Remember Our Past, Rejoin in the Present, Re-Imagine the Future
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
~ 1 John 3:16-18
Remember Our Past, Rejoin in the Present, Re-Imagine the Future
I recently had the privilege of attending a week long national Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) conference in Chicago. It was a week of rest, reflection and catching up with old friends. It was such a blessing to spend a week with my brother and former Boston Project staffers Emily and Melissa.
This year's conference theme was "Remember the past, Rejoice in the present, Re-Imagine the future," and multiple times I was struck by the need to know and reflect upon our own past, but also the importance of knowing our collective past as believers. John Perkins, who founded CCDA, shared story after story of his past as a civil rights activist, being beaten and put in jail for the sole reason of his race, the deaths of friends and family for standing up for civil rights, and the ways God showed up through it all.
It's difficult to not feel inspired after hearing heart-wrenching stories followed by words of wisdom of "but LOVE conquers all", and seeing the redemption and reconciliation that can happen when there is a true commitment to living out the words of Christ. Morning bible study with the 80 year old Perkins was inspirational to love as Christ loves - literally loving our neighbors with all we have.Our collective past as believers shows that when we take the words of Christ literally, radical things can happen. John Perkins' story and commitment to reconciliation of people with God and people to people, when he has ever reason to be jaded and full of anger, is a reminder of that. Let us love with actions and in truth, and see what happens. I have no doubt that God will show up.
Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
We're always keeping things interesting around here, and things never remain stagnant. I've moved to a local church's parsonage house and am living with some wonderful coworkers at Boston Project in an effort to save money. A dear friend has moved back to Nashville, TN, but I am excited with the arrival of another dear friend, Dana, who will be serving with us for a year through Americorps. Sometimes it's hard to believe that I'm considered "old" in Boston Project world, having been here for three years, but I praise God for the role I can play in helping some of our new staffers adjust to life here in the city. I'm learning more and more to go with the flow with change and love the season I'm in, regardless of what may come.
