Because of ONE

All throughout the Scripture we can find beautiful jewels to awaken our souls. In 2nd Kings chapter 5 reveals one of my favorite stories of all time. Naaman was a really good man who commanded an army in the country of Aram. But Naaman had a problem that no army could fix, a bad disease called leprosy. But as a result of one young girl standing up and "making some noise," Naaman's life was forever changed.  Join us this Sunday at Mission Abilene to hear more of this story as we continue our series Everyday Heroes...


Make some noise.


C

OVERWHELMED.

Wow, we just got back from the Abilene Civic Center. All I can say is I am OVERWHELMED.  I AM OVERWHELMED with excitement about Stop the Violence literally renting every inch of the Abilene Civic Center on Aug 27th, 2011. Please help us spread the word, STARTING TODAY! Will you help us make some noise?

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/STOP-the-Violence/217632541611033?v=info

make some NOISE!

Live to Love.
C

Can stv get any better?

A few moments ago The stop the violence movement was able to enter into a partnership with an incredible company that does a ton for the community. Chik-fil-a signed on as one of our corporate sponsors. As a result of that great news, I'm proud to announce that Stv is having a spicy chicken eating contest. Can it really get any better?

Live. To Love.
C

Throckmorton, I want to come to your town!

If you have contacts in Throckmorton please inform them that I, along with the STOP THE VIOLENCE TEAM want to make some noise in their town. We want to bring Stop The Violence to their town. We will provide everything they need, all they have to do is provide the venue and the people!

MAKE SOME NOISE!

Live to Love.
C

We stood

This past weekend I had the honor to be a part of one of my college roomate's wedding. In fact more than being my college roomate, he has been a good friend of mine since middle school. Featured in this picture is Hank in center of pic, and my high school buddy to the right of me, A.C. My friend A.C. and I did something for Hank that all of us, especially christians should do on behalf of humanity, we stood. 

MAKE SOME NOISE!

LiVE TO lOVE.

c

ENOUGH.

At about 12:20 this morning officer Adam Richardson was dispatched to a shots fired call in the 2600 block of Nonesuch. Witnesses reported that a man had fired several shots at passing cars inside the apartment complex. There was a woman in her apartment injured by the shooting and later care flighted to Fort Worth. Officer Richardson contacted a male suspect and placed him under arrest for deadly conduct. ---bigcountryhomepage.com


When will this stop in our city, Innocent people getting shot ? When will the violence stop? 


We have to continue to make some noise, silence the silence, and STOP THE VIOLENCE.


My heart is wrecked...


Make SOME noise


Live to Love.
C

first of many

I'm so excited about Stop The Violence that I am going to do something we don't usually do, we are going to release our line of shirts early. This is the first one of many. If you want to pick one up they will be on sale Sunday Morning for $10! 

live 2 love.

c

Grill and chill

Men!!!! Don't forget our grill and chill Sunday afternoon. Bring your bathing suit and a towel and meet me at the church at 3pm to take off to a mystery location.

Live to love
C

You're Kidding Me Right? NOT AGAIN.

It's time to announce another feature that the Stop The Violence Movement is bringing back this year. Not only are we bringing back our car and bike show, we are bringing back our tattoo contest. Can you hear it now? Ha Ha...the naysayers, I can't believe those people are doing a tattoo contest, don't you know tattoos are bad, how could they love Jesus and have tattoos?

The older I get the more I realize how true my buddy Harry Root's  quote is that hangs on the wall in his tattoo shop. It reads, "the only difference between a tattooed person and a non tattooed person is a tattooed person doesn't care if you have one or not.

Naysayers arise, but please realize our motive behind our contests is to reach as many different types of people as possible.

Live to Love.
C

I20 and I are close friends

Today once again, my vehicle reunites with I20 as I head back out of town. Today is different though. I am traveling to a friend of mines wedding. This particular friend isnt just the average friend, our friendship is much deeper than that. I have known him since I was in 6th grade, in fact he is the only guy that has stood by my side throughout the transformation process of my life. Needless to say he knew  me before Christ, and for the last 14 years he has seen me after Christ.

