Author: James Butler

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder

- The Prophet Isaiah 9:6

A Child is Born

According to the U.S. Census, a minority baby born in the U.S. next year will turn of voting age when minorities outnumber whites in the U.S. This article arose out of the lamentation that the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act in Lousiana v. Callais.

In Louisiana v. Callais (April 2026), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Louisiana’s congressional map, which included two majority-Black districts, was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, narrowing the use of race in redistricting. The Court held that the Voting Rights Act did not necessitate the second majority-minority district created.

Since the court’s April 2026 decision, social media raged about the racist outcome of the Court’s decision to interfere with the empowerment of the minority vote. Today’s blog is a counterpoint to that lament. Rather, it is a voice of hope and future that shouts, “I still have a dream!”

Letting Out the Hot Air

One evening at The Church at Litchfield Park, where I served as Executive Pastor, we hosted The Phoenix Symphony playing Handel’s Messiah. The adobe sanctuary, situated in the metro Phoenix area, needed its air conditioning more often than not. That sticky evening as the musicians set up their instruments on the hardwood of the chancel, I mentioned to a stringed instrument, “It’s getting warm in here. Would you like the air on?”

“Whatever you do. Do NOT turn on the air conditioning.” Violin in hand. Chin up. Eyes glaring in command. “It will put us out of tune!”

So I left the air conditioning off as the sanctuary filled to capacity. The Messiah launched into spectacular orbit. From Part I: “For Unto Us a Child Is Born” rang the celebrated chorus from George Frederic Handel’s Messiah (1741), featuring lyrics from Isaiah 9:6. While we often associate it with Christmas, the work premiered during Lent, and covers the life death and resurrection of Jesus, which is why the Messiah is frequently performed during both Christmas and Easter.

With the symphonic crescendo, so rose the sanctuary’s temperature. First it was warm, then stuffy. Finally, a stifling pall hung in the air over the perfectly tuned instruments. The glaring chin-up command, “Don’t turn on the AC!” haunted me as I searched my mind for a solution. Then the answer came like an angelic prophecy. I left the building.

I slipped unnoticed out of the sanctuary’s side door, known to staff who needed to slip out. As I walked along outside the stained glass, I heard the muffled refrains continuing and thought about the rising temperature. For a moment, I thought how fortunate I was to breathe the cool night air. Now finally at the tall double hardwood doors at the entrance of the church, I reached in and unlatched one of the doors still secured to the cement. In a sweeping movement, I flung one door open and then the other, propping them wide like the mouth of a shouting angel.

In an instant, there was a rushing mighty wind. I wondered if this might have been what those at Pentecost experienced. All of the pent up hot air in the overly stuffed holy place, accompanied by the rising rifts of messianic melodies, rushed from the room as though they escaped heavenward to the Holy of Holies itself.

And cool air rushed in to give a loving embrace to those seated on those warm hardwood pews. The congregation breathed. The musicians played on, unaware they were accompanied by the cool, fresh breath and movement of God. And so it is, we will let some hot air out of some preconceived notions of Isaiah’s prophecy.

“For Unto Us a Child is Born!” … Triplets!

The Messiah oratorio has 21 references to the prophet Isaiah, making it the most quoted source. You are familiar with the prophesies: “Behold a virgin shall conceive” … “For unto us a child is born” (Isaiah 7:14 & 9:6 ).

The prophecy in Isaiah 9:6—”For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given…”—is widely understood to have a double meaning or dual fulfillment, meaning that a near-term historical event bridges to an ultimate, long-term spiritual fulfillment. This approach, sometimes called “typical prophecy” or “double fulfillment,” allows the text to serve a purpose for Isaiah’s immediate audience while simultaneously pointing to a future Savior.

Now, let’s open the doors and invite in the cool air of threefold fulfillment of prophecy. First, the prophet spoke to people and a situation at the historical time. Second, the prophecy also spoke of a coming Messiah. And, third, the prophecy speaks to our situation today as we live in hope and preparation for the coming Messiah.

Threefold Prophecy

While we hear, “For unto us a child is born!,” Isaiah first delivered this prophecy for the near-term fulfillment of Judah in the 8th century BC. King Ahaz was terrified of an alliance between Syria and Israel (aka: Ephraim), threatening to destroy Jerusalem. Many scholars argue that Isaiah prophesy pointed to the birth of a royal son to Ahaz, likely Hezekiah. We typically think of Israel as one nation in the Holy Land; however, at 930 – 931 BC Israel split following King Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, implementing repressive government policies, with Israel (Ephraim) breaking off the north from Judah in the south with Jerusalem.

King Ahaz of Judah was terrified of the Syria and Israel/Ephraim coalition, leading him to ignore the prophet Isaiah’s advice and instead seek help from Assyria, throwing around his weight, money, and power in a frantic attempt to retain power (Sound familiar yet? Or, have you gone home already?).

