Christian Community Development Association
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Twenty-five years ago, I was in 10th grade and lived in Lakewood, Colorado. As a suburbanite, I rarely ventured downtown. It was considered unsafe and largely to be avoided. The main strip through our city is Colfax Boulevard where the east end garnered the reputation for being the red-light …
Continue Reading about What is a Pastor Like Me Doing at a Protest? →
Last year I had the unique pleasure of coming on staff for my dream job with the CCDA, a national association of Christian Community Development practitioners, to work on a grant for immigration reform. CCDA is a table partner for the Evangelical Immigration Table, a broad coalition of evangelical …
Continue Reading about The Thing I Did That I Said I Could Never Do →
“WHY THE OUTRAGE?” They ask. - I am outraged because the death of a young life did not even get the full consideration of a court of law. I believe this minimally deserves a trial. - I am outraged because prosecutor Robert McCulloch has ties to police that deeply impact his perspective, …
The hearts of our staff at Mission Year were heavy on our weekly prayer call. It was the morning after the grand jury decision in Ferguson and there was a lot of disappointment, pain, and anger. Many of us were struggling with words to say and prayers to pray. Instead of listing a litany of prayer …
Continue Reading about Lamentation for Ferguson or Healing in the Aftermath of Ferguson →
The red, white and blue lights flashed in the mirror and the familiar sting of fear crawled through my stomach. “Not today,” I thought. “Please, don’t let it be today.” The lady riding in the passenger seat of my vehicle whispered to me, “Just stay calm.” Her short, curly, gray hair had been …
No Indictment. The announcement broke the suspense, if not the tension. 108 days after Michael Brown was killed by Darren Wilson, St. Louis Prosecutor Bob McCulloch announced that the grand jury had determined that there was no probable cause to indict Officer Wilson in the August 8th death on …
Continue Reading about No Indictment is Outrageous, Even if Wilson is Innocent →
As I thought and prayed about Ferguson today I found myself at a loss for words – but yet so many thoughts, hard to contain. I do not know how to express them all. Yet – as a pastor, I do not want to be silent upon these matters. I do not want my church to be silent upon these matters. For my faith …
Continue Reading about Reflections on Ferguson in Poem Form →
I returned a phone call to a friend recently who proceeded to tearfully share her burden for a young man who had been incarcerated and recently released. This young African American man returned to society with a strong desire to change his life. Yet even with the help of my passionate and …
Continue Reading about Immigration, Ferguson, and the Importance of our Lens →
