NorCalUrban

As I write this I’m flying the first leg of the trip to Philadelphia to attend the Christian Community Development Association’s (CCDA) yearly conference. CCDA is the organization founded by Dr. John Perkins. At the conference will be about 2000 pastors and leaders who are engaged in or care about community development activities in a Christian context. For more about CCDA there is a link on the right. I’m thrilled to have Pastor Bains and NCUD board member Gilbert Chaidez joining me for the conference. I’ll try to post updates during the next few days. After the conference I’m going to travel up to New York to have with Jeremy Del Rio and hopefully Dimas Salaberrios as well at take a day or so in the city. I love New York… Many know that I’ve been training to be a chaplain for the East Palo Alto police department. The chaplaincy was recently started by Pastor Bains to serve the needs of the department and community. I prayed about whether or not I should serve in this way. I’m so busy...

Surf over to the 'world on fire' website to see a Sarah McLachlan's video new video. She produced a video for $15.00 and donated the $150,000 usually spent for a video to combat world hunger. It's stunning... What a commentary of abundance and need. This kind of imagery reminds me of why I do what I do... Go Sarah! (BTW - this is my 100th post... Time to open a bottle of bubbly!)

Creflo Dollar, one of the leading purveyors of the what I believe is a heretical and damaging theology was in Oakland yesterday for what they call the "Change" convention. The article in the Chronicle has a sidebar with the quote from Dollar (yes, that's his real name), "I don't care what you favorite preaches says. I'm giving you what the Lord says. The Lord says to live life in abundance." I'm shocked by that statement. I'm incensed that someone as for away from Atlanta would stand in the pulpit and actually discourage people from listing to their own preacher or pastor, setting himself up as speaking the Lord's very own words. The Jesus I know said quotes like, "Whoever wants to save his life will lose it" and "Seek first God's kingdom and righteousness" This is not the Gospel I know or preach. This is a damaging gospel influenced by all that is bad in the contemporary American culture. I remember, as a young man i...

I caught Leslie Moonves the current CEO of CBS on Charlie Rose. (God bless Tivo!) He has taken over CBS led a transformation in the network. CBS, going from last place in programs has come to first with shows like CSI, Survivor and others. He led a successful split of CBS and Viacom which led to a sharp incline in stock process - making CBS a Wall Street favorite. With the current scandal at Hewlett Packard, I've been thinking a ton about companies and leadership. Living in the Silicon Valley makes the HP scandal even more real (HP's offices are about 2 miles from my house). I hope to write more soon. I'm impressed by people who can take a loser and turn it into a contender... Moonves has done it with CBS... Rose ashes, "Since coming to CBS - how has your outlook changed, what have you learned since coming to the job? (Stepping into a company that was in last place, on the buy side rather than the sell side.)?" Moonves stated that he hated his job in the first ye...

On 9/19/06 11:15 AM, "Amy Kushner" wrote: Thanks, John. You’re a pretty good egg yourself. It was good to talk to you last week. John wrote: I’m just hanging here with the three of me – me, myself and I. I is a jerk, me can be somewhat grumpy and myself spends most of his time daydreaming and blogging. I get sick of them – come and see us sometime. On 9/19/06 11:31 AM, "Amy Kushner" wrote: Are you OK?????? Do I need to come over right now??? Deeply concerned…. John Wrote: WE’RE doing fine... If only myself would get off his rear end and do some work I and me would feel much better. AHHH, THE JOYS OF WORKING ALONE!

YES on Measure C Rally tonight! Tuesday September 19th 7:00 pm 7th Day Adventist Church 994 Beech St. East Palo Alto Please come and support this important initiative! For more information call: 650-714-5259 Why is Measure C a Fair Proposal? - It Funds Violence Prevention including: Programs for youths and seniors, job training, family counseling, parent education and support for ex- prisoners. - It Provides funds to improve policing. This initiative works hand in hand with local law enforcement, but in a more 'preventive' manner. - The funds are given to local non profits. Programs are chosen and overseen by 15 local community members. This funds the local groups who are working on the street, not creating more government programs. It does so in a way that provides the proper checks and balances on local groups to insure the funds are used correctly. - It Exempts seniors form paying, protecting those who are on fixed incomes. - It Protects renters from increased rents. Th...

