An Old Question with a Dangerous New Meaning Since the Covid-19 pandemic my pastor friends here in Portland, Oregon have been asking an important question: “What is our new vision?” In a place like Portland, this question has a history of leading the church toward collaborative partnerships …
From Expectations to Partnership
What expectations do you have of the communities you are engaged with? What expectations do the people in the communities feel are being placed on them? Do you expect to help or to partner with the individuals in your community? During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing …
Peace Over Troubled Waters
Content Warning: This blog contains references to child abuse. Peace for cities is when everything works for everybody all the time, and no one is left out. Peace is God’s goal for our cities. H.P. Spees Over ten years ago, I started the journey of becoming an ordained pastor. I read …
Lāhainā Nine Months Later
It’s been nine months since wildfires devastated western Maui. Nine months. The same time it takes for a term birth. The same time it takes for students to complete a school year. It seems that nine months is a duration where so much growth and development can happen. It was nine months ago that …
I Don’t Know What To Call This
Asian American ASIAN American Asian AMERICAN I am an immigrant’s childBorn and raised in your countryI didn’t migrate myselfNo accentNo credibility Others see my parentsOthers hear my parentsLanguage, accents, or no English They see what I eat at homeSmell fried fish on my …
Communal Mental Health and Healing: What We Can Learn From Spiderwebs
When I think of communal mental health, I think of how our individual mental health impacts and is impacted by the mental health of others. I see it almost like a spiderweb, with spider silk that interconnects each of us to each other. It is sticky and strong, attracting and catching not only other …
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Redefining the Role of Faith Communities through Social Entrepreneurship
In the realm of community development, the intersection of faith, business acumen, and social justice forms a potent triad. This is particularly true for faith communities that adhere to the Christian Community Development (CCD) components. Social entrepreneurship, an innovative approach that blends …
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What’s up With the Scars on Jesus’ Resurrected Body?
Jesus does a good job at turning our perspectives upside down, doesn’t He? In the Beatitudes, found in Matthew 5, Jesus says we are blessed if we do things like be poor in spirit, mourn, be merciful, and the like. Throughout the telling of the Good News, Jesus continued to shake up conventional …
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