THE BIG BYTE

My prayer is that we never have to commemorate a Juneteenth event ever again. But wait—please stay with me and don't click away just yet. No, I'm not saying we shouldn't celebrate Juneteenth. My wife is from Texas, after all! What I need you to do is put on your futurist glasses and focus for a moment with me.

TLDR: ugh … space stuff for my NPC?

In this post, we explore the potential future of human rights in space, drawing lessons from the history of Juneteenth. As we expand our presence to the Moon and Mars, the importance of persistent communication and ethical guidelines becomes crucial to prevent new forms of exploitation. Nonprofits and churches must play a vital role in this new frontier, advocating for justice and moral integrity. Join us in ensuring that the horrors of the past never repeat, even as we boldly go beyond Earth.

Table of Contents

• What if ...

• Quick History of Juneteenth

• Our Changed Planetary Context

• Nonprofits and Church in an Interplanetary Age

• Call to Action: Call to Challenge

• A Bold Future

• Extra Bits!

What if …

What if the horrors of slavery reoccurred, but this time not on Earth, but on the Moon, Mars, a space station, an asteroid, or somewhere in the deepest parts of space? Someplace far from communication, where it takes weeks or months to travel, and hours or days for a single message to travel one way. Could the communication failures of the past around Juneteenth happen again in our interplanetary future? How do we ensure human rights and freedoms persist across vast distances in space? Imagine a future where human rights are jeopardized not just on Earth but across the cosmos. This isn’t comic book science fiction—this is present science fact! Stay with me as we explore this crucial topic through a reflection on the history of Juneteenth.

Quick History of Juneteenth

Let’s rewind and start with a brief history of Juneteenth. The Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863, but its enforcement was delayed, leading to the need for military intervention in several southern states, not just Texas. On June 19, 1865, two and a half years later, freedom finally reached Galveston, Texas, but not before thousands of lives were impacted by the delay. And get this—Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas, Florida, Tennessee, and both Carolinas were not free until mid-1865 as well. Texas just happened to be the farthest away. The Union troops had to traverse all the South to make the proclamation real.

Now imagine the impact of such delays on an interplanetary scale, where communication might take weeks or even months, and enforcement by government just as long. This is where we’re headed.

Our Changed Planetary Context

How we travel and work has changed. We’ve moved from local societies to intra/inter-continental economies, to a global economy. But have you considered how now we’re entering an interplanetary era? With plans to colonize the Moon and Mars, our future is rapidly expanding beyond Earth.

Elon Musk aims to establish a colony of 1 million people on Mars by 2050, a vision that includes building a fleet of 1,000 Starships. Around six spanning two versions have already been created and tested. The final version was hinted at being released last month, which means it could show up any day now. Each of these Starships can carry around 100 people, and the goal is to launch three flights every 26 months starting in 2026. And if you think that’s unrealistic, remember when we thought it was impossible to have a rocket booster return to its launch pad and land perfectly vertical in a space the size of your living room, but that is a present reality.

So what happens when messages of hope and faith are missing from colonists isolated so far away? Or communication between these distant colonies and Earth fail? Or when corporations too focused on profit violate human rights? How do we ensure that freedoms and safety are sustained?

During a visit to small islands off the coast of Kodiak, Alaska, I saw firsthand how fragile our connections can be. These islands, used by the US Army during World War II, had electricity running through a cable that stretched across a huge bay. I thought about what would happen if that cable were cut. There’s already no internet and some parts with no cell service; coupled with no power and limited communication, the isolation could be overwhelming.

Or when I was hanging out in a rare glacier lake with freezing rains and icebergs chilling in the water, the only sign of life being a random black bear and mountain goat you couldn't see in the picture—no internet or cellular connection. What if? These experiences are not unique to the places I’m visiting; I’m sure you can think of many places. They remind me of how critical persistent communication is, especially as we expand into space. Without reliable communication, we risk repeating the failures of the past on a much larger scale.

