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Although he grew up in the suburbs of Denver, Michael found himself in Texas addicted to drugs and living in a house frequented by members of the notorious gang, the Crips. After years of running with a pretty rough crowd, and several run-ins with the law, it was in 2009 in a county jail that Michael gave his life to Christ. He now lives in Visalia, CA, where he serves in a ministry home for children, and attends Bible college.

Michael engaging some personal development.

One of my roles as a team leader is recruiting like-hearted people to join us in launching young leaders, who will launch fresh expressions of church. For the past few years, I have been getting to know Michael. I’m always drawn to people like Michael, who don’t seem to fit the mold, have an insatiable desire for God, and a natural way of inviting others to experience the good news of Jesus.

Dayton’s Bluff is known to be one of the “rough” neighborhoods of St. Paul. By rough, I mean higher crime rates, people living around or under the poverty line, more rentals/less ownership, and multiple families/generations occupying one house. Dayton’s Bluff is home to our newest missional community, Ekklesia, which is being led by our teammate, Tony.

emˈbed/ verb - to fix firmly and deeply in a surrounding mass; to implant within something else so it becomes an ingrained or essential characteristic of it.

As our team has been preparing for the launch of Ekklesia, we often talked about being embedded in the Dayton’s Bluff community. We want Ekklesia to be fixed firmly and deeply in the surrounding community. We want it to be an expression of the Body that isn’t just in the neighborhood, but one that is of the neighborhood. A group of people ready to be/bring the good news, yet ready to learn from the neighborhood, and woven into the very fabric of neighborhood life.

Free Yard Sale

Knowing that Michael is someone who connects easily with others, especially those who come from “rough” backgrounds, we invited him out for an internship for the month of August. Our hope was that he would help to connect Ekklesia relationally in the neighborhood. During August, he lived in the core community house of Ekklesia and spent a majority of his time living alongside and getting to know the people of Dayton’s Bluff.

Michael did a great job helping to organize and host neighborhood events like National Night Out, where neighbors gather on their street to share a meal and get to know one another. He also helped organize Ekklesia’s Free Yard Sale. This event runs on the premise that “some are able to give from their excess, and others are able to give by only taking what they need,” and it was wonderful to see people honor the spirit of the event.

Some days Michael would set out with a lawnmower to bless the neighbors by cutting their grass, which often led to deeper conversations. One teary-eyed, single mother was amazed that this young man would willingly come and help her in this very practical way. And, finally, he simply lived daily life with those who live on the block, deeply connecting with one house in particular where an extended family of 17 people lived.

Some significant steps were taken this August in helping Ekklesia become embedded in the neighborhood. For Ekklesia, the challenge now is to move forward in these relationships that have been started, and to continue to presence the kingdom of God and bring the good news of Jesus in word and deed. Please join us in praying that this would indeed be the case.

Natalie’s Hurdle: Others’ Love and Respect

Natalie stood at a critical juncture in her life and didn’t even realize it. Quite frankly, I’m not sure that others realized it either. Natalie’s heart and passion were on the line, but all of this could have so easily gone unnoticed. It was going to take someone who knew Natalie well to see the importance of the decision she was about to make.

Natalie has an inviting spirit and wisdom beyond her years. She naturally leads others, and has a sense of loyalty and responsibility that defies her age. Although she is only 25 years old, she has been a vital part of launching Thirdway Church. She has served in leadership for more than five years and is loved and well-respected. And, this very love and respect became one of Natalie’s biggest hurdles to following God’s call on her life.

Daleen and Natalie

Over the past five years, Natalie has grown in her understanding of God’s call upon her life. She is a natural builder of deep, intentional community among God’s people. She also has a love for sustenance farming, and envisions bringing these two worlds together in an urban setting. As clarity came and Natalie started pursuing her calling, an opportunity opened up at a church in Illinois that runs a local farm. In this setting she could continue to grow as a leader, and also gain invaluable experience working on the church’s farm.

Natalie began to share about this opportunity, and her desire to follow God’s leading. However, this began to cause dissonance for the people who love and value Natalie. Of course they were excited for her clarity of calling, but they certainly didn’t want her to move away. People began trying to convince Natalie to stay in St. Paul. And, for someone who is deeply loyal and responsible, this created a confusing situation.

Enter Daleen

Daleen has been meeting weekly with Natalie for the past 3 years. During that time, Daleen has listened to, prayed with, challenged, guided, and encouraged Natalie in her walk with God, and in her growth as a leader. With that foundation, Daleen was ready to step in and help Natalie gain perspective, and navigate this transition into a new season of life.

“...if I had made that choice, I think it would have stifled me,

and snuffed out the fire in my spirit.”

Natalie recently told me, “As long as I have known Daleen, she has encouraged me to GO. Not only physically, but to also go towards God and to not let fear stop me…I have a tendency to think the “right thing to do” is to settle down, and keep the home fires burning. But, if I had made that choice, I think it would have stifled me, and snuffed out the fire in my spirit.”

In the end, Natalie was able to embrace her calling, and confidently move into this new stage of life and development. Not long after Natalie moved, she wrote these words to Daleen:

You have certainly changed my life for the better...You have encouraged me to dream of something better. You have helped me to know my own freedom and confidence. You have spoken into and brought forth the best of who I can be. You’ve helped me to realize who I am. You’ve spoken about walking alongside women and I can attest to your gifts in that area because I feel truly gifted by you.

We consider walking alongside leaders like Natalie to be a privilege and a great responsibility. In a context where only 20% of American Millennials (pre-teens to 30 year olds) believe that church attendance is important, the role of these young leaders is crucial. Our goal is to develop leaders, who are not only confident to move into their personal calling, but are bold enough to lead the Church into its future as well.  

