City Blog

Alhambra City Prayerwalk Reflection 3-6-11

2011-03-06T21:45:00.000-08:00

It's been 2 years since Kingdom Causes did the Alhambra prayerwalk in the downtown core. On a sunny and mild Sunday afternoon, about 40 people from 5 local congregations came to pray for the city of Alhambra.

Starting from Alhambra True Light Presbyterian Church, we went to stations along approximately 1 mile route: Municipal courts, churches on Commonwealth, Alhambra High School, City Hall, Civic Library, Police, businesses, a local Christian counseling agency and the federal government (post office).

What I appreciated from people who walked and prayed was how they noticed things I didn't notice--"why didn't we pray for that big bank on the corner?"
"We should be praying for that Planned Parenthood across the street"
"I didn't realize there was all these night clubs!"

Prayerwalking is just as much about noticing things to pray for en route as it is predetermined stations. We think we know a place, but often times are just driving through, too fast to notice until we slow down and see things up close and in the mode to notice (in the mode of prayer!). This slowing down is a good thing for us as we enter Lent on Wednesday: noticing things we wouldn't notice, noticing what Jesus saw as he walked towards the city of Jerusalem with his disciples.

Thanks to all who participated and promoted the City Prayerwalk!

Shalom for Everyone

2010-12-29T14:16:00.000-08:00

Greetings for the New Year 2011!

I've been reading Robert Linthicum's book Building a People of Power. He does a great job at talking about the biblical concept of shalom as what a God vision for the whole world is to look like.

We talk a lot about shalom when we talk about Kingdom Causes to churches and people of faith. After all we use Jeremiah 29:7 a lot in our conversations: "Seek the welfare (shalom) of the city." But what I didn't think about is that shalom is for the "haves and have nots," and Linthicum does a good job at showing these two are intertwined for shalom to be whole (and biblically speaking, the two themes are brought together in the book of Deuteronomy).

Shalom for the "have nots" is a message of liberation, salvation, of setting free. Shalom for the "haves" is of celebration for security and of wise management of all God has given. As Linthicum says,

The biblical message on shalom is that it is for both the haves and have nots. It is both for those who lack power and are in need of liberation and for those who hold power and seek to appropriately manage the resources God has placed at their disposal...One of the essential tasks of the church is to bring together through Christ those searching for liberation or salvation and those who are the managers of society and seek security, so that they might work together to build shalom that is truly just and equitable for all, that brings people in to an ever-deepening relationship with God and each other, and consequently contributes to the formation of society as God intended it to be lived.

Couldn't have said it better myself! Here's to seeking shalom and bridges between the haves and have nots in Alhambra & Monterey Park for the New Year!

2010 Reflection

2010-12-29T13:43:00.000-08:00

Below is the text from the end of the year newsletter I sent to many others. Thanks for all the support this year!

It’s hard to believe the end of 2010 is coming soon. During this Advent season, I look back at the last year and have seen God’s provision and generosity through your support, prayers, and participation in our events and programs, even as I transitioned into full-time as the catalyst in June.

One word I can use to describe this past year is “favor.” We received a generous capacity grant this year that provided computer equipment, marketing material for our Believe mentoring program, and an urban gardening handbook for our Neighborhood Gardens program. This grant also included wonderful leadership coaching in handling finances, strategic planning, online marketing, and fund development, perfect for someone starting out full time! We also renewed our contract with the County of Public Health to continue giving workshops on having safe and healthy home environments for families.

This favor also extended into some of our initiatives. Our Monterey Park Ministerial Association has completed another year of finding ways we can reach out to our community together. On Good Friday, over 100 people prayerwalked to pray for peace in our city and community. In the summer, a number of churches coordinated their VBS program schedule so they could provide families with 6 weeks of VBS for the community. And our annual Community Thanksgiving Service also provided a candle prayerwalk to City Hall as we put into practice our role as “salt and light” in our communities.

We also facilitated several neighborhood BBQs this year, as a way for us to practically reach out to our literal neighbors. Without fail each time, neighbors say, “we should do this more often!” Even in Los Angeles, people realize they want to know and trust their neighbors even though the default is to live in isolation.

Next year, we are going to capitalize on this year’s favor to use the urban gardening handbook to help our low-income neighbors using local food banks to grow their own food. We hope to expand our mentoring program with Alhambra School district to be more robust and hire someone part-time to lead that development. We are also growing a new Alhambra Ministerial Association of pastors and ministers who will work together on ways to bless the city (we are planning a join prayerwalk at the beginning of Lent next year).

Thanks for all your support this year, and may you have a blessed 2011!

Jesse Chang, Catalyst

High Expectations

2010-10-31T06:21:00.000-07:00

I once read a front page article in a magazine about the science of failure. One of the interesting ironies I remembered in the article is that failure often helps people and organizations become better and often have more positive lessons to learn than success does. In fact, success can often blind us to factors that were never in our control in the first place, but we take credit anyway (like a good economy!).

Yesterday's Prayerwalk and Harvest Fest was a successful Kingdom Causes event as any, but we also realized a factor beyond our control was the weather--a strong rain storm went through before our event--and how much that kept people inside, especially our senior neighbors who had said they would come. Quite a few were sick too!

Also, we realized that perhaps we were competing with the Church of the City rather than truly collaborating on this Halloween weekend--so many other "harvest fests" including the church who hosted the site who just had theirs the night before. Why not hold this event embedded within another congregation's event? Or better yet, pool our resources in the ministerial association and do one large event for the community?

Finally, I had high expectations for getting people out from the community who weren't part of our existing network to this event, and there were a few. But the truth of it is that we never really promoted it in the city nor did we really engage community members who would be interested. I felt a bit like we did the typical church outreach event which is attractional: "build it and they will come." But then we don't really allow the community to be at that table to help in that planning process.

"We're still learning," as my co-worker said. Not reaching our high expectations is a great learning opportunity. Extending ourselves some grace in the process helps us not to navel gaze but learn and persevere for the next time!