A few years ago there was a regular column I used to read in the SF Chronicle called the Night Cabbie. The author was a San Fran cabbie and spoke about his experiences with the fares he picked up as well as general commentary about the City. It's a great glimpse into life in San Francisco... The column stopped the column in 2004. I found the archives here.

Here's a couple of pictures from the Measure C meeting at our offices yesterday. Measure C is a local ballot initiative that funds local youth programs. It will raise about $1 million in funding per year for youth programs that will be paid for by a parcel tax. We project that this will go a long way to preventing youth violence. I'm sitting on the organizing committee with EPA Mayor Ruben Abrica and Councilwoman Pat Foster. I'm glad to be volunteering for what I believe is a worthy cause. Why is Measure C a Fair Proposal? - It Funds Violence Prevention including: Programs for youths and seniors, job training, family counseling, parent education and support for ex- prisoners. - It Provides funds to improve policing. This initiative works hand in hand with local law enforcement, but in a more 'preventive' manner. - The funds are given to local non profits. Programs are chosen and overseen by 15 local community members. This funds the local groups who are working o...

Read about U2's efforts here. Gotta love Bono and U2 - they are a great example of faith driving social action... End of the article says that the new U2 record will be produced by Rick Rubin (producer of early Def Jam stuff, Johnny Cash, Red Hot Chile Peppers...). That should be a fun collaboration.

I love Google - I use it every day. I have friends that work there - they are about 7 miles from EPA. For the past year they've been setting up google.org - their philanthropic arm. The NY times did an article today on their philanthropy efforts read it here.

Great wisdom on why we do the things we do... Read it here.

I've been reading Eugene Peterson's Book A Long Obedience in the Same Direction. Isn't that a great title? The book is a commentary on the Songs of Accents found in Psalms 120 to 134. The Songs of Assents were what the Israelites would sing on their way up the hill to the temple when they were making their pilgrimages. These Psalms reminded them during the tough trek uphill why they were going and what their faith is about. Today I was looking at the chapter on Psalm 132. The point is that in our Christian life we must have the, "strength to stand and the willingness to leap." A Christian standing just a statue, and one who has no roots and jumps around is nothing but a 'jumping jack'. The essence of all this is that to be effective we must be grounded in our faith. To know our personal, individual history with God as well as the communal history of the church. This keeps our feet grounded and our path sure. However, without the leap of faith the future ...

Apple does it again. Go and buy a Mac now! See Apple CEO Steven Jobs announcement here.

Much has been said today about the anniversary of 9/11. I don't know how much more I have to add and there are definitely more articulate and heady authors out there. However - I have a few thoughts from my perspective. I had a strong and personal reaction to the 9/11 attacks. I have a deep connection to the New York / New Jersey area and considered myself a transplanted yankee all my life - despite my parents dreaded move to the boondocks (Florida) when I was a child. I was born in Wanaque, New Jersey and used to spend my summers with my grandmother and her husband in Butler, NJ, about 40 or so miles from NYC. My grandmother's husband was a milkman. During the days I would go on his route with him to places like Paterson, NJ and Newark, NJ delivering milk. Part of my passion for urban ministry and the poor hearken back to the times I had in Paterson and Newark. I came in contact with the urban poor in a very unique way through those experiences. Both cities are burned out shel...

Time Magazine article on the prosperity gospel. In my opinion, this is one of the most dangerous doctrines that are confronting the urban church. Sure - we want our people to be successful and break the cycle of poverty. But - that is done through a commitment to the Kingdom of God and right living. IF you've ever watched BET on Sunday evening you've seen some of the false prophets and shysters. This kind of teaching lends itself to American style, consumer based Christianity that is far from what I hear in the teachings of Christ. I have no problems with people making money and being prosperous. However - our resources are to be used for the extention of the Kingdom of God and not for raw, personal gain. I get sort of worked up over this stuff... as you can see:) I love the Rick Warren quote in the article, "This idea that God wants everybody to be wealthy?", he snorts. "There is a word for that: baloney. It's creating a false idol. You don't measure yo...

