Second Chances!

Several months ago members of the Dallas Community Prosecutors team met with us here at CitySquare to discuss a revolutionary new program for Dallas.  The "Top Offenders Program" included several key components. 

First, law enforcement identified the really "bad guys" in the target neighborhood.  In the community we focused on there were 5 hardened, violent criminals that ran the drug trade.  The police arrested them.  All five are under federal indictment and on their way to long prison terms.  Since their arrest, crime in the neighborhood has decreased by 63%!

Second, the community prosecutors organized a "call in."  Functioning much like an intervention on an alcoholic or drug addict, the meeting involved parents, grandparents, friends, teachers, ministers, children and others.  Invited to these "call in" sessions are the underlings of the really bad actors.  These are young people who have assisted the hardened criminals in their enterprise. 

The message conveyed clearly and by multiple persons in the community during the meeting, to the invite list is very simple:  "You are done ruining our neighborhood.  And, tonight you have a choice and a chance."

On one side of the room the police stand with a fist full of warrants for the arrest of the beneficiaries of the intervention--the underlings to the bad guys. 

On the other side of the room stand case managers from CitySquare who are present to begin a relationship of renewal and second chances. 

The choice is forced, but must be made.  Go with the police or go with caring people who are devoted to seeing you rebound and experience a fresh start, including the clearing of all criminal records to date. The entire process is overseen and managed by a criminal court and the judges who sit at these benches of justice and order.

So far the numbers are still small, but it's working as these photos of recent "graduate" of the program, Uniqua Johnson reflect!

Hope

Plotting the Resurrection

[Writing of his wife Katharine, who was planning the planting of bulbs in her garden even though she knew she likely would not live to see the spring.] There was something comical yet touching in her bedraggled appearance…. The small hunched-over figure, her studied absorption in the implausible notion that there would be yet another spring, oblivious to the ending of her own days, which she knew perfectly well was near at hand, sitting there with her detailed chart under those dark skies in dying October, calmly plotting the resurrection.

E. B. White
Source: Quoted in A Time to Live by Robert Raines

Add your thoughts at inward/outward

Disruption no more?

Worn Smooth

Like a jagged rock thrown into a flowing stream, the church once “troubled the waters.” Now, however, it seems as if the church has slowly, often imperceptibly been worn so smooth by the culture that it no longer creates any disturbance at all.

Charles Campbell

Source: The Word on the Street

Add your thoughts at inward/outward

Community will not be denied!

Mindless giving

Those Who Give

There are those who give little of the much which they have–
and they give it for recognition.
Their hidden desire makes their gifts unwholesome.
And there are those who have little and give it all.
These are the believers in life and the bounty of life,
and their coffer is never empty.

There are those who give with joy,
and that joy is their reward.
And there are those who give with pain,
and that pain is their baptism.

And there are those who give and know not pain in giving,
nor do they seek joy, nor give with mindfulness of virtue;
They give as in yonder valley the myrtle breathes
its fragrance into space.

Through the hands of such as these God speaks,
and from behind their eyes God smiles upon the earth.

Kahlil Gibran
Source: from On Giving

Restoring all things. . .

A New Society

The first words about the Christian life are not about what we as individuals can experience, but about the kind of society God intends. The gospel, or good news, is that in Christ, God’s coming kingdom is breaking into the here and now–in the depths of the believer’s heart, but also in the world itself. This kingdom encompasses economic, material, psychological, political, social and spiritual existence.

Charles Moore

Source: "Why I Stopped Going to Church" 

Seeking "the common good"

Jim Wallis describes an environment that is antithetical to the realization of justice and community.

 Watch the video.

Buy his new book!
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Texas Connector is here!!!

See information below on one of the most amazing community assessment and development tools that I've ever seen. Plan to attend the Dallas area roll out next Tuesday, February 21 at 9:00 a.m. at the Richardson East Church of Christ (1504 E. Campbell Road, Richardson, Texas 75081).

Rain not slowing us down!

This video was shot last Thursday morning after the all night rain. Sun reappeared and the guys from ConReal hit it again with water pumps and big Cats!

Oh, and congratulations Dan Hopkins and Happy Birthday!  You are now officially as old as rocks!

Ring out the old, ring in the new!

Ring Out , Wild Bells

Alfred Lord Tennyson

1850

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,

The flying cloud, the frosty light;
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,

Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind,

For those that here we see no more,
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,

And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.

Ring out the want, the care the sin,

The faithless coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes,
But ring the fuller minstrel in.

Ring out false pride in place and blood,

The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.

Ring out old shapes of foul disease,

Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.

Ring in the valiant man and free,

The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.

"Dangerous" Christians

Here's an interesting take on faith, the world and life purpose.  Let me know what you think about it. 