Persistent communication is vital. Imagine a situation where a Mars colony faces a crisis, and due to the vast distance, it takes minutes or even hours for messages to travel back and forth to Earth. Delayed decisions could cost lives. We need to create robust communication systems that can handle these distances and ensure timely responses.

But you might wonder, what does this have to do with ministry and service? Churches and organizations are not communications or engineering firms. Hold onto your seats, because that’s what we’re going to talk about next.

Nonprofits and Church in an Interplanetary Age

The mission of nonprofits and churches becomes even more critical as we expand into space. What happens to our visions, missions, and commissions of faith, hope, love, and even justice when we are separated by great distances and asynchronous communications (delayed and not real-time)?

Christianity experienced this during the diaspora of AD 70, upon the destruction of the temple and the great persecution. Letter upon letter in the New Testament was written to people in exile, in the diaspora, in foreign countries trying to figure out who they were and what they believed in a new land.

Conversations abound about people leaving churches and membership organizations, shrinking churches, and organizations struggling to stay alive. Conversations about church survival, organizational growth, cultural engagements, and theological and doctrinal fundamentals have blown up on this side of the moon. How many more questions and debates, and even fights, will arise when people travel beyond the planet?

Personally, I’m asking how I will pass on my Christian values, my family values, and my family histories to my children if they eventually make their way into space. Who will be the moral and ethical voices in new lands without governments run by corporations? How do we ensure our way of life and civilization doesn’t turn into a dystopia like in "Galicia," "Jupiter Ascending," "Warhammer," or an evil Republic/Empire from "Star Wars"?

It’s crazy, but with spaceships preparing to travel away from Earth in less than two years to explore new frontiers, find new resources, and ultimately inhabit places they’ve never lived before, doesn’t this smell very much like we’re repeating history when our ancestors traveled to a new American frontier? Yes, this isn’t science fiction—it’s science fact.

Call to Action: Call to Challenge

I wanted to say this was a call to action, but it’s really a call to challenge.

1. Interrogate the Past: You know the quote, “Those who forget history are destined to repeat it.” Yes, it can be painful, but let’s look back, learn, and move positively forward. It’s hard, but I believe we can do this, and I believe America is uniquely poised for this. Our history is not perfect—ugh, Juneteenth—but there are things we can celebrate, and I don’t want us to throw the American baby out with the bathwater.

2. Moral & Ethical Injunction: Churches and nonprofits are the holders of the moral and ethical keys, and I don’t want to give that up. I started this channel because I want to be a Christian faith voice in the world of AI and future technology. Our voices must be in the planning, execution, and implementation of settling beyond the stars. Particularly for Americans who live under the reality of religious freedom, I don’t want us to lose that freedom, so somebody has to be in the room where it happens! I’ll have some links in the description for real-live organizations you can research and consider joining to be a moral and ethical voice in this space.

3. Seed the Stars with Our Mission: Here’s the craziest but realest thing you may have heard all year. Take seriously the need to seed the stars with our mission. Yes, I am saying that churches and nonprofits should start thinking NOW about what it looks like to expand our presence beyond the planet Earth. Yes, I know it sounds crazy, but church planting on another planet is really, real. Someone’s going to say that this is proselytizing. I think it’s who we are as churches and nonprofits. We have visions, missions, and even commissions for a purpose, and whether it’s through a church service, community meeting, the internet, legislative policy, theological statements, books, social media posts, and even YouTube videos, we have a message and a purpose to share. If a spaceship is leaving in two years, what voices will be heard when that ship lands?

Conclusion: A Bold Future

As we wrap things up, let me reshare what I said at the start: My prayer is that we never have to commemorate a Juneteenth event again. Never, ever, ever. Achieving this requires us to boldly go where no church, organization, or Christian has gone before. We must be pioneers in this new frontier, ensuring that human rights and freedoms are upheld across the cosmos. Join me on this “trek,” and together, we can create a future where everyone’s rights are protected, no matter the distance.