Changing Demographics

Three-quarters of students in St. Paul are people of color (African Americans, Latinos,

Native Americans, and Asians) and speak more than 100 languages.

Minnesota’s Tomorrow: Equity Is The Superior Growth Model,

a report by Policylink and USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity

In 1980, 96% of Minnesotans were white, many with Scandinavian roots. However, over the past decade, Minnesota experienced the seventh-fastest growth of people of color among all the states, a large proportion of which are refugees. When our family arrived in Minnesota just three years ago, we were pleasantly surprised to find such a rich mix of cultures in the neighborhoods of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Last month, I attended a symposium on Minnesota’s changing demographics at the University of Minnesota. Minnesota’s long history of active volunteerism in immigration and refugee resettlement, as well as active involvement from faith-based organizations, helped to establish Minnesota as a major refugee gateway in the Midwest.

Minnesota is currently home to the largest Somali community in the country (more than 30,000) and the second-largest Hmong community (more than 60,000), many of whom live within 5 miles of our home. And, although the largest refugee communities in Minnesota have historically been Hmong, Somalis, Vietnamese, Ethiopians, Liberians, Cambodians, and Bosnians, more recent refugees include Karen people from Burma, Nepali-speakers from Bhutan, and Iraqis.

 “We must face the sad fact that at the eleven o’clock hour on Sunday morning when we stand to sing, we stand in the most segregated hour in America.”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr

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Much of our daily life is shared with people from around the world, who look, think, act, and dress differently from us. Living and working alongside people from other cultures often creates cultural stress, which can magnify our differences.  Tolerance has become a buzzword of our day, but tolerance rarely leads to deeper relationships. However, when we learn to actually celebrate our diversity, it can open up wonderful opportunities.

Here in the Twin Cities, we have the privilege of working alongside pastors and leaders, who are embracing these cross-cultural opportunities.  Pastors like Touger, a second-generation Hmong, who is planting a multi-cultural church community in our neighborhood. Organizations like SALT (Somali Adult Literacy Training), who are bringing the Somali community and local churches together in language learning and friendship. And leaders like Jim, who pastors Bethel Christian Fellowship, where six different ethnic churches share one building and function as a family of churches.

As noted above, 75% of students in St. Paul are people of color, and by the year 2045, whites will no longer be the majority of Minnesota’s population. As we look to the future, I believe that the Church can learn much from the youth of today. Daleen and I are amazed at how easily our children connect with their friends, who come from a variety of cultural backgrounds.

If we’re not attentive and intentional, the changing demographics of our cities can be unsettling. As part of our work, we encourage and challenge local leaders to pioneer new church communities and initiatives that will transcend cultural barriers, and allow people to hear, experience, and be transformed by the Good News. I believe the changes in the cultural makeup of our cities is just another invitation to the missionary heart of God, and an opportunity to celebrate the beautiful diversity of the kingdom of God that will be our eternal reality.

The Beloved Community

But the end is reconciliation; the end is redemption; the end is the creation of the beloved community. It is this type of spirit and this type of love that can transform opposers into friends…It is an overflowing love which seeks nothing in return. It is the love of God working in the lives of men. This is the love that may well be the salvation of our civilization.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“The Role of the Church in Facing the Nation's Chief Moral Dilemma,” 1957

St. Paul, like all cities, is a city with scars. There are events, moments and people that have shaped St. Paul. Some of them have been good, and some have left painful scars. In our neighborhood, one of the visible scars is I-94, the freeway that runs about ½ mile south of our home. When construction began in the 1960’s, nearly half of the residents of the Rondo community were displaced. The Rondo neighborhood, a vibrant African-American community in the heart of the city, was shattered, and I-94 was an ever-present reminder.

Just as the city of St. Paul bears its scars, the Church has also suffered its own fractures, and reconciliation and restoration are necessary if we are to reflect the Beloved Community of Christ. Therefore, in addition to working with young leaders and church planters, our CRM team, Launch, has been working to foster a spirit of collaboration and unity among the Body of Christ. For the Church is not called to simply tolerate one another, but rather to live and work together in unity – a powerful sign to a watching world.

Better Together

For the past year, I have served on the leadership team of a cooperative kingdom effort called Mission St. Paul. The thrust of Mission St. Paul is city-wide transformation as the whole church brings the whole gospel to the whole city. Groups of pastors gather weekly to pray for one another and for each other’s churches, and a wider group of Christians gather once a month to systematically pray through the city, precinct by precinct. And, occasionally throughout the year, Mission St. Paul will host an event to help nurture this spirit of collaboration and unity within the Body of Christ.

Mission St. Paul recently hosted a city-wide celebration at the Union Gospel Mission on Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend. The theme of the gathering was “Better Together: Becoming the Beloved Community,” where we celebrated the rich diversity of God’s people in St. Paul through worship, prayer, communion, God’s Word and personal testimonies of spiritual and racial reconciliation. Daleen and I were asked to coordinate the serving of communion to the group of more than 300. And, in the spirit of the evening, we asked eight pastors and their spouses from different ethnic and denominational backgrounds to serve communion alongside of us. What an encouraging, and powerful, evening.

As beautiful as events like this can be, the real beauty lies in the relationships that are forged and lived out day-to-day. So, just as there are currently several groups of pastors praying in various neighborhoods of St. Paul, we will soon begin gathering with pastors and leaders in Hamline-Midway, our neighborhood of 12,000 residents. Wherever these groups of pastors are gathered, we see healing and restoration of racial and denominational fractures in the Church. Competition also begins to diminish, and in its place, collaboration and kingdom initiatives take root. And, when the Church is living in this spirit of unity and commitment to prayer, we can expect to see our neighborhoods, and our city, transformed.