Neigbhorhood Gardens Reflection: Goals and Reality

2010-10-22T07:43:00.000-07:00

I had a chance to talk to someone this week who was interested in doing something with growing food, like what we are doing in our neighborhood gardens. His enthusiasm was apparent even if he didn't know what he was going to do, what his goals were, etc.

But as I recounted our brief journey in our own neighborhood, I realized how similar I felt when this idea of growing food as a vocation came about: so much passion, but a scattered focus.
Perhaps because food is so basic to life, it's the reason there are so many ways of approaching it in the non-profit world:
food banks, food co-ops, childhood obesity, school lunch reform, farmer's markets, community gardens, school gardens, self-sufficiency/empowerment, job training programs to name a few.

I kept repeating the refrain talking to this enthusiastic gardener that you need to have some goal in mind when you start, and then let reality sharpen your focus. This has very much been the lesson learned for us. Neighborhood Gardens started with the idea of growing food that would benefit residents and also low-income residents by donating a portion to our local food bank. But reality was that our few gardens weren't big enough for regular donations. There was no way we could provide a significant amount of food for the food banks.

That's why I hope next week's Harvest Fest on 10/30 will have as one of its outcomes a local network of neighbors and their gardens and fruit trees becoming regular contributors to our food bank while in the midst of forming community around local food. In many ways, the reality of our limitations provided an opportunity for us to look for creative solutions that are far more sustainable and community-oriented than if we strived to do it on our own.

Thank God our goals don't always work out the way we thought they would!

Environmental Justice and Our Cities

2010-08-30T15:01:00.000-07:00

Our guest blogger today is Thomas Wong, a resident of Monterey Park and also on the city's Environmental Commission. He shares how "being green" is not just "saving the planet," but also very much a justice issue for our low-income neighbors.

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

Recycle. Turn off the faucet. Turn off the lights when you leave the room. Change out your old light bulbs for CFLs. Carpool. We are reminded of many simple steps we can take to ‘green’ our lives, and even save some money, every single day. However, caring for the environment is about more than just wasting less and saving money. Often, many don’t realize that environmental issues are also social justice issues.

This past July, a number of high-level federal environmental officials came to the San Gabriel Valley to hear residents and community leaders share some of their concerns. Among the many thoughts conveyed, one of the most poignant was expressed by EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. In her remarks, she reminded the audience that environmental protection is really, simply, community protection. When we work to make sure our air is clean, our water is safe, and open space is available, we’re working to make sure that the physical environment does not threaten or diminish the quality of life of our communities. Caring for the environment is really about preserving and enhancing the health and welfare of our families, friends and neighbors.

Sadly, the poor and disadvantaged often suffer disproportionately from environmental hazards and degradation. When an area is polluted, it is the poor who lack the ability to relocate and are left with few resources to mitigate the effects. When decisions about land use and development are made, the needs of the poor are overlooked because they lack the ability to organize and communicate effectively. The poor—commonly ethnic minorities—are set at a disadvantage because they are often unaware of environmental risks due to cultural and language barriers, among other reasons, and are often marginalized because of their lack of economic and political influence.

Looking around at the San Gabriel Valley, landfills and industrial areas that are associated with increased pollution levels and health risks are often located in lower class neighborhoods that lack the resources to fight them. A few years ago, USC came out with a study that linked serious long-term health effects with living next to freeways, especially among children. Because of the general complaints about freeways, those who can afford to stay away or move away from them usually do, leaving the poor to bear the brunt of the harm.

When going down streets in neighborhoods of varying socio-economic backgrounds, streetscapes and sidewalk quality are tell-tale signs of the disparities that exist between the haves and have-nots. Compare posh stretches of Colorado Blvd in Pasadena to some of the harsher stretches of Garvey Ave. in El Monte. In largely ethnic communities like those in the San Gabriel Valley, especially with large working-class foreign-born populations, outreach and education on environmental risks and solutions is challenging but essential.

As we seek God’s Kingdom here on earth, we cannot ignore the role we have to play as Christians to call out and work to root out environmental injustice when we see it. Let us go beyond simply greening our habits. As we walk around our neighborhoods, let us pay closer attention to our physical environment and its serious effects on our community. And let us engage with our leaders to call out injustice that exists and advocate for equitable solutions to the environmental threats that our community faces.

ABCD Training Reflection

2010-08-05T21:00:00.001-07:00

Sung Kim, our summer intern, wrote this reflection on the training in ABCD (Asset-Based Communty Development) done on 7/20-21 at Chinese Evangelical Free Church in Monterey Park.

It can be widely agreed upon that each individual or community has needs. Each community lacks something. Whether it’s a local park for children to play in, better roads, or safety, it is not difficult for us to identify what is not right about a community.I was privileged to be introduced to Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) a couple of weeks ago in a training led by Terri Larson and Susan Sngiem. It was a great time of learning, fellowship, and listening to stories of the journeys God had brought each individual that was there. The message was simple, yet a complete shift of thinking. Instead of starting from a needs perspective, the goal was to start from what the community already had or was good at. This shift thus allows each person in the community to directly participate in their community in a way that promotes empowerment and a sense of ownership. As I carefully tilted my ears towards Terri and Susan as they spoke, there was only one thing I could think of. “But what about the needs!”

This phrase stuck with me the next couple of hours after the training. I knew there was nothing really wrong about focusing on the needs, but something led me to believe it wasn’t the best way. How do we really know what we need anyway? Perhaps an analogy to prayer can help us unpack this further. When I usually pray about a petition or request to God, I start with my needs. I ask God for things to help me with ministry, school, and finding parking (which God has answered many times by the way!). The ABCD training really challenged my way of thinking. Perhaps ABCD is so compelling because it teaches us to acknowledge what God has already blessed us or the community with. It tells us that God has already given so much and that there is “hidden treasure” waiting to be discovered by those who are willing to search. Having such a perspective may also allow us to realize that our preconceived needs were never really needs in the first place.

The potential for ABCD is tremendous. It provides an avenue for grant money to be used more effectively and directs us to see the good in our communities, to see God in our communities. I was truly blessed by the ABCD trainings. It has changed the way I think about what it means to be lacking and to search for God’s Kingdom wherever I go. If you ever feel like you can’t see the Kingdom of God in your community, you may only have to search next door to find it. Blessings.