Went to the Giants game today. Samuel, Max, Maria and I went. Perfect weather, 65 degrees. Giants won in the 12th inning with a triple from Ray Durham and a single. Great game. They're in a playoff race for the wildcard and maybe the west. OK - yea, we root for the Yankees - but we had to adopt a NL team so I've rooted for the Giants since I moved to Nor Cal in 1995.

Read the article here.

Read the report here.

I've been listening to the podcasts from John Ortberg from Menlo Park Pres. . You can get them on itunes. I like Ortberg's teaching. MPPC is a good church with a lot of great folks, including one of our board members Marc. So - Ortberg quoted Dallas Willard like this, "It is the responsibility of every Christian to carve out a soul satisfying life under the loving rule of God so that sin will not look good." What a great quote. Sometimes we focus so much on the action of sin we forget that there are preventive measures we can do at avert the desire to do bad things. I'm trying hard to find and do the good things that satisfy my soul - art, music, friends, etc... and make time for them. I find I'm happier and more Godly when I do those. I also love the activity of 'carving out'. How many times do I talk about it being my responsibility to find good things that satisfy me? God help me! I'm gonna try to 'carve away' more...

As I reported on this blog - the crime rate rose dramatically last year culminating with the tragic homicide of Officer Richard May. As a respose the faith community in EPA hosted an anti violence summit, community prayer and prayer walks. THis year, as reported below by our chief of police, violent crime is down dramatically. Sure, some of this is do to traditional police action. But - I also have to attribute the change to the church of the city coming together in unity and prayer. God listens to the cry of His people. Forgive the small print - I'm trying to figure out how to upload pdfs... Anyone know's how - please let me know...

Stanford Federal Credit Union 1500 Page Mill Road Palo Alto, CA 94306 Sept. 5, 2006 For Immediate Release Contact: Margaret Wold, 650-842-6031 or margaret@sfcu.org EAST PALO ALTO WINS PRELIMINARY FEDERAL APPROVAL: COMMUNITY MOVES TO CREATE FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE East Palo Alto, a struggling city filled with leaders who believe in its potential, scored a victory in the fight for community reinvestment. Preliminary federal approval has just been granted to build a credit union that will serve the people of East Palo Alto, many of whom lack access to a bank. The new not-for-profit financial institution is scheduled to open in 2007. All profits remain in the community. “A credit union, which is owned and operated by the people who bank there, inherently generates trust. This is about providing financial resources as well as a platform to talk to people about becoming financially independent rather than being victims to predatory lending institutions,” said John Liotti, CEO of the North...

Another update! We have just received our official non profit status from the IRS! This has been a long process for us since we first filed in January 05. We've been operating under a probationary status since filing. We had to provide lots of extra information to the IRS to explain our mission. We're thankful to have made it through the process! God is good! Thanks for your prayers and support! Also, if you haven't yet, please check out out new website at: www.norcaludc.org.

Seattle Pacific University now has videos of John Perkins online. See them here. Dr. Perkins is serving on the advisory board for NCUD. If you haven't heard him speak - check him out...

Still in a nostalgic mood. Every once in a while I have to remind myself I'm a child of the 80's. I don't know - I guess I've been thinking about what changed me and made me think as I do. I came across some old disks of the Resurrection Band from Jesus People USA (JPUSA). I know in late years they have come under some scrutiny - I have no comment about that. All I know is that Glenn Kaiser and Rez Band / JPUSA changed the way I look at faith and Christianity. They used to have a magazine, "Cornerstone". Each time it arrived it was like a breath of fresh air. They were one of the first influences on me to think of social action in an evangelical context. Today I came across some lyrics that I vividly remember from my youth. God really used songs like this to change me. I'm deeply indebted to JPUSA for the influence they had on me. Read the lyrics below - tell me they aren't great! Stark/Spare 3:50 Rez Band - Mommy Don't Love Daddy Anymore - © 198...

Trying to take things easy this weekend... The family (including Max Torres who is staying with us!) went on an outing to a place we saw on tv - Port Coast. Well - Port Coast was somewhat of a disappointment. But after dinner we went to a nearby place and watched the sun set over the Carquinez Bridge in the East Bay. Beautiful day, beautiful family. I love the Bay Area... God is good - his creation reminds me of His greatness and beauty. Photos on the right sidebar.