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Three years ago In New Orleans, Kimberly Rivers Roberts, a drug dealer who “did anything I had to do” to get enough money for rent and food, commited an act of faith. She bought a video camera from a friend. She had no idea what she would film. "My state of mind was like, this could come in handy," Rivers Roberts told Steve Inskeep on NPR’s Morning Edition. "My plan was just to film something I could sell."

You might think Rivers Roberts was crazy. What were her chances of making money with a video camera? Then, a week after she bought her camera, Hurricane Katrina struck. Rivers Roberts filmed the storm’s harrowing progress as the waters rose through her house. The family moved to the attic. “I was praying and shooting,” she said in her interview with Inskeep, “that’s what got me through.”

Rivers Roberts’ powerful footage has been included in the documentary, “Trouble the Water,” which won the best documentary award at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival (www.troublethewaterfilm.com). The film crew came through New Orleans shortly after the storm, met the Robertses, and were so taken with their footage that they decided to follow the couple and capture their story. The documentary features a rap recording by Rivers Roberts, who has started a record label (http://www.bornhustlerrecords.com/bornhustler.htm) and is releasing her album, titled “Troubled the Water” today.

In 2001, I facilitated a retreat for the School for the Performing Arts in Richmond (SPARC). SPARC’s mission is to use the “triple threat”—teaching singing, acting and dancing—to build children’s self esteem, confidence and poise. When I worked with them they had grown to the point where they were teaching classes in many different locations. Those many locations created an administrative nightmare. The Board decided SPARC needed to own a permanent home, and although the dream seemed impossible, they pledged to make it happen. It took seven years, false starts and many disappointments. But the Board and SPARC’s leadership, Jennie and Larry Brown, persevered. This summer, SPARC moved into its new home, a spacious building they can call their own.

These stories illustrate that faith takes many forms. It takes acting on an idea without knowing the outcome. It takes persisting even when the odds seem to be against you. Faith works because without it you can’t see the opportunities to move forward that always exist. Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, in his speech last night before the Democratic Convention, reminded us “the Gospel of Matthew says, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to the mountain ‘move mountain’ and it will move.” Leadership means having a vision, and moving others to believe in and work for that vision, as Martin Luther King did with his “I have a dream” speech, delivered 45 years ago yesterday. People who were present at that march were able last night to see a black American accept the nomination for president by a major party. It was something many of them said they never believed they would live to see.

I am seeing today with these examples how faith really does move mountains. That people who believe that in the end right prevails ultimately will be successful. Not always in their lifetimes. But ultimately, the goal will be achieved.

You can learn more about Kimberly Rivers Roberts at www.npr.org .
You can read the full text of Tim Kaine’s speech at http://www.demconvention.com/tim-kaine/ .

Labels: Leadership Development

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