On a Mission from God?

2010-07-11T20:38:00.000-07:00

Last week I had a telling interaction with one of my co-teachers at Upward Bound Study Center in Monterey Park, where we teach recent immigrant Chinese students ESL and other subjects.

We were talking about something and she said something along the idea that she'll "be on mission" next week. Meaning she was going overseas. I thought about it for a second and said, "Aren't you already on mission?"
She said, "Well, you can take it up with God." I responded, "I don't have a comeback for that."

Notwithstanding my inability to give an adequate comeback, there's something about our in-house Christian language that has "mission" still placed in foreign, extraordinary, special terms. In some ways, it seems to be a positive elevation of this aspect of what it means to be the Church. But in many ways, it creates the kind of hierarchy that makes it only for those spiritually mature and sacrificial enough to be part of this elite circle--and everyone else either a spectator or financial supporter.

Mission flows from the heart of the Triune God. If that is a fundamental part of God's nature, then mission is not something we simply "do" as one thing amongst many in The Church. It is central to her being.

You all are "on a mission from God"!

My Neighborhood Is My Youth Group

2010-07-03T12:23:00.000-07:00

I started teaching ESL and being the "youth worker" at Upward Bound Study Center in Monterey Park this week (a program reaching out to low immigrant Chinese high school youth), had a discussion with a local church about their desire to restart their youth group with an emphasis on reaching community kids, and had my recently graduated mentee from our Believe mentoring program randomly stop by Friday night with his friends to chill out while they were running (to exercise).

All my previous times with youth was in a church culture with church kids (I was reminded of this Saturday when I saw my old church's youth go off to their annual camp retreat). But now I'm in a completely different situation where most of these kids aren't believers. And I'm loving this opportunity because I feel like this is the missional edge we are called to as the Church.

I've often said that youth pastors in our cities should view these neighborhood kids as their youth group, instead of just those who go to their church programs. It's a practical way of working out that old idea that the neighborhood your church is in is your parish. A parish mentality begins with the belief that all those located around your church meeting place is of concern, whether or not they attend your church, whether or not they are believers. But typically, a youth worker is hired to take care of the kids who come to church first and then maybe try and attract more kids to go to their group (like the picture implies).

This attractional model of youth ministry ("build something great and they will come") won't die out anytime soon. And I know firsthand that most churches won't sign on to a completely "missional" model if it doesn't benefit the church kids and the youth group program. I also know that many church kids are nominal at best, and that we can't assume they are all followers of Jesus. We all know the tensions and perils of youth ministry.

But if Jesus came to "seek and save the lost," couldn't we write in the job description of each youth pastor or worker something that reflects that same heart Jesus had for the lost? Volunteer at the Boys and Girls club? Mentor an at-risk student? Teach ESL to the low-income immigrant students at Mark Keppel? Let's not leave outreach and mission to some summer trip or camp or think that it's up to the kids in the youth group. Leadership has to.....well, lead the way!

Branding Hope

2010-06-28T09:18:00.000-07:00

This past week we had a discussion about what Kingdom Causes' "brand" is and filling out all those attributes that make up what we're about. A brand is different from our mission, because it's the specific ways we accomplish the mission. It's the adjectives you would use to describe what we are and do.

One of the brand attributes our facilitator reflected back to us was that we were "hopeful:" for and not against, forward thinking, optimistic. I totally agree. And interestingly enough, I started reading N.T. Wright's Surprised By Hope last week too.

Wright's thesis is that if we reorient ourselves again to the radical implications of Jesus' bodily resurrection, we have both an ultimate hope AND hope for the present world. Too often, Christians don't see the connection between an ultimate hope (summarized as "eternal life") and how if at all there's a connection to what we do on earth--why bother with trying to make things better if the only thing that's important is to save my individual soul? For those more concerned about working for a better world today, resurrection discussion can seem like a theological diversion that has nothing to do with the hard work to be done in the here and now.

Wright talks about "collaborative eschatology" as one way early Christians combined both pieces:

Because the early Christians believed that resurrection had begun with Jesus and would be completed in the great final resurrection on the last day, they believed that God had called them to work with him, in the power of the Spirit, to implement the achievement of Jesus and thereby to anticipate the final resurrection, in personal and political life, in mission and holiness.

To me, Wright's book is reminding me of this: We can not brand hope in a generic way at Kingdom Causes. Christ-centered hope is radical, revolutionary, relational, and surprising!

Credit or Change?

2010-06-13T22:32:00.000-07:00

I had someone tell me last week that there was an interaction where she realized I wasn't given credit for something I'm doing. As a catalyst, part of our job is not necessarily to be up front and be the one in the limelight, but I'm sure we're all human and can feel a little bit indignant when credit isn't given when credit is due. WE certainly wouldn't want those we work with to not get credit.

But I remembered later a line quoted earlier this year at a conference that I wrote down to remember: "Credit doesn't matter. Change is." We can all nod our heads in the non-profit world to that maxim. But if someone else gets the credit? That's the real test on whether we really believe that the bigger picture of change and transformation is worth more than personal credit, personal or organizational.

Paul talks about that too, that some preach Christ out of selfish ambition but Paul, he was a big picture even when that meant personal attack: "The important thing is that in every way, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice" (Philippians 1:18). Praying that I will not forget to be a "big picture" guy.

Block Parties Galore

2010-06-05T17:57:00.000-07:00

One of the best ideas to come out from our strategic planning meeting last month was the neighborhood block party. We planned on having four for the year, and we already had two last weekend and one planned for July 4th weekend. And now our local churches want to do the same, and some asking KCAMP to help them reach their neighbors.

I had a conversation with one of the host neighbors last week about how counter cultural it is to much of our LA culture to have neighbors hanging out with each other, knowing, trusting, and helping one another. I know it's a larger symptom of the shadow side of our independent American spirit, where loneliness and isolation is the norm. But the irony is deeper in a dense city like our own.

