I'm really tired after a long day, but I do have a few reflections about day 2 of CCDA in LA. This has been a valuable time of rest, reflection, and fresh vision from the Holy Spirit. I heard from Dr. John Perkins and Wayne "Coach" Gordon a lot today as they facilitated a Bible study this morning and a workshop this afternoon focused on the legacy and future of the CCDA movement. I appreciate how much Dr. Perkins recognized the role of the local church in bringing about transformation in the world. Programs can be helpful, and organizations outside of the local church can be helpful, but the local church has a significant role in participating in God's redemptive mission. Also, Dr. Perkins and Coach became emotional in the workshop as they described the power of friends and neighbors in urban neighborhoods rallying to defend them against injustices as they learned from their neighbors through incarnational ministry.
There were several interesting speakers in the morning. Nikki Toyama-Szeto challenged us to engage in the work of justice through advocacy, presence, and intervention. She focused on Isaiah 58 which is one of my favorite passages of scripture! She said that, "Shalom is a dream that God dreamed for the world... shalom is flourishing in all aspects of life." She spoke about how injustices can seem so overwhelming in our lives, so we have to depend on the Lord. Somehow God works through our small actions to bring about transformation in the world. Also this morning, Peter Chin spoke about the power of reconciling relationships between Korean Americans and African Americans, and San Van Opstal spoke about the commitment that is needed in Christian community development over many years in order to overcome the systemic powers and principalities that cause so much harm in our world.
Several leaders from Los Angeles had suggested that I just had to try Tacos Mexico for a meal while in town for the conference. I decided the make the long walk there for lunch, and even thought the line was long at this hole in the wall place, it was so worth it!
After lunch I attended the CCDA legacy workshop, and then I attended Dr. Kip Danley's workshop on mysticism and activism. She teaches at Bakke Graduate University, too, so I had the opportunity to talk to her for a little while about our teaching experiences at BGU after the workshop. She gave a very insightful talk about how urban ministry practitioners can learn from the people who have gone before us, including people like Howard Thurman, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Desmond Tutu, Oscar Romero, Abraham Heschel, St. Francis of Assisi, Dorothy Day, Mother Teresa, Simone Weil, Denise Levertov, Clare of Assisi, St. Catherine of Sienna, Phoebe Palmer, and Sojourner Truth. I have also been deeply impacted by many of the people that she highlighted, so it was interesting to learn many new things about what we can learn from the leaders who have gone before us. She spent a considerable amount of time highlighting Oscar Romero. He is one of my favorite Christian leaders and activists! It was really an inspiring workshop.
In the evening plenary session, we heard from Ched Myers, Daniel Hill, and Lina Thompson. Daniel Hill's talk stood out to me as he highlighted the challenges of multiethnic church ministry and the dynamics of relationships between white people and people of color. I appreciate how CCDA is out on the leading edge of those discussions and they're highlighting people like Daniel Hill to bring context to the complex dynamics that are happening in our country across racial barriers right now. I appreciated how Daniel described how he was kind of naive to the complex dynamics of multiethnic ministry when he first started out, but he learned a lot as he listened to others. He emphasized that white people need to be in authentic community with marginalized people of color in order to listen and learn as we move toward reconciliation. We can't do the work by ourselves. We need other people.
Lots to take in today, but I'm so glad I attended the CCDA conference this week. I'm learning so much and God is healing my heart after an intense season of ministry in Pittsburgh. I'm looking forward to another good day tomorrow involving fresh perspectives from a variety of different perspectives. I can't wait to see what God has in store.
There were several interesting speakers in the morning. Nikki Toyama-Szeto challenged us to engage in the work of justice through advocacy, presence, and intervention. She focused on Isaiah 58 which is one of my favorite passages of scripture! She said that, "Shalom is a dream that God dreamed for the world... shalom is flourishing in all aspects of life." She spoke about how injustices can seem so overwhelming in our lives, so we have to depend on the Lord. Somehow God works through our small actions to bring about transformation in the world. Also this morning, Peter Chin spoke about the power of reconciling relationships between Korean Americans and African Americans, and San Van Opstal spoke about the commitment that is needed in Christian community development over many years in order to overcome the systemic powers and principalities that cause so much harm in our world.
Several leaders from Los Angeles had suggested that I just had to try Tacos Mexico for a meal while in town for the conference. I decided the make the long walk there for lunch, and even thought the line was long at this hole in the wall place, it was so worth it!
After lunch I attended the CCDA legacy workshop, and then I attended Dr. Kip Danley's workshop on mysticism and activism. She teaches at Bakke Graduate University, too, so I had the opportunity to talk to her for a little while about our teaching experiences at BGU after the workshop. She gave a very insightful talk about how urban ministry practitioners can learn from the people who have gone before us, including people like Howard Thurman, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Desmond Tutu, Oscar Romero, Abraham Heschel, St. Francis of Assisi, Dorothy Day, Mother Teresa, Simone Weil, Denise Levertov, Clare of Assisi, St. Catherine of Sienna, Phoebe Palmer, and Sojourner Truth. I have also been deeply impacted by many of the people that she highlighted, so it was interesting to learn many new things about what we can learn from the leaders who have gone before us. She spent a considerable amount of time highlighting Oscar Romero. He is one of my favorite Christian leaders and activists! It was really an inspiring workshop.
In the evening plenary session, we heard from Ched Myers, Daniel Hill, and Lina Thompson. Daniel Hill's talk stood out to me as he highlighted the challenges of multiethnic church ministry and the dynamics of relationships between white people and people of color. I appreciate how CCDA is out on the leading edge of those discussions and they're highlighting people like Daniel Hill to bring context to the complex dynamics that are happening in our country across racial barriers right now. I appreciated how Daniel described how he was kind of naive to the complex dynamics of multiethnic ministry when he first started out, but he learned a lot as he listened to others. He emphasized that white people need to be in authentic community with marginalized people of color in order to listen and learn as we move toward reconciliation. We can't do the work by ourselves. We need other people.
Lots to take in today, but I'm so glad I attended the CCDA conference this week. I'm learning so much and God is healing my heart after an intense season of ministry in Pittsburgh. I'm looking forward to another good day tomorrow involving fresh perspectives from a variety of different perspectives. I can't wait to see what God has in store.
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