Key details of this historical event include:

• The Threat: The hearts of Ahaz and his people trembled, described as trees shaking in a storm, when they learned Aram (Syria) had allied with Ephraim (Northern Israel).
• Isaiah’s Advice: The prophet Isaiah instructed Ahaz not to fear “two smoldering stumps” (Rezin of Syria and Pekah of Israel) and offered a sign of God’s protection, which Ahaz refused.
• The Consequence: Instead of trusting God, Ahaz sent gold and silver from the Temple to Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria to request help.
• Outcome: Assyria attacked Damascus (Syria) and conquered the northern part of Israel. While Jerusalem was temporarily spared, Judah became a vassal state to Assyria and lost its independence.

Isaiah famously delivered the “Immanuel” prophecy as a sign to Ahaz: Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14)

Rather than trust God for the outcome King Ahaz panicked and tried to use money and power to force the political outcome that so badly backfired on him and Israel because of his lack of faith. So it is for us today. We see the Old Testament roots of Isaiah’s prophesies. We read the New Testament work of Jesus Christ and believe in his return. Where we so often fail is to see how that prophecy takes root in our daily life as we await the final return of our Savior.

Like King Ahaz, our political leaders spout faith while swinging money and manipulation like a sledgehammer in a Hallmark porcelain shop. “We are only trying to keep you safe!,” they plead, as they compromise themselves and our futures both ethically and financially.

The Dream Remains

The sacred trust given to the church today is that the minority children born in the U.S. in 2027 will come of age and cast their first vote when they hold the majority. While so many politicians shout, “Waste, Fraud, and Abuse!” as they cage people of color, they forget the powerful tipping point that generational memory has when it comes to political power.

For example, Japanese Americans remember like yesterday, their grandparents’ interment during WWII. While the majority on the Supreme Court dance and skip over the end of racism in their Callais Decision that eviscerated The Voting Rights Act, minority children today watch their parents beaten and herded into concentration camps in the name of sham justice. And like King Ahaz, these politicians sabotage their own national future in flailing attempts to retain control.

The Care and Feeding of the Child

The sacred trust of the church today is to safeguard the education, health, and financial well‑being of the minority child — for when that child comes of age, they will be the majority. The old refrain of “Waste, Fraud, and Abuse!” must give way to a new mandate: “Teach, Equip, and Protect!”

For it is the educated, healthy, and financially secure child of today who will shape the character, culture, and leadership of tomorrow’s America. Investing in their flourishing is not charity; it is covenant. It is stewardship. It is the church recognizing that the image of God in every child is the foundation of the nation they will one day inherit and lead.

A Warning of Reverse Exclusion

The present race to gerrymander and scheme a party’s way through elections raises the specter of tit-for-tat response of people of color versus whites, which is reverse exclusion. Reverse exclusion only continues the cycle of doors closed to minorities. When movements drift into ethnic revenge narratives, they shrink. When they speak in terms of opportunity, fairness, safety, schools, healthcare, wages, and dignity, they expand.

This forms a braided coalition is woven together in:

* Black communities

* Latino communities

* Asian American communities

* Native communities

* younger white voters

* labor voters

* faith communities

* suburban moderates

* independents

When movements drift into ethnic revenge narratives, they shrink. When they speak in terms of opportunity, fairness, safety, schools, healthcare, wages, and dignity, they expand. My concept on the American Ownership Amendment emphasizes such ownership and participation rather than pure democratic politics. After all, communities with ownership, stabilize politically, retain talent, produce candidates organically, and resist manipulation.

Dreaming of a Better America,

JPB

Discussion: A Working Paper for The Integration Academy

A Vision for Forming the Future Majority

The New Integration Problem

The robotics integration problem is the challenge of making many independently functional systems behave like a single, reliable, real-time organism in an unpredictable physical world.

When we say, “Integration,” people imagine busing people of color to white schools. In the case of The Integration Academy, think robotics and how to get the pieces to work in harmony together without shaking themselves apart. And it is this lack of structural and mechanical integration that would cost a larger political party the election over a smaller, better organized platform.

Recently the local high school Robotics Club visited our Lion’s Club and discussed the challenges and successes of building a robot that could shoot balls into a basket and another that could climb ladders. The challenge faced was integrating the multiple parts and systems to work together. The video below shows the engineering integration problem when building a robotic frisbee launcher.

Imagine an academy built on a simple but revolutionary premise: The minority child of today will be the majority adult of tomorrow — and therefore deserves the finest intellectual, social, and moral preparation for national leadership.

Integration Academy is not remedial. It is not compensatory. It is formational — a unified learning platform that treats minority children as the future architects of America’s culture, economy, and civic life.

1. A Unified Learning Platform for Leadership

Integration Academy would weave together:

• Academic excellence — literacy, numeracy, science, history, and the arts taught at the highest level.
• Leadership formation — public speaking, debate, conflict resolution, negotiation, and ethical reasoning.
• Civic fluency — understanding government, law, community systems, and the responsibilities of citizenship.
• Cultural intelligence — navigating diverse spaces with confidence, empathy, and strategic awareness.