And as I experienced our own block party, I got a vision of a pretty good end result for these block parties: my block which is usually empty of residents being outside had people walking back and forth in their front yards, laughing with one another, talking out on the street, and making plans together for future interactions.

The Kingdom is like, as Tony Campolo famously said, "a party." An apt metaphor. I think our parties are a foretaste of that Kingdom life.

Finishing Well

2010-05-29T20:38:00.000-07:00

Some of the lines bandied about in talking about leadership include "working yourself out of a job" and "begin with the end in mind." After having my final day at my shelter job on Thursday, I thought those sayings can be somewhat simplistic. I didn't work myself out of my job; there was a replacement. I didn't know starting out where the end of this job would be, only that it would end someday. And I'm still on a sort of "on call" to help the new guy transition well.

I guess for me there is never closure in the simplest sense of the word--the work will never end, until Kingdom Come. Finishing well seems to be more about legacy, if Iron Man 2 has taught me anything. Have you left this job, ministry, work better than when you came in? Did you leave without any burned bridges of relationships, as far as you could control? What good thing have you left behind that will go on after your last day?

Maybe it's better to start with those questions than to throw out those tired leadership statements!

Pentecost Reflection

2010-05-23T14:07:00.000-07:00

Journaling this morning reminded me again that today is Pentecost Sunday. And I came up with this question as I reflected on the Acts 2 story: "How are you, Holy Spirit, bringing newness?" It was difficult to come up with a list.

Even if I know there is potential stagnancy I sense in myself and some of those around me, I know this is also my untrained ability to see that newness. God may be making all things new through His Spirit, but I'm often hurtling along on the freeway of life without my mirrors attached.

This reflection from Every Bush Is Burning by Joan Puls captures what I want to believe, and with the Spirit's transforming work also SEE more of this newness in my life and in our cities:

"I believe that nothing human is foreign to the Spirit, that the Spirit embraces all. Our mundane experiences contain all the stuff of holiness and of human growth in grace. Our world is rife with messages and signatures of the Spirit. Our encounters with one another are potential sites of the awakening and energizing that characterize the Spirit. But so much goes unnoticed. We fail so often to recognize the light that shines through the tiny chinks and the dusty panes of our daily lives. We are too busy to name the event that is blessed in its ordinariness, holy in its uniqueness, and grace-filled in its underlying challenge."

Come, Holy Spirit.

Transition Plan

2010-05-15T08:31:00.000-07:00

If you don't know by now, my family and I are taking a step of faith for me to quit my stable 30 hour job so I could focus more on going "full-time" with Kingdom Causes Alhambra - Monterey Park (stable in work, not necessarily in pay :P) . There's been a rush of feelings, lots of fitful sleep, and wondering prayers. It can be hard living in that "in-between" space, wondering how it's all going to play out.

But this week as I started my transition plan (down from 30 to 16 hours with the goal of training my successor), I found so much life-giving work, meetings, and conversations that helped confirm this sense of calling even more with the additional time in Kingdom Causes work.

Monday--Meeting with local pastors about opportunities to serve the community. Also connected with the SGV branch of Habitat for Humanity.

Wednesday--Met with my coach to talk about our strategic plan for KCAMP for the next few years. Our team is already moving forward with all our listed goals.

Thursday--Monterey Park Ministerial group. Continued to dream and plan on how we can work together as well as for the city.

Friday--Did some extra mentoring time and replanted a garden with summer veggies.

Praise God for all these opportunities and connections. Sometimes I feel like what I'm doing with KCAMP "out there" is making up for all the pretty much in-house work I did as a pastor of a church.

Two Crosses

2010-04-03T07:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had our first "Good Friday Prayerwalk for Peace" amongst the churches of Monterey Park. We had no idea who would come since it was at 1pm, but garnered at least 70 odd people across a wide variety of ages. I thought it was a great show of unity as a concrete example of what "Church of the City" looks like when we talk about it in Kingdom Causes.

Anyway, from a more personal reflection, I had the chance to carry two crosses during the prayerwalk: the gold processional cross to lead the walk, and the simple wooden cross at the end of the line. Carrying the processional cross out on the streets of Monterey Park carried mixed feelings--one of being a little proud to be so publicly witnessing on the streets, saying "We are Christian" to the gawkers and pedestrians on the sidewalk we almost barreled over at times. And then a strange feeling about how this gold cross represented the sort of Constantine/Crusader emblem of conquest and triumph in much of Church history.

Then I got a call from my intern who asked for me to slow down, since she was holding up the back with the wooden cross. She called TWICE to ask me to slow down. So I ended up transferring the cross (while still holding the heavy stand for it) over and having the group proceed while I waited to see what the hold up was.

After all the prayerwalkers had passed me, I saw way off at the street corner of Garfield and Garvey my intern with the wooden cross and one elderly, deaf woman walking very slowly towards me. We walked together for a short while, but the stand for the gold cross needed to go to the front of the line. I told my intern to go on ahead with the stand, and I would walk with this woman with the wooden cross. And so we did, a veritable two person prayerwalk, with me holding this wooden cross that now felt foolish and strange, and also a marked contrast to moments before: no longer leading the crowd, but now with the one almost forgotten, the one easily marginalized.

I was glad to be able to be first and last during the prayerwalk. If I had spent too much time leading the way, the way of the cross would not have included those most easily forgotten and marginalized. Maybe next year, we'll have the leader and sweeper switch places at each transition, so as not to forget this central aspect of bearing the cross of Christ.

It was a Good Friday.

Lenten Reflection #3

2010-03-27T22:26:00.000-07:00

We had a fellowship group from my old church come to repaint the former office today to begin its transformation into the City Prayer Room (CPR, get it?) for Kingdom Causes Alhambra-Monterey Park. The vision of this room is for it to not only be a place of personal retreat, but to tap into that outward stream of praying for our cities.

Since the office is located in the central section of Alhambra, I had them first go out and prayerwalk for the police, school, church and court buildings right around the corner. They wrote some prayers I will post on a future wall board of city prayer people can post when they are praying.

Here's the quote I put for the prayerwalk from Eugene Peterson, appropriate as we near the end of the Lent season, but a great reminder for me that I need to get over myself a lot when I pray!