Most of the time in situations like these I am the one to officiate the wedding, not this time. This time, I will simply stand next to my friend, my brother, to witness this historical moment. It is a great honor to be able to do for him, what he has done for me the last 14 years. Simply to stand up on behalf of him.

Who are you standing for?

Live to Love.
C

Day 1

How my life will come to a complete stop is irrelevant to me. But what is said about me when that time comes is what concerns me. When that time arrives I pray there is one thing that is said about me for certain. That one thing is "Chad, although he made countless mistakes in his lifetime, he was a man that never ceased dreaming.

For this statement to be true about me, I must completely stop limiting God as a result of my insecurities. I can no longer be held hostage by my fears, fears of inadequacies, fear of the unknown, and fear of not being in control. As a result of these fears, dreaming at times has become a past occurrence only to be remembered by dusty memories. 

God help me to pick the lock that has restrained you for so long.

Hello, my name is Chad, I am a person that has limited God.

Hi, My name is Chad  this is day one of my sobriety.

Live to Love.

C

REVERB

Since 1997 I have had the great honor to travel the country and share not only my story but more importantly the story of the redemption that comes from my Savior. One of my greatest concerns about being able to travel and speak at events is the reality that I am only there for a short amount of time, then in a split-second Im traveling home.  


Recently, as I have engulfed myself in stuff for the stop the violence movement, one of my catch phrases has been "we're going to make some noise." Aa a result of researching so much about making noise, I stumbled across the word "reverb," which is used a ton in the music world. 


REVERB- the persistence of sound in a particular space after the original sound is remove....


I absolutely love this word, because it is such a cool, intriguing word.


As Christians our life mission can be summed up as a case of reverb. Christ not only walked this earth, gave up his life on this earth, rose to new life on this earth, he left his presence on this earth. Muck like the guitar amp that causes reverb as it hovers in an empty room, we should reverb Christ. I pray that as I travel to new events, my prayer will be simply, "Lord may there be a movement not only why I am present but also continue to reverb in my absence."


MAKE SOME NOISE, SILENCE THE SILENCE! STOP THE VIOLENCE!


LIVE TO LOVE.
C

STV is moving into the next century, Im still not but Stv is

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stop-the-Violence-Movement/217632541611033

Sheri is the administrator of the page, so if you want something posted on it, contact her.

Live to Love.
C

Deploy

In current times we often hear the word deployment  way too often. Instantly when I hear the word deployment I think of my friends that sacrifice a great deal to deploy overseas. 
Yet, The more I investigate the word deploy the more I am fascinated by it.


DEPLOY-to spread out, utilize, or arrange for a deliberate purpose

In all reality the military should not be the only ones accepting deployment assignments. Those of us that follow the ways of Christ must constantly remind ourselves that daily we have been given a assignment to deploy to our own individual areas of influence with the purpose to share the love of Christ to those that we encounter. .


In his documentation, Matthew records Jesus command to his disciples, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." 


In those few short sentences, we are given our deployment assignment, an assignment that only ceases when our breath no longer exist.


Will your accept your assignment?


Live to Love.
C

HERO

Everyday Hero

Every day heroes are all around, in fact they are just like you and me,
 We meet them at work, in the grocery store, on the busy city streets or anywhere else humanity crosses our path. 
They come in all shapes and sizes; Everyday heroes, are you one? Join us this Sunday at Mission Abilene to find out how you can become an everyday hero.

Live to Love.

C

Let it never be said I was silent...

William Wilberforce, a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade once said “Let it NEVER be said, that I was silent, when they needed me” William Wilberforce describe my heart exactly.  Tonight I had the great honor to be one of the speakers at the Freedom Walk. I was not only moved by hearing Terry, one of our staff share his story, but also by the fact that young people are moving into troubled neighborhoods in our city to make a difference, instead of responding like most and moving away from the problem.

