Building a Strong Nonprofit is a 5-Phase roadmap for new and existing nonprofits (NPs), which empowers NP leaders to construct robust nonprofit organizations that realize their vision, thereby fostering positive larger-scale transformation.Included Topics: Defining the NP, Leadership, Planning, [...]Read More
Collective Imagination: Seminary Students in Portland Embrace Collaborative Influence
An Old Question with a Dangerous New MeaningSince 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 between [...]Read More
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 and [...]Read More
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. SpeesOver ten years ago, I started the journey of becoming an ordained pastor. I read Pastor: The [...]Read More
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 our [...]Read More
I Don’t Know What To Call This
Asian AmericanASIAN AmericanAsian AMERICANI am an immigrant’s childBorn and raised in your countryI didn’t migrate myselfNo accentNo credibilityOthers see my parentsOthers hear my parentsLanguage, accents, or no EnglishThey see what I eat at homeSmell fried fish on my clothesThey see my flat noseThe [...]Read More
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 [...]Read More
CCDA 2024 Conference Theme: Home
Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce.Jeremiah 29:5 NLTWhat comes to mind when you think of home? What does home really mean? Every day we consider what home means for us and our neighbors. For many in our communities, home is quite literal. People need [...]Read More