“The only way to escape from self-annihilating and society-destroying egotism and into self-enhancing community is through prayer. Only in prayer can we escape the distortions and constrictions of the self and enter the truth and expansiveness of God. We find there, to our surprise, both self and society whole and blessed. It is the old business of losing your life to save it; and the life that is saved is not only your own, but everyone else’s as well.”

Lenten Reflection #2

2010-03-20T22:18:00.000-07:00

I shared this reflection at our first local training in Alhambra-Monterey Park today. Can't wait to let people post their reflections in later posts. But this reflection talks about the "both and" of prayer and action in Kingdom activity.

Prayer challenges us to be fully aware of the world in which we live and to present it with all its needs and pains to God. It is this compassionate prayer that calls for compassionate action. The disciple is called to follow the Lord not only into the desert and onto the mountains to pray but also into the valley of tears, where help is needed, and onto the cross, where humanity is in agony.

Prayer and action, therefore, can never be seen as contradictory or mutually exclusive. Prayer without action grows into powerless pietism, and action without prayer degenerates into questionable manipulation. If prayer leads us into a deeper unity with the compassionate Christ, it will always give rise to concrete acts of service. And if concrete acts of service do indeed lead us into a deeper solidarity with the poor, the hungry, the sick, the dying , and the oppressed, they will always give rise to prayer. In prayer we meet Christ, and in him all human suffering. In service we meet people, and in them the suffering Christ.

--From Compassion: A Reflection on the Christian Life

Lenten Reflection #1

2010-03-06T15:37:00.000-08:00

Like the rains that seem to come every week, the last month I've been mostly sick fighting off a respiratory infection that seemed to affect everyone I knew, including my family.

The experience was dreadful at times; I had a terrible sore throat the first week, and the second week I was so congested I would wake up a few times at night because I couldn't breathe. There were times I could only squeeze out a "please God"--I couldn't remember the last time I was in such sickly misery.

I think people of faith can fall under two extremes when it comes to sickness: is it a God-given opportunity to exercise greater faith, or is it spiritual warfare, a concrete expression of the falleness of our world and therefore to be resisted at all times? Most extremes tend to destroy truly life-giving faith; perhaps discernment in the particulars of a life when we deal with sickness leads to a more truthful reality than a broad theological brushstroke.

Since this all happened during Lent's beginning, it was difficult not connecting it to the themes of sacrifice, suffering, and limitations. Compassion, according to Henri Nouwen, "removes all pretensions, just as it removes false modesty." In my case, my miserable state helped me understand in small part what it may be like for those around me who deal with chronic conditions or are frequently sick. As one who is usually healthy, it's easy to start tuning these people out as either hypochondriacs or just no fun to be around--what a drag being around sickos! But it also made me respect the great strength and willpower of those who despite it all don't complain, go to work, raise families, and create beauty around them.

If this bout of sickness has helped create a little bit more compassion for others who suffer, then I guess it was worth it--as a God-opportunity to deepen faith.

Encouragement for Kingdom Workers

2010-02-06T20:06:00.000-08:00

The following is an excerpt from Howard Thurman's The Inward Journey. It is a reflection on the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30. To me, it's an encouragement to those of us who feel like we're laboring without any sort of results, and thus losing heart. It's also a great corrective for us who perhaps trust too much in our ability (or at least try to project the image) to "make things happen." Please excuse his old school non-inclusive language :)

The unfortunate servant was not 'cast off' because he did not realize any profit for the nobleman. No. He was cast off because he did not 'work at it'...

We are never under obligation to achieve results. Of course, results are important and it may be that that is the reason effort is put forth. But results are not mandatory. Much of the energy and effort and many anxious hours are spent over the probable failure or success of our ventures. No man likes to fail. But it is important that under certain circumstances, failure is its own success...

There are many forces over which the individual can exercise no control whatsoever. A man plants a seed in the ground and the seed sprouts and grows. The weather, the winds, the elements, cannot be controlled by the farmer. The result is never a sure thing. So what does the farmer do? He plants. Always he plants. Again and again he works at it--the ultimate confidence and assurance that even though his seed does not grow to fruition, seeds do grow and do come to fruition.

The task of men who work for the Kingdom of God, is to Work for the Kingdom of God. The result beyond this demand is not in their hands. He who keeps his eyes on results cannot give himself wholeheartedly to his task, however simple or complex that task may be.

Catalyst Defined!

2010-01-30T19:48:00.000-08:00

We at Kingdom Causes call ourselves "catalysts" and even have that name printed on our business cards. I've had to muddle around what we mean by that when people ask or give blank looks, often substituting "director" to help people understand.

But this book I'm currently reading called The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations has given me a great answer as to why we call ourselves catalysts--it even has a whole section on what a catalyst does to help effect change in communities.

For those who don't know the contrast between a starfish and spider is really a contrast about organizational life: do you have a centralized hierarchy (a spider) or a decentralized organism (starfish)? It's the difference between the music industry (spider) and Napster and all its permutations (starfish). You can chop a spider's head off and the whole body dies; a starfish can be chopped several times and each one grows into another starfish!

Anyway, one of the keys to a starfish organization is a catalyst. A helpful chart at the end of the chapter on catalyst contrasts a CEO's characteristics with a catalyst's:

CEO: boss, command-and-control, rational, powerful, directive, in the spotlight, order, organizing
Catalyst: peer, trust, emotionally intelligent, inspirational, collaborative, behind the scenes, ambiguity, connecting

The above really captures my values and approach as the "catalyst" for Kingdom Causes. But I still can't explain this any more succinctly the next time someone asks what a "catalyst" is!

Happy Sabbath New Year!

2010-01-21T19:53:00.000-08:00

Sorry it's been awhile since I posted; I got sick and injured during the days following Christmas, and I'm still not 100%. While I was in that time of recovery, this passage from a book on Sabbath by Wayne Muller came to me:

"If we do not allow for a rhythm of rest in our overly busy lives, illness becomes our Sabbath--our pneumonia, our cancer, our heart attack, our accidents create Sabbath for us. In my relationships with people suffering with cancer, AIDS, and other life-threatening illness, I am always struck by the mixture of sadness and relief they experience when illness interrupts their overly busy lives. While each shares their particular fears and sorrows, almost every one confesses some secret gratefulness. 'Finally,' they say, 'at last. I can rest.'"