Tonight I was able to speak about stopping the violence in our city. Below is what I shared tonight with community, the reality that all of us must A.C.T.

1 [ACCEPT THE RESPONSIBILITY]

2 [COLLABORATE WITH OTHERS]

3 [TAKE ACTION]

Helen Keller, an American author, was the first deaf/blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.

She once said, “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.”

I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT I WILL NOT REMAIN SILENT,IM GOING TO MAKE SOME NOISE, IM GOING TO SILENCE THE SILENCE, IM GOING TO DO ALL I CAN TO STOP THE VIOLENCE.

LIVE 2 LOVE.

C

Please post our new STV LOGO ANYWHERE AND EVERYWHERE YOU CAN

BIG THANKS TO HEATH, T-REV, AND UMSTOT FOR YOUR HELP IN MAKING THIS HAPPEN!

On The Road Again

It seems like I have spent more days on the road then in my city recently. Today I travel to one of my favorite cities in the states, Austin Texas. I love the art that flows throughout the city and the unique attributes that can only be found in Austin. There is an amazing church in Austin that greatly impacts the community. While Im in Austin I hope to learn how they engage the culture with such great success. I honestly believe that you can never arrive at a place in life where you can no longer learn. In all honesty, if I ever find myself in that place I will instantly check my pulse, when we come to a place when we can no longer learn, we are dead. 


live to love.
c

Grateful

Today was one of those days where I found myself in awe of God. It started out with a great sense of focus on stop the violence preparation but as a result of a phone call, my day quickly changed. Today I had the privilege to sit across a round table from an active gang member in our city. The moment didn't start out that way, I was sitting at the table surrounded by several people. Instantly the young man asked everyone else to leave the room except me.

Instantly I thought, here it goes, he must know who I am. He must know who and what I represent. He must know about my activism against violence. As the door shut, and he walked back to the table, all my random thoughts ceased as a result of the words that quivered off his lips. Just two short days ago a fellow brother of his lost his life to his very own hand, he committed suicide. Broken the gang banger listened to me share my story that I too had been in the very same situation when I was his age. That I too ran the streets, mistreated a whole lot of people, and tried all I could to stir up chaos. But at the very age he was, I chose to live my life differently and that he too could as well. With tears in his eyes, he gave me a hug, stuck my number in his pocket and walked away saying "you will be hearing from me soon."


Grateful, is the one word that I could speak after my encounter with my new friend.

Grateful for my salvation and transformation that came only as a result of the death, burial, and resurrection power of my Savior.

Grateful  I had made a new friend.

Grateful another name was added to list of names of those i pray for daily.

Grateful that I may not be who I am suppose to be, but thank God I am not who I use to be.

Live to Love.
C

ANOTHER PROMO FLYER FOR STV 2011

Are You Serious, Stop The Violence Is Out of Control

Yes It's True Stop The Violence is Expanding.

RUMOR

I heard a rumor that the Stop The Violence Movement was bringing
back a car and bike show...


IT NO RUMOR, IT'S TOTALLY
TRUE!


Live 2 Love,
C

READ IT. EMAIL IT. FACEBOOK IT. TEXT IT. TWEET IT.

Hey guys this is the first of many promotional flyers that will be available for you to distribute among friends and the remaining community. If you would like to volunteer, or if you have friends that would like to purchase a vendor space  call 325-232-8258 for additional information.

Can't Thank You Enough For Being A Part Of The Movement.

Live to Love.
C

WE DON'T BACK DOWN

WE DON'T BACK DOWN.

Yesterday was filled with excitement as I witness the Premier MMA family, the Guardian Angels, and many ladies from the community team up together and undergo a self defense training. It was awesome, more than anything, the reality that women were told by a few men to stand up, to never back down, and most of all to not become a victim, was the priority of our gathering. It was incredible to watch so many women, many that have already become victimized to the sinful craving of others find their voice and gain a sensible amount of courage. 