This is not simply “school.” It is leadership apprenticeship.

Discussion:

• What might this leadership apprenticeship look like?
• How might this revitalize and create a partnership between public schools and religious organizations?
• How might The Leader Apprentice program fill a need that was once filled by Scouts and Boys & Girls Clubs?
• Discuss how the Integration Academy Might be woven into the religious organizations, community, and children and youth club programs?

2. Social Preparation for Majority Responsibility

If the minority child will one day be the majority adult, then the Academy must prepare them for:

• Shared governance — how to lead communities, institutions, and organizations.
• Economic stewardship — financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and wealth-building strategies.
• Health sovereignty — nutrition, mental health awareness, and lifelong wellness habits.
• Community responsibility — understanding the power of service, mentorship, and generational uplift.

The Academy teaches children not only how to succeed, but how to carry others with them.

Discussion:

• In what ways might the public school system serve a hub of community responsibility?
• Reimagine how the public and charter school systems might reframe their education to raise the banner of financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and wealth-building strategies?
• Describe how mandatory student internships and work programs might help toward this endeavor.

3. Intellectual Formation Rooted in Dignity and Destiny

Integration Academy would affirm:

• You are not a statistic.
• You are not a deficit to be corrected.
• You are a leader in formation.

Every curriculum choice, every mentorship, every project reinforces the truth that the child’s future is not accidental — it is intentional, cultivated, and expected.

Discussion:

• Explain the goals Integration Academy curriculum compared to curriculum that is committed to a vanilla, heavily edited approach?
• What would teach the students to think critically and use good judgment?
• How could curriculum inspire students to become tomorrow’s leader?

4. A National Mandate, Not a Local Experiment

The Academy becomes a model for:

• Churches
• Schools
• Community centers
• Nonprofits
• Families
• Civic institutions

It is a national framework for preparing the rising majority to lead with wisdom, compassion, and competence.

Discussion:

Why do people of color need to look through the lens of their diversity to find common ground with other diverse groups?

Explain how political sameness makes it easier for a smaller group to overcome a larger one using the power of consensus.

How do politicians leverage the voting habits of a faith group to secure political support?

Case Study Based on True Events: Diversity’s Problem - Working together and the need for a unifying event to coalesce leadership 

In a neighborhood, three families live side-by-side. The first two families are second generation from immigrants. One Portuguese speaking family hailed from São Paulo. The second Spanish speaking family immigrated from Guanajuato, Mexico. And the third English speaking family has lived in the U.S. for generations.

The circles of the first two families never overlap. Their friends revolve around their respective Brazilian and Mexican circles and family members. There is no shortage of hard work. The parents of the first two work two or three jobs, as the children either ride the bus to public school or walk. After school the children help clean offices and work to meet expenses.

As the children walked to their public school on Main St.in Countryville, they watched a caravan of SUVs with white stickers on the back glass showing a family of raising their hands to a cross planted on the bedrock of "God, Guns, and Grace," driven by stay-at-home moms. The moms, cell phone in hand, delivered their homeschool uniformed children to the field trip at their state senator's Morris King Store, who to the disdain of the liberal voters went by "Moe King!"  The children lined up at the "Moe King" Store with the promise of having their backpacks filled with "King Me!" history books and Lego toys, as each smiling child left holding homemade ice cream cones. Inside the store, a "King Me" state senator autographed the authorized version of the children's book that described how America was founded by homeschooling Christians. After school, the "Moe King" children, rather than cleaning offices, used their King Me Legos to build a Moses and the 10 Commandments scene to be judged at the next Moe King Store visit, where each child will receive a free "Moe King Fudge Bar."

Behind the scenes, the moms' daily text and email blasts coordinated inter-homeschool activities with church potlucks, science fairs, and one-on-one meetings with sitting "Moe King" state representatives. While the group denies being racist whatsoever, they created a virtually gated exclusive community, believing they are God-ordained to impose their "Making Kings" view on the United States.

Discussion: 
1. Who are the players in the case study?
2. Describe in your own words: Diversity’s Problem - Working together and the need for a unifying event to coalesce leadership 
3. Think outside the box and create unifying events that would apply to the first two families? 
4. How might the tipping point of the majority of color serve as an inspiration for people of the present minority to unite together to prepare for a better America? 
5. How does a concept such as the "American Ownership Amendment", provide an alternative to simply a movement of reverse exclusion?

Conclusion: The Moral Logic Behind the Vision

The Integration Academy is built on a simple but revolutionary premise: The minority child of today will be the majority adult of tomorrow — and therefore deserves the finest intellectual, social, and moral preparation for national leadership.

Integration Academy is not remedial. It is not compensatory. It is formational — a unified learning platform that treats minority children as the future architects of America’s culture, economy, and civic life.

Up Next RESPECT: In a Land of Daddy Warbucks, Be a Rosa Parks!