The fact that this came at the beginning of the new year was also a reinforcement of this Sabbath lesson as I couldn't just jump out the gate with new ideas, projects and plans. Phone calls weren't made. E-mails weren't answered. I didn't go into the office.

On the other hand, I felt more compassion for those who were sick and chronically ill. I had to surrender the idea that life, ministry, and work is all going along fine without me (at least temporarily). I needed to live within my limits.

I hope we don't forget to be "useless" regularly this New Year!

Reflection on "Missional Living"

2009-12-10T20:02:00.000-08:00

Guest Blogger Intro: Eunice is an intern for Kingdom Causes this year. She is living and worshiping missionally in Monterey Park. Below she shares about her experience teaching a Sunday School Class at her church on “Missional Living.”

Although I knew that mission work did not have to involve getting on a plane and going to another country, there was still a part of me that believed that it was not fully mission work unless I traveled elsewhere. But since taking classes at Regent College and learning to read the Bible better, I know otherwise. True mission work is wherever I am. This is not because I can do so much. It is because God is a missional God. And since He has a desire for all humanity to know and love Him, mission exists everywhere, including the hodgepodge suburban city of Monterey Park.

As an intern for Kingdom Causes, my basic job description involves helping my own church in Monterey Park to be more missional in our own community. But the general mentality of the people who attend my church is still very much like mine was before learning more about missional living.

In the class, we basically covered four big concepts with Bible learning, application discussion and field trips. Here is a short and imperfect summary of each concept:

Incarnational Hospitality: Jesus was hospitable (welcoming) everywhere he went—in others’ homes and in public areas. How can we be hospitable everywhere we go—in our residential neighborhoods, in our churches’ surrounding community, at the grocery store, in restaurants, while eating with our friends/family, while driving, etc.?
Shalom: Because of sin, we are no longer fully in shalom. In other words, we are not wholly the creations that God wants us to be. How do we seek shalom (wholeness) for ourselves and in others?
Kingdom of God: God’s kingdom is not a place; it is His realm over all things. It is here and not yet. This is the concept that God is in control, and not us. When we do mission work (as all ministry should be), we are not doing things for God, but we are participating in what God is already doing for His people.
Church of the City: In the past, there used to only be one church in each community. That church was then responsible for the spiritual growth of the entire city. But in the present, there are often several churches in one city. In Monterey Park alone, there are over 25 churches. How can all these churches (despite different denominations, cultures and buildings) work together as the Church of the City?

Now that the official class has ended, here are a few personal reflections.

Highlights:

Most of the students were regularly consistent. I hope this means they were interested and learning.
A few of the students told me that they were seeing their lives differently—seeing how being hospitable to those around them was part of being missional.
Our McDonald’s field trip showed us that people in the city are in need and how we can be hospitable in a public setting.
Our church-visiting field trip opened our eyes to what other churches are doing in Monterey Park and how we can maybe join forces in being the Church of the City.

Challenges:

One quarter Sunday school is not sufficient. In fact, two years of seminary are not sufficient for fully learning about our missional God and how we can participate. But in being and doing, I hope we will all keep learning.
There are over 700 regular weekly attenders at my church. Only 10-15 students were in the Sunday school class. We wanted more. But the hope is that these few will spread the word. After all, the entire Christian church spread from 11 totally inadequate guys who learned to follow Jesus closely.
We are so big and have so many resources that we think we can handle many things on our own. But so much more could be done when the Church of the City works together.

Regarding this Sunday school Jesse asked me, “Would you do this again?” My answer is “Yes!!”

Giving Thanks

2009-11-28T18:23:00.000-08:00

We had our annual Community Thanksgiving Service this past Wednesday night at the 1st United Methodist Church of Alhambra, with about seven churches from the area participating, including two from Monterey Park. The best part of it for me was seeing all the different churches working together, connecting, and coming together for the specific cause that connected to the theme of the evening "Our Daily Bread."

I was glad we were able to get a representative from People for People, our local food bank to share the needs in the long term as well as the short term: three of the low income families with Christmas wish lists were "adopted" by attendees to the service, and we collected a whole car load of cans and dried food that we asked attendees to bring to the service for People for People's annual Christmas dinner delivery to the 150 or so families in our area.

Although I'm thankful for the chance for the Church of the cities to come together for a worship service, the whole theme of showing compassion to our needy neighbors made me think that perhaps the better alternative for the Church is to actually host our low-income neighbors and share a meal than have a worship service about it. Better yet, have a worship service added so they can be a part of it as well. Wouldn't it be great if we had a dinner together and had an open testimony time to express our gratitude as the Church with the community? Let a deeper justice and worship flow together!

Prayer Garden Walk Reflection

2009-11-13T06:33:00.001-08:00

This reflection post is from guest blogger Tiffany C, one of our walkers of the 4K prayerwalk and garden fundraiser on 10/31/09. A gardener herself, she also started one of our neighborhood gardens in Monterey Park and helps maintain our current gardens. Pictures courtesy of Tiffany as well.

When I take the time to walk someplace instead of drive (if possible) I notice things that I wouldn’t if I was inside a car. When I sit in a car with the heater on or the air conditioner blowing, the windows up, and music playing, I am blocked off from the world around me; I don’t notice the details I am driving by. On the prayerwalk this past Saturday it was an opportunity to notice the details in the city. I saw beauty: roses, birds of paradise, pumpkins, pomegranates, and new growth on trees…Fall. I saw neighbors: people going on walks, working on their garden, washing cars. I saw community: churches preparing for a Fall festival, friends walking and talking with each other, and new friendships being made. As we prayed for the city of Monterey Park we were blessed with meeting new brothers and sisters in this city. It was a blessing to experience God’s children acting as one body, regardless of what church we go to on Sunday or our political affiliations.

