Echoes and Moments

This week the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson has grabbed my attention. Aside from hashtags, news reports of looting and violence, and a flurry of media attention, the death of 18 year old Michael Brown is a tragedy that should have been avoided, and reminds us of our country's deeply troubling racial and ethnic divides. On Sunday, I gathered with a group of concerned representatives from Fresno's local church to stand in solidarity with Ferguson, holding our hands up in honor of Brown's final stand as he was gunned down in the street. I stood with black, brown, and Asian sisters and brothers because it is not okay that these things happen in this country. I stood with them to remind our city that we face the same challenges as Ferguson and much of the rest of the country. Our racial wounds are ripped open afresh. I would rather draw attention to the voices of other people of color rather than continue with my own thoughts of the tragedy. One of my favorites is a challe...

There's nothing like some ancient theology to anchor your latest music project. With the help of Kickstarter, singer-songwriter Audrey Assad has put together a collection of eleven songs that deal with the wounded soul of humanity's grasping for the divine, grappling with redemption, death, and resurrection alike. Her fundraising campaign lasted a mere fifty hours and ended well beyond the target goal, allowing Assad to release the album free of the creative interference of a major record label, CCM or not. Although independent projects can be hit or miss, her effort has delivered on Assad's formidable songwriting chops and ear for melody. The album begins with the meditative droning of an organ filtered through a Leslie speaker, that classic tone captured surprisingly well where other Lo-Fi recordings would render the sound mawkish. The title track speaks of that paradoxical joy that comes from the redemption we experience as the result of Adam's original sin. Th...

Fresno's Fulton Mall, at the heart of its downtown core's revitalization efforts This upcoming year I'll be stepping into a new role in ministry I've been preparing for for several months. I'll be the Assistant Director of FIFUL's Pink House , an intentional  community that prepares young men and women to empower their communities in urban ministry, engaging the inner city through the lens of leadership development. My only experience in inner city ministry thus far has been through the Fresno Urban Internship, better known in shorthand as FUI , a six-week intensive inner city immersion where community, service, and leadership development combine in a unique and powerful way. As I write this, I reflect on the last six weeks, which I spent as a staff for the project in the heart of Fresno, a city of half a million with some of the nation's highest concentrations of poverty. There are some distinctions between the two programs. FUI is six weeks during ...

It's no secret: I'm a lover of all things R&B, neo-soul, and classic funk. While I'm not locked in my room jamming to old cuts from Parliament and Funkadelic (yes, Eddie Hazel is a terribly underrated axeman), chances are I'm spinning the latest from John Legend, Alicia Keys, or other greats of the genre. Today seems like an apt occasion to reflect on some of the music that keeps the heat out, or at least that makes the sweating and swamp-cooled air worth it. Yep, that house is pink. This summer is a special one because I'm serving as a staff worker for an intentional urban ministry program here in Fresno. I've even relocated from my colleagues' apartment to the appropriately named "Pink House" downtown. Now I'm walking distance from the popular pub where I can watch the World Cup with a good brew and some friends, but more importantly, I'm situated in the midst of the city's most vulnerable neighborhoods. As I learn more ...

On a recent weekend trip back to my hometown of Roseville, near Sacramento, I marked an important milestone on my literary checklist. I completed Tolkien's epic Lord of the Rings  for the second time. By the time I closed the pages of the well-worn and dog-eared copy of The Return of the King , I felt like I had parted company with a group of close friends. Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin are the soul of the story. Though most of the story sees them traversing different parts of Middle Earth and facing different conflicts with the supreme power of the Dark Lord Sauron, ultimately they lie at the core of what makes the story great. The last time I read through the series I was scarcely out of sixth grade, acquainted with the fantasy genre through Tolkien's friend C.S. Lewis, who led me alongside the Pevensie children through the enchanted realm of Narnia and beyond. Lewis placed the seed, while Tolkien watered and ultimately brought it to maturity within me. I'm surprise...

Pope Francis is a popular guy these days. Apart from being named Time's Person of the Year , he's led the charge on presenting a fresh face for the Catholic church in the twenty-first century. Unlike the mild-mannered theologian-turned-pontiff that preceded him, Pope Benedict XVI, Francis has made engaging the culture around him a priority. He's been caught washing the feet of women, embracing the sick, and addressing the priority of the church as "for the poor, to the poor." In a major interview published in the Jesuit magazine America, he likened the role of the church to a field hospital, unafraid to get its hands dirty in the struggle for truth and justice. His Jesuit roots show in his flair for simplicity and concern for issues of justice. His pastoral career shows in his efforts to reform what he calls a "self-referenced" Curia largely in need of change. Today, he embraces his role as Pope to unify the church further and heal rifts between man...

Composed on Good Friday, 2014. It's dark, so dark and My eyes grow heavy, lidded Like iron from shackles and fetters Those that you break to make men whole. Multiplying loaves, you asked us if we understood you and we stared ahead into the depth of the unknown And seeing, we did not perceive. Now tonight you ask of us Just to watch with you a little longer To utter prayers to the Father you call and we seem to have forgotten. Hark! They come in the night With clubs and chains to bind you Though we know you have power over wind and waves, not so now. No, a simple kiss, planted on lips That open the eyes of the blind, That speak to cast out demons, Now mute to the hatred of men. My sword I reach, and I see Your stare disarms me, the weapon Is of no use here, you must face The blows of hard hearts without it. Alone you go, for we turn Away and watch their arms wrap you up Forsaking years of following your lead And weeping nakedly, we run.