post for the blog, please do not hesitate to send us your idea and email your article for our review. We would love to broaden The Rebelution to include a greater variety of rebelutionary writers, while keeping, and even raising, the standard of excellence.

Thank you all for your support. We covet your prayers. God bless you all!

Soli Deo Gloria,

Alex Jordan Harris