I am so excited about what God is doing in this place. It is so encouraging to see people praying for neighbors they do not know, for students, and businesses. I am so excited about the neighborhood gardens that are growing. It is a blessing for me to be a part of planting these gardens and helping them grow. I can see how they are helping build community and friendships in addition to just growing a crop of vegetables. And I can’t wait to have a harvest that is bountiful so that we can share food to our neighbors, some of whom may be hungry. For where there is food people will gather.

Space to Care

2009-10-23T11:39:00.000-07:00

On the right is a picture of the crumb of one of my favorite crusty breads, ciabatta.Those huge holes are like caverns to explore and collapse as you eat it, the aftermath of a perfect storm of bubbly yeast, heat and moisture interacting with the dough.

This week I was reminded of how much space we need to clear in our calendars to be caring. And by caring, I mean being available for others in a way that's an unhurried exchange. In yeast breads, flavor and crumb are formed best when there are long rise times. So it is with our appointments.

The nature of community work with Kingdom Causes seems never ending in my mind: there's always another contact, another church, another meeting, another project, another deadline, another grant to pursue. It may be just because it's all new to me, so I haven't fully settled into a rhythm yet. But it can easily feel overwhelming.

Still, this week I've had the chance to have dinner with my neighbors, meet with a friend I haven't met with in awhile, have an extended meeting with KCAMP's intern and a local pastor, and share breakfast (unplanned) with some guys who helped me grab soil from Home Depot for one of the gardens. In each of these meetings, it was unhurried time, an open-ended appointment. No dashing about to the next thing, the next deadline. There was space to care.

I suppose this sort of "scheduling my margins" is a foil for my other job, which is often about efficiency and immediate results. Folding in the space to care will be difficult, even though it's so necessary!

True Treasures

2009-10-17T05:57:00.000-07:00

I had two experiences of drumming up support for Kingdom Causes this week: on Monday, a traditional golf marathon fundraiser, and last night, an opportunity to speak to one of the adult fellowships at my old church. The first had the usual pieces: e-mail blasts, personal phone calls (even Facebook chats) all to raise funds for this upcoming year. Normal fundraising stuff for a typical fundraiser.

I approached last night's talk like your typical missionary asked to come to a church: trying to figure out how to be the most inspiring so they would want to get involved or give. But at some point I revisited an exercise called the "treasure hunt" I learned from ABCD (Asset Based Community Development) training, which became the main "recruitment" piece of my sharing.

Basically, every person writes down on post-its 3 things that are related to things they know (head), things they are passionate about (heart), and things they know how to do (hand). We share with the whole group our "treasures," post them on a board, then organize them into like categories as stuff shared inevitably overlaps.

After we organized the many treasures, I basically told the group that when we think of reaching our community, we often forget that within ourselves God has already given us many interests, passions, and talents that can be used for his mission. We have such and such ministries you can get involved in with Kingdom Causes, but I'd rather they start with their God-given assets instead of having them fit "my" agenda. I did share about what we do now, but that was much shorter than I originally planned.

Henri Nouwen called fundraising as ministry a new way of relating people to their resources (as defined by time, talents, and money). It is actually a conversion process. I hope the treasure hunt exercise was a new way for the group to see themselves not merely as people needing more outlets for engaging their community, but that they already possess vast resources to shape whatever direction the Lord leads them.

Psalm 23 and Mission

2009-10-10T05:11:00.000-07:00

Left: Photos of shepherd's crooks used for leading sheep (taken by Crag Face, 7/4/02

Yesterday I participated in a 1/2 day retreat with the Fuller class I'm auditing on spiritual formation. We were given Psalm 23 as our focus Scripture to meditate on.

"He makes me lie down in green pastures..." I realized it says "he MAKES me"...but the image it conjured up was my new role as a parent, "making" my baby's schedule, putting her to sleep at her bedtime though she at times seemingly protests. Am I being paternalistic? You bet I am! But at this fundamental stage of life, she needs me to shepherd her in this way.

And speaking of roles, this Psalm also reminded me that with all my roles, especially the ones where I take a leadership role, I must never forget the one role that will always be around, no matter what other roles fall to the wayside: being a sheep--a child of God. It is an eternal role I will never outgrow. Like my daughter, I must also be like her in that implicit trust she has when I take her out of her crib. I may not always be able to DO something for God, but I can always sit at his feet attentively.

The last thing about this verse is that only when the Lord my shepherd makes me lie down/besides still waters does he "restore my soul." I never saw this as a process before, just an unconnected list. But now I see I can not find refreshment of the soul if I have not stopped and ceased from all the activity in my life periodically.

There were some final questions I never got to at the end, but helped me to frame my thinking about next year with Kingdom Causes:

1. How has the Shepherd been preparing you to extend his reign through you in the role to which he has called you?
2. How has he been shepherding specific people in your place of ministry/work? How might he want to shepherd them?
3. How is he shepherding structures for which you have responsibility?

Community Building Intergenerationally

2009-10-03T11:30:00.000-07:00

This was a new garden we set up in Monterey Park yesterday to add to the community gardens we've started in the summer. The grandmother of the woman who lives at this location mentioned to me that in the 68 (!) years she's lived in Monterey Park, there have been many gardens grown in her backyard. Ears of corn, squash, tomatoes and all manners of veggies were grown which also helped to feed the 4 kids that grew up at this house.

I also appreciated how the grandmother said with pride about her granddaughter how she was "doing her grandfather right" by growing food again after many fallow years. And that blessing sparked me to think that part of what these gardens do in building community is that they can bring the generations together. They should bring the generations together!

Anyway, when these beds are overflowing with veggies, we're growing to throw a "harvest party" for the neighborhood...young and old and of course, those young at heart!

Meeting with the Mayor

2009-09-26T08:51:00.000-07:00

This past Thursday the Monterey Park pastors group met with the mayor of the city. It was refreshing to hear a committed Christian share his unlikely journey from a small town in Saskatchewan to having an office in the city council. I was impressed with his candor and honesty with the often grey and cutthroat world of political life, and how integrity and clear ethical boundaries were needed to survive without compromise.