Dangerous Christians Who Teach Us To Live Like Jesus

Posted: 05/ 9/11 12:10 AM ET
By C.K. Robertson

Systems resist change. The old joke, "How many _____________ does it take to change a lightbulb? -- What, change!" still gets a laugh precisely because we all have experienced some kind of relational system that has been change-resistant. As things have been, so they always will be. Now, change for change's sake is not always a good thing. Sometimes it can be quite destructive. But all too often the failure of an institution to explore possible adaptation has led to years, even centuries, of setbacks and repression. Individuals who challenge the status quo are viewed as threats, and the system deals with them accordingly.

This is true whether the institution in question is corporate, government, academic, not-for-profit ... or, yes, religious. In fact, an ecclesiastical system can the most difficult, for to suggest change there is to risk being labeled a heretic or apostate who has been (as I once heard with my own ears) "co-opted by the darkness."

Throughout the Christian Church's history, "dangerous" believers have arisen, challenging comfortable definitions of who or what is acceptable to God, who can lead and who needs to keep quiet. Jesus himself was perceived as a threat precisely because he challenged seemingly unchangeable laws about the Sabbath and broke down the boundaries between the pure insiders and the unclean outsiders. It is significant that the followers of Jesus would eventually take as their primary identity marker not the rainbow or the fish, but the cross ... a constant reminder that to embrace the way of Christ is to risk following in his footsteps either figuratively or, at times, literally.

Read the entire essay here. 
C.K. Robertson is the Canon to the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church and author of A Dangerous Dozen: 12 Christians Who Threatened the Status Quo But Taught Us to Live like Jesus.

Circles and ashes

A litany of confession and pardon from Ash Wednesday. . .

We confess that the circle of love is repeatedly broken because of our sin of exclusion.
We create separate circles:  the inner circle and the outer circle, the circle of power and the circle of despair, the circle of privilege and the circle of deprivation.
Forgive us our sins, as we forgive all who have sinned against us.

We confess that the circle of love is broken whenever there is alienation, whenever there is misunderstanding, whenever there is insensitivity or a hardening of heart.
Forgive us our sins, as we forgive all who have sinned against us.

We confess that the circle of love is broken whenever we cannot see eye to eye,
whenver we cannot link hand to hand, whenever we cannot live heart to heart and affirm our differences.
Forgive us our sins, as we forgive all who have sinned against us.

Through God's grace we are fogiven, by the mercy of our Creator, through the love of Jesus Christ, and in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Harlem Children's Zone

Amazing work being done by an amazing group, led by an amazing man! We need this process and this commitment in Dallas. What do you think?



Great question, Mr. President!

Shane Claiborne

November 18, 2009, 9:05 AM

What If Jesus Meant All That Stuff?

This radical Christian's ministry for the poor, The Simple Way, has gotten him in some trouble with his fellow Evangelicals. We asked him to address those who don't believe.

By Shane Claiborne

To all my nonbelieving, sort-of-believing, and used-to-be-believing friends: I feel like I should begin with a confession. I am sorry that so often the biggest obstacle to God has been Christians. Christians who have had so much to say with our mouths and so little to show with our lives. I am sorry that so often we have forgotten the Christ of our Christianity.

Forgive us. Forgive us for the embarrassing things we have done in the name of God.

The other night I headed into downtown Philly for a stroll with some friends from out of town. We walked down to Penn's Landing along the river, where there are street performers, artists, musicians. We passed a great magician who did some pretty sweet tricks like pour change out of his iPhone, and then there was a preacher. He wasn't quite as captivating as the magician. He stood on a box, yelling into a microphone, and beside him was a coffin with a fake dead body inside. He talked about how we are all going to die and go to hell if we don't know Jesus.

Some folks snickered. Some told him to shut the hell up. A couple of teenagers tried to steal the dead body in the coffin. All I could do was think to myself, I want to jump up on a box beside him and yell at the top of my lungs, "God is not a monster." Maybe next time I will.

The more I have read the Bible and studied the life of Jesus, the more I have become convinced that Christianity spreads best not through force but through fascination.

Read the entire essay here.

Unify South Dallas

The Dallas Morning News published an editorial opinion in Thursday's print editions of the paper supporting the Unify South Dallas movement. 

Central Dallas Ministries' VP of Public Policy, Rev. Gerald Britt has been instrumental in the formation and work of the group.  The growing influence of the community-based group is really encouraging to watch. 

Here's a taste of our major news daily's evaluation of Unify Dallas: 

South Dallas group creates its own action plan


Many Dallas residents might not think it remarkable for the mayor to show up in their neighborhood and answer questions. The fact that Unify South Dallas considered it a big victory just to get Mayor Tom Leppert into the building Tuesday says a lot about the level of past city neglect.

Unify South Dallas, formed just a few months ago, is fast becoming one of the most effective organizations at work in this part of town. It exists to help residents and other stakeholders become full partners in shaping the revitalization efforts designed to bring economic growth to their neighborhoods.
The driving force is IKOJA, a group of young professionals and entrