Show me what a life lived in grace looks like: unfettered, joyous, rampant. I told someone once that I wanted to have the guts to laugh at myself and loosen up a bit. I think I was born melancholy (and I protested as much when I tested so in a personality test–this much is true […]
The Regeneration interns and I are wrapping up our year here at church. What have I learned? This was the year I stopped romanticizing urban ministry. I honestly came in with the idea that I was going to be really warmhearted and be an amazing rescuer and friend of the poor who could really see […]
Channeling Ice Cube: 94610 prayer walk with church community. Gary shared that doing these walks builds hope in us… helps us remember there’s hope for Oakland. Give us eyes and ears and a heart for the city and our neighborhood. And afterwards I bought a brioche knot + a pizza slice at Arizmendi and 2 peaches […]
I’m sitting in the terminal at SFO and about to board and it’s finally hitting me–here we go. A few of you may have gotten this, but here’s a quick recap of what I’m going to spend the next few weeks doing: I’m going to Cebu What: Missions trip to the Philippines with Regeneration, my church in Oakland. When: April 20th […]
It’s like the evenings I spent in Central Asia years ago, sprawled on a stiff hotel bed and journaling until darkness fell. In my headphones the refrain would play: in your presence, all fear is gone, in your presence… And it’s all I could cling to, because that month-or-so in that land was one of […]
The more I stay here the more I realize that I am tired, I am selfish, I am resentful. I am being changed–yes–by entering the lives of people in poverty and seeing the grace of being invited into their lives. Yes, I am learning from them a simple faith and a simple life. But it is […]
A few cloudy Sundays ago I was watching Bruce play with Darren on the steps of our church. Screaming fire trucks were storming our street. Bruce ran down the steps, swept a wide-eyed Darren into his arms and ran down to watch the commotion fade down East 15th. Darren’s eyes were bright and mouth was agape. […]
I’m wrestling a lot these days with the idea of Justice and what it looks like to be a Christian–and a human–in the midst of it. This week, the interns and I have been at the Not for Sale Academy receiving training on human trafficking before we head out to the Philippines in April. I’m feeling […]
An infographic for Freedom Sunday at Regeneration. Download as PDF.
Tonight, we watched a video in Stephen Ministry that left me moved and feeling heavy at the same time. Dr. Diane Langberg spoke a message about the reality of brokenness and suffering in our lives and the need for compassionate Christians to sit with the hurting and minister with presence. I’ve been thinking about human […]