But when we asked what it would mean for the churches to be more involved in the city, I don't think it was necessarily the "magic" answer that we may have expected. Perhaps we expected "the top" to have the best ideas and wisdom. Maybe we had thought it was going to be an easy "this is the most important priority for our city, please help us."

Instead, we got what is reminiscent of Jesus' words, "the first shall be last." Getting involved with various organizations like the PTA or city events was his main suggestion. Getting back to the grassroots, to our local neighborhoods. "But whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant" (Mark 10:43). Jesus said this in the context of the disciples jockeying for positions of influence. We too can be seduced by the desire for more influence and access to the corridors of the powerful, even as we seek the Kingdom in our city. So I liked that reminder that the way up is always down.

The Risen Christ Got There Ahead of Me

2009-09-18T05:58:00.000-07:00

Eunice my intern and I started a "Missional Living" Sunday School class last week at my former church in Monterey Park. I spoke from Scripture how God is a missionary God, that mission is part of his inherent nature in the Trinity, and one significant implication for us is to recognize that God is already up to something before we arrive to "do mission." I'm excited to see how the class can be a space to excite people's imaginations for the Kingdom. I'm excited to see how the two pictures can make sense rather than seem like two unconnected worlds!

Read another devotion from Eugene Peterson today (an excerpt from Under the Unpredictable Plant) that relates to this truth about mission flowing from the heart of God:

In every visit, every meeting I attend, every appointment I keep, I have been anticipated. The risen Christ got there ahead of me. The risen Christ is in that room already. What is he doing? What is he saying? What is going on?

In order to fix the implications of that text in my vocation, I have taken to quoting it before every visit or meeting: "He is risen,...he is going before you to 1020 Emmorton Road; there you will see him, as he told you." Later in the day it will be, "He is risen,...he is going before you to St. Joseph's Hospital; there you will see him, as he told you." When I arrive and enter the room I am not so much wondering what I am going to do or say that will be pastoral as I am alert and observant for what the risen Christ has been doing or saying that is making a gospel story out of this life. The theological category for this is prevenience, the priority of grace. We are always coming in on something that is already going on. Sometimes we clarify a word or feeling, sometimes we identify an overlooked relationship, sometimes we help recover an essential piece of memory--but always we are dealing with what the risen Christ has already set in motion, already brought into being.

If we are all ministers of Christ, we are "always coming in on something that is already going on." To me, it's a relief to know that it's not all up to me to make something happen; the risen Christ is already there! Can I get an AMEN?!?

"Among the Laity"...is a Revolution?

2009-09-12T06:30:00.000-07:00

This CartoonChurch.com cartoon originally appeared in the Church Times and is taken from ‘My Pew: Things I have seen from it’, published by Canterbury Press.

Despite the cartoon above, here is a recent devotional piece called "Among the laity" from Eugene Peterson in Living the Message (September 7):

Spirituality is of mostly concern among the laity, the men and women who are running markets, raising children, driving trucks, cooking meals, selling cars, believing in God while changing a flat tire in the rain...

Contemporary spirituality desperately needs focus, precision, and roots: focus on Christ, precision in the Scriptures, and roots in a healthy tradition. In these times of drift and dilettantism, evangelical Christians must once again serve the church by providing just such focus and precision and rootage. That it is primarily lay Christians who are left to provide this service to the church is not at all crippling. The strength and impact of evangelicalism has often been in the laity--transcending denominational divisions, subverting established structures, working behind the scenes, beginning at the bottom.

It's not fashionable to use the clergy/laity split in some circles these days, but I think Peterson still makes a worthwhile observation that real movements of change can not be (and have not been) based solely on charismatic leadership.

The last line in particular resonates with me in particular as to what being a city "catalyst" is about: "transcending denominational divisions, subverting established structures, working behind the scenes, beginning at the bottom." But this quote reminds me that catalyst should not become another title for leaders to appropriate for themselves and unwittingly create yet another (unhelpful) division between "we the elite" and "you the masses." "Catalyst" needs to remain a function, not a position. There are many catalysts in each of our cities, and I am meeting more and more of them--and not all of them hold position or influence, at least not the way we typically think of those things. And catalysts hold the seed of revolution in their hearts--and I'm hoping for us to hear more of their stories in later posts soon!

Waiting for Transformation

2009-09-04T13:54:00.000-07:00

Welcome to yet another blog! Blogs are considered passe now in our Facebook/Twitter universe, but I hope this blog can be a real encouragement for all of us who are seeking the 'shalom' of our cities of Alhambra and Monterey Park by sharing our stories about what God is doing here in us, through us, and perhaps despite us! We at Kingdom Causes want to share and hear the stories of transformation in our communities, so here goes!

To start off, I've shared this story to some already, but it's worth repeating for the fact that it bears further reflection on our desire for transformation.

My first meeting with a Monterey Park pastor connected me to a group of pastors/ministers in the city who just started meeting. At their second meeting which I attended, the convening pastor shared how she had been praying for TEN years for this group to form, and only now has it borne any fruit. Another seasoned pastor mentioned that he had seen groups like this come and go, spark and fizzle in his twenty some years pastoring in the city. And not much really happened from any of those groups.

While it's still early to say that this time around is really going to stick (but I sense the Spirit in it), this made me think a lot about our desire for transformation as Christ followers: why does it seem like we always end up waiting on God?

I know there's a lot of good reasons why we end up waiting, theological and otherwise. I know we live in a fast-paced modern world where instant access is expected and available with the right phrasing on Google. I know I'm the kind of future oriented dreamer guy who doesn't like waiting to begin with. But after hearing those two pastors share, it made me realize that waiting for transformation creates a space for humility to root in us. Even if this pastors group becomes greatly used by the Lord for His glory in the city of Monterey Park, I can't shake the fact that seemingly nothing happened for at least 10-20 years before this year. And because I can't shake that fact off, it helps to keep me humble that God's been working in people and His city long before I showed up. We wait for transformation because we can't generate it in a vacuum or in isolation.
We wait for transformation because it creates dependence on God to lead the way.