Dear Friends,
We had such a great time at our Community Dinner Monday night. What did you see? Let's share some stories.
Did you see....
The hungry being fed?
Wonderful volunteers serving others selflessly?
Diverse people coming together and sharing a meal and their lives across all kinds of barriers?
These are often the first things we see at an event like our Community Dinner.
Let me encourage you to see beneath the surface....
Did you see.....
Your neighbors ravaged by life on the streets being welcomed as brothers and sisters...and making a contribution themselves....
People traditionally seen as "resourced" with time, talent, and treasure, being surprised and blessed by those they came to serve....
A struggling single mom being awakened to the truth of the Gospel as she uses her gifts to serve others...
A family often labeled as "needy" recognizing they have talents to contribute to a Gospel movement much bigger than themselves...
A lonely woman grateful for food, but hungering for so much more...
Did you see that stuff?
Now let me encourage you to see the future and pray for God's transformative power to be at work in us and through us with our neighbors. Dream with me!
Do you see....
Your neighbors healed and whole, and helping lead a recovery program for others ravaged by life on the streets...
Many more "resourced" people bringing and teaching others about recognizing the dignity and gifts of all others, and doing ministry with them, rather than for them...
That single mom opening a local cafe that employs and serves those hungry for food and much more- for meaning, belonging, working, sharing life with neighbors, and Gospel transformation...
That "needy" family spearheading a jobs training program that specializes in immigration issues...
That woman belonging to a loving family that worships and serves together, and frees her to respond in love to the deeper hunger of others...
Do you see the Gospel of Jesus Christ breaking out all over our neighborhood because God is already at work among our neighbors? He has given so much to so many who need to be gathered and encouraged and helped to see the movement of God's Spirit and their part in it. Will you pray with me for that?
I thank God for each of you. We appreciate your prayers and support so much. Your partnership is vital to Bridge of Life.
Please pray for:
* Our Community Dialogue on Racism this Friday
* Sports 4 Life sign-ups happening now!
* Our Easter service/Egg hunt/Pot Luck April 4 at 1 PM at Stanford Settlement
http://www.amazon.com/Compassion-Justice-Christian-Life-Rethinking/dp/0830743790/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269444272&sr=8-1#noop
Please check out this link to Robert Lupton's recent book about "rethinking ministry to the poor" You can read the first few pages- very ancouraging and challenging! Our leadership team is going to be studying some of the concepts from www.ccda.org in the coming weeks. Thanks for your prayers.
Go Well,
David
Monday, April 26, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
Anti-Racism Dialogue
A friend suggested I start a blog with my latest update letter. Here it is, my first post:
Dear Friends, April 2010
God is good. He answers prayers! Thanks for praying for Bridge of Life and our calling in Gardenland/Northgate.
We had a great start to a significant dialog on racism last week, facilitated by my friend Rudy Gonzalez. Stay tuned for a more detailed report on our discussion and our next steps.
Here are just a few heartfelt comments to stir your imaginations and ignite your prayers about this important topic:
• Third generation Asian American: "All of my life I have felt like a second-class citizen, even though I am fully and proudly American.... I was so surprised and curious about this Dialog on Racism that I had to come, because I have been in the Christian Church a long time [many decades] and I have never heard of racism being discussed. Nobody has ever asked me about my experiences before…"
• First generation European immigrant: "Americans are blind to the racism in and out of the Church."
• First generation African immigrant: "Racism is a crucial issue that needs to be dealt with in the Church... We must do something about it!"
• First generation Asian immigrant spoke about "The White Church". (Hmm, how does that phrase sound to you?)
• Anglo pastor: "I hope we can understand and help others understand how deeply painful the sin of racism is..."
• African American pastor: "I have had to consciously change myself to 'fit in' to the majority culture. This is cultural idolatry and the Gospel of Jesus Christ is at stake."
• Another Anglo pastor: "Racism is a denial of the image of God, and undercuts our Biblical identity at the core of every person and the heart of the Gospel."
