NorCalUrban

It's been a challenging couple of weeks for me. Between fundraising, negotiations with credit unions, landlords, attorneys... I'm feeling kind of spent. There are some amazing things going on right now. For the first time I can honestly say the credit union will open this summer. But - there are some big challenges that are testing my faith and perseverance. I'm sad to say - but my first instinct is not to pray but to do. There are many things about our organization that are completely out of my hands - all I can do is be diligent, keep my eyes on the goal and seek God. Sounds simple, right? I've been reading Yancey's book on prayer on and off. Yesterday I came across this section that quotes the director of OMF, formally China Inland Mission started by Hudson Taylor. These words challenged me: "...Yet sometimes we hear of great defeats, of stubborn opposition, of missionaries persecuted and even martyred (we lost seventy-nine missionaries and children in the B...

The Palo Alto Daily News reports: When they are released into East Palo Alto, prison parolees will be offered an array of services designed to help them adjust to society and, it is hoped, avoid the kind of trouble that got them behind bars in the first place. Thanks to a $3.3 million California Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections grant, the city will run a pilot parolee program over the next 3 1/2 years that is expected to aid about 120 parolees annually. The city, which already has about 200 parolees, signed a contract for the grant this week. "I would say it has officially started," police Chief Ron Davis said. If successful, the pilot program eventually could become the model for a statewide version, Assemblyman Ira Ruskin, who sponsored a bill authorizing the experiment, said. Split into three phases, the program exacts various commitments from parolees, including 2,000 hours of community service work such as cleaning up graffiti or giving public speeches. Paro...

I've been reading Philip Yancey's book, "Prayer". He includes this benediction in his chapter on partnership. May God bless you with discomfort At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships So that you may live deep within your heart May God bless you with anger At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, So that you may work for justice, freedom and peace. May God bless you with tears To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war, So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and To turn their pain into joy. And may God bless you with enough foolishness To believe that you can make a difference in the world, So that you can do what other claim cannot be done To bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor. Amen May it be so, Jesus.

Thank you for your emails, phone calls, and prayers. I am just now able to get back to everyone as I was completely devastated and overwhelmed last week. While I would love to respond to everyone individually, it would be impossible since I received over 1000 emails. Today was the third day of classes since the tragedy. The mood on campus is somewhat of a hopeful melancholy. While some things are getting back to "normal" (most of the media has left), we all know that our community is very different. The Christian community has been a source of hope on campus. We have had many prayer and worship times, some planned and others were informal. Our Large Group meeting on Friday with the Korean-American fellowship allowed us to grieve, heal, reconcile and declare our adoration of the Lord Christ Jesus. Alumni, members of the community, and local IV chapters came to support us and worship with us. Many of you have asked what you could do to help. Here are a few ways that you can hel...

A-Rod is the MAN! Maybe he'll be wearing a Giants jersey next year... Who knows...

Guy Kawasaki interviews author Seth Godin on his new book, "The Dip" Apparently, the book deals more with start up issues - but it has implications to life. When is the right time to call it quits? Question: Other than hindsight, how does someone know when it’s time to quit? Answer: It’s time to quit when you secretly realize you’ve been settling for mediocrity all along. It’s time to quit when the things you’re measuring aren’t improving, and you can’t find anything better to measure. Smart quitters understand the idea of opportunity cost. The work you’re doing on project X right now is keeping you from pushing through the Dip on project Y. If you fire your worst clients, if you quit your deadest tactics, if you stop working with the people who return the least, then you free up an astounding number of resources. Direct those resources at a Dip worth conquering and your odds of success go way up. What’s the worst time to quit? When the pain is the greatest. Decisions made d...

Not sure about you, but I've experienced organizational dishonesty in the past. When it happens it can be damaging to the organization at large and the people who serve. Here is a great article that addresses this issue. "We have all experienced the public lie that goes unchallenged. It may be baldly untrue but somehow accepted as the basis for action with life and death consequences. Some of our experience of public lies may be based on differences in values or perceptions, but sometimes what is said just simply violates the facts—this is disheartening and drives people out of public participation. The same may be said of organizations. A nonprofit may, on the surface, be making every effort to promote teamwork and “the higher good,” but if its people continue to perceive a culture that supports a different and less reliable set of operating norms and assumptions than what is written or espoused, they will not bring themselves wholly to our efforts. Here are some typical reas...

The folks at FYBY and Street Soldiers are always talking about the destructive code of the street. Here's an example in today's NY Daily News where a rapper articulates a part of the code of the street, "Don't snitch." These are the folks our kids look up to. As I've said before, we have to seperate the rap form and expression of rap music from negative role modeling and image projection that negatively impact young people. Harlem-raised rapper Cam'ron says in an upcoming TV interview that he would never cooperate with cops - even if he knew his neighbor was a serial killer. The 31-year-old millionaire entertainer, founder of his own record label, says helping the police solve crimes goes against his "code of ethics" and is bad for business. "If I knew the serial killer was living next door to me? I wouldn't call and tell anybody on him. But I'd probably move," Cam'ron, whose real name is Cameron Giles, tells CBS' ...

On Tuesday night at 8 p.m. Eastern time, technical problems cut off more than five million BlackBerry users in the United States from their cherished wireless e-mail. Service was restored 10 long, data-starved hours later. “I started freaking out,” he said. “I started taking it apart. Turning it off. Turning it on. I took the battery out and cleaned it on my shirt. I was running around my hotel like a freak. It’s very sad. I love this thing.” At 6 a.m. Wednesday morning, full of anxiety about the prospect of spending a traveling day untethered, Mr. Gold awoke and made a beeline for his still motionless phone. At 7 a.m., it started vibrating with activity. “I breathed a sigh of relief,” he said. “Life was good.” Elaine Del Rossi, chief sales officer for HTH Worldwide, an insurance company, reacted to the severed electronic leash with several panicked calls to her office in the belief that the company e-mail system was down. “I quit smoking 28 years ago,” she said, “and that was easier t...

Isn't that a song? It's been a crazy couple of weeks. We're pushing hard with the credit union project, trying to insure opening day this summer. Our target is July. This project at times seems to move at a glacial pace. It's been at times very frustrating. But, I have to continue to remind myself that this is a different type of project, one that takes alot of legal wrangling, negotiations and planning. Pray for me... pray for the project. Beyond all of that, I switched DSL plans at home and was cut off for a week from Internet service at home. In some ways it was nice to be ' unwired ' for a while, but it limited my blogging. Here's some pictures of what's been going on over the past few weeks: I was blessed to baptize my 76 year old mother in law, Betty. After studying "The Purpose Driven Life" at a study at my sister in law's house, she decided to publicly declare her faith. What an honor it was to serve her and Melissa's famil...

National Champs Again! Football and Basketball!

Where would I be without my wife? HELP WANTED: Pastor's wife. Must sing, play music, lead youth groups, raise seraphic children, entertain church notables, minister to other wives, have ability to recite Bible backward and choreograph Christmas pageant. Must keep pastor sated, peaceful and out of trouble. Difficult colleagues, demanding customers, erratic hours. Pay: $0. The basic job description for pastors' wives hasn't changed in a century. But pastors' wives have. The rise of megachurches, dual-career couples and women's independence have complicated the role and in some cases intensified the frustrations. A recent spate of scandals involving prominent pastors has underscored the challenges their wives face. Eight in 10 pastors' wives say they feel unappreciated or unaccepted by their husbands' congregations, according to surveys by the Global Pastors Wives Network (GPWN); the same number wish their husbands would choose another profession. "Wives...