I can't thank the Dallas Chapter of The Guardian Angels and Premier MMA for all their labor and servanthood they demonstrated. 

Im excited to seep the STOP THE VIOLENCE MOVEMENT CONTINUE...

LIVE TO LOVE.

C

Updated Freedom Walk

Here is the info about the event Friday night that I will be partnering with, hope to see you there.

This year’s Juneteenth celebration will begin with the Juneteenth 2011 Freedom Walk, sponsored by the Stevenson Neighborhood Coalition, at 6 p.m. at the Woodson Center for Excellence on Cockerell Drive. Participants will march through the Stevenson neighborhood, stopping at stations along the way to explore different aspects of freedom, with speakers at each stop. The walk will end with a cook-out and open mic venue at St. John’s Missionary Baptist Church at 798 N. Carver Street.

What The World Needs

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” -Howard Thurman Stumbled across this  provoking and inspirational quote,  thought I would share it. Live to Love. C

14 years

For 14 years I have canvased the streets of Abilene caring for the outcasts of society. I have been a part of countless outreaches, door to door launches and street feeds. But NEVER in my life have I ever witnessed what I witnessed tonight. As we (the Guardian Angels and Myself) were traveling through one particular neighborhood that constantly floods the police scanners there it sat right before my eyes. In  great brilliance, I saw a lit up extremely large household aquarium in the front yard of a house. Yes, IN THE FRONT YARD OF A  HOUSE.

What an interesting night,

Live to Love.
C

UNLIKELY

Hey guys I need your help. Please email me a list of jobs that seem less important to most, but in all reality are just the opposite, extremely important. For example:

Busboy
Hotel Maid

Patrol

Tonight I spent most of my evening traveling around the city with my good friends from the Dallas Chapter of The Guardian Angels. I am truly blessed to have the privilege to partner with such a great organization like the Guardian Angels. Over a year ago, I took a leap of faith and emailed the Dallas Chapter of the Guardian Angels. Here we are a year later after Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels was in my city to help out with the Stop The Violence Events. As the day quickly approaches, we are waiting with anticipation to see  those that will take a step of courage and chose to fight injustice by joining the Guardian Angels.

The famous James Dean once said, "Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today." It is a beautiful sight to see, to witness first hand my dream to make a difference in the city begin to gain more and more momentum. 


I pray today you DREAM AND LIVE.


Live to Love.
C

Freedom Walk

Hey Guys Friday June 17th I have been asked to speak at the Freedom Walk at Stevenson Park. The event starts at 6pm. I would love for you to come and hang out with me along with some of the stop the violence crew. Then Saturday some representatives from the Stop the Violence team will have a booth at the Freedom Walk Festival. Call our offices for more details.

Live to Love.
C

Updated Schedule, Don't miss this...

A New Chapter Begins

In twenty five minutes, one 10 year old little girl's life and a blended family's life is forever changed. Twenty five minutes is all it took for the judge to grant me the great privilege to adopt Lexi, who has been with me the last 8 years. The tears in her eyes said it all. Needless to say we are off to celebrate the rest of the day. I can't thank you enough for all of you that constantly cover my fam in prayer. Chad Fambrough sent me a scripture as soon as he got my text notifying him of the good news. I think the scripture he shared with me sums up this adoption process.


2 Chronicles 20:17
But you will not even need to fight. Take your positions; then stand still and watch the LORD's victory. He is with you, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out against them tomorrow, for the LORD is with you!"


Glory to the Maker!

Live to Love.
C

A Chapter Comes To A Close

A little over 8 years ago two people came into my life that would change it forever. my future wife and stepdaughter. Today brings a long awaited chapter to a close in all our lives. In just a few hours  my family will enter the final adoption hearing of my 10 year old step daughter who has been with me for the last 8 years. I can't thank you enough for your prayers, support and encouragement as we underwent this lengthy process.

Live to Love.
C