• Anglo Christian Community Developer: "We need ideas on how to address racism and tools to implement those ideas!"
Many many people spoke of being steeped in a very homogenous culture most of their early lives, and then at some point, when they engaged with another culture and found themselves in "the minority", however briefly, they called the experience "eye-opening".
(It struck me that the comfort of the "majority" in the homogeneity that we often seek is therefore so often associated, by contrast, with living with our eyes closed.....)
Indeed, sight and blindness seemed to be a common theme that I heard last Friday. To sum up some major themes:
"Racism is alive and well, but unseen or unacknowledged by many, especially in the Church. It is rarely discussed, yet considered a "crucial issue" by those most directly affected by it. And our Biblical identity as image-bearers of Christ, brothers and sisters beautifully created in His image, makes any issue that affects some of us, by definition, affect all of us- the whole family of God!"
Therefore racism is an issue that must be dealt with, and the Good News of the Gospel of reconciliation is that in the grace of Christ we can deal with it. Also, we have some very smart and grace-filled leaders around here that can shepherd us through this "eye-opening" Dialogue on Racism and begin to identify next steps. I am profoundly grateful for Rudy Gonzalez- his friendship, and his work with our denomination's race relations department.
Stay tuned..... We are thinking about another event in autumn....
Please keep praying!
Go Well,
Pastor Dave
Dear Friends, April 2010
God is good. He answers prayers! Thanks for praying for Bridge of Life and our calling in Gardenland/Northgate.
We had a great start to a significant dialog on racism last week, facilitated by my friend Rudy Gonzalez. Stay tuned for a more detailed report on our discussion and our next steps.
Here are just a few heartfelt comments to stir your imaginations and ignite your prayers about this important topic:
• Third generation Asian American: "All of my life I have felt like a second-class citizen, even though I am fully and proudly American.... I was so surprised and curious about this Dialog on Racism that I had to come, because I have been in the Christian Church a long time [many decades] and I have never heard of racism being discussed. Nobody has ever asked me about my experiences before…"
• First generation European immigrant: "Americans are blind to the racism in and out of the Church."
• First generation African immigrant: "Racism is a crucial issue that needs to be dealt with in the Church... We must do something about it!"
• First generation Asian immigrant spoke about "The White Church". (Hmm, how does that phrase sound to you?)
• Anglo pastor: "I hope we can understand and help others understand how deeply painful the sin of racism is..."
• African American pastor: "I have had to consciously change myself to 'fit in' to the majority culture. This is cultural idolatry and the Gospel of Jesus Christ is at stake."
• Another Anglo pastor: "Racism is a denial of the image of God, and undercuts our Biblical identity at the core of every person and the heart of the Gospel."
• Anglo Christian Community Developer: "We need ideas on how to address racism and tools to implement those ideas!"
Many many people spoke of being steeped in a very homogenous culture most of their early lives, and then at some point, when they engaged with another culture and found themselves in "the minority", however briefly, they called the experience "eye-opening".
(It struck me that the comfort of the "majority" in the homogeneity that we often seek is therefore so often associated, by contrast, with living with our eyes closed.....)
Indeed, sight and blindness seemed to be a common theme that I heard last Friday. To sum up some major themes:
"Racism is alive and well, but unseen or unacknowledged by many, especially in the Church. It is rarely discussed, yet considered a "crucial issue" by those most directly affected by it. And our Biblical identity as image-bearers of Christ, brothers and sisters beautifully created in His image, makes any issue that affects some of us, by definition, affect all of us- the whole family of God!"
Therefore racism is an issue that must be dealt with, and the Good News of the Gospel of reconciliation is that in the grace of Christ we can deal with it. Also, we have some very smart and grace-filled leaders around here that can shepherd us through this "eye-opening" Dialogue on Racism and begin to identify next steps. I am profoundly grateful for Rudy Gonzalez- his friendship, and his work with our denomination's race relations department.
Stay tuned..... We are thinking about another event in autumn....
Please keep praying!
Go Well,
Pastor Dave
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)