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I have now made it from New York to the great state of Georgia on my Walk Across America, a million-step effort to raise funds for Project H.O.O.D.’s Leadership and Economic Opportunity Center in Chicago.
I realized last week that I will be spending this New Year’s Day here and, with 2026 fast approaching, I’ve been reflecting on what our nation needs the most as we begin a new year.
For years, I have watched as brave individuals from the hip-hop community, the R&B world, pop stars, movie actors and even everyday folks come under fierce attack for simply voicing what they believe.
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You have Justine Bateman out in California going against the grain with her criticisms of the political happenings there. You have Azealia Banks, who has been fierce in her defense of Israel and other issues. And you have artists like Nicki Minaj, who have faced backlash for speaking out on matters close to their hearts, whether it’s faith, family values or questioning the mainstream narrative.
I know I am leaving countless people out, but this is what we need more of in the New Year: people stepping forward, refusing to stay silent, and arguing from principle and Judeo-Christian morality. The fact that we’ve had wave upon wave of these brave individuals tells me something powerful: America is waking up. People are tired of being told what to think, tired of being lied to, and they’re ready to think for themselves.
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I don’t mean to give the impression that I’m focusing just on celebrities here. Just this week I had the pleasure of having Wenyuan Wu joining our walk in Athens, Georgia, along with my friend and fellow pastor, Sean Seay. Wenyuan is the executive director of the Californians for Equal Rights Foundation (CFER) and she fights daily for equal rights, merit-based policies and parental rights for all Americans.
She came to this country as an immigrant, but as we walked together, I found myself marveling at how deeply American she is. She is a woman of God who believes with all her strength in the individual. And she has been speaking out for years.
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This, my friends, is where true freedom begins — in the mind. The power of individual thought is God’s gift to each of us. He didn’t create us as clones marching in lockstep. He made us unique, with the ability to reason, question and seek truth. Proverbs 23:7 reminds us, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” What you allow into your mind shapes your life, your choices and your destiny.
Too often, we’re pressured to conform. If we don’t, we’re labeled racist or worse. Meanwhile, our nation declines, and so does the power of the individual. Aren’t we then, in a sense, betraying the gift that God has bestowed upon us as Americans?
That is why, in this coming year, we cannot be afraid to stand apart from the norm. If your convictions — rooted in faith, common sense and personal experience — differ from the popular opinion, hold fast. That’s not rebellion. That’s responsibility.
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I’ve seen this play out in small and big ways. If your friends turn their backs on you because you vote differently, or because you speak up for biblical truth, they were never true friends. Real relationships withstand honest differences. Stand up for what you want, what you believe, what God has called you to.
As I walk these roads, meeting Americans from all walks of life, I’m encouraged. People are hungry for authenticity. They’re rejecting groupthink and embracing personal conviction.
This is the year to make it your resolution: Commit to thinking independently. Read widely, pray deeply, listen to opposing views — but decide for yourself based on truth and principle.
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In 2026, let’s make it the year of more and more of us standing up for what’s right. God honors that kind of courage — the kind that built this nation and the kind that will restore it.
After all, God does extraordinary things through ordinary people who dare to use the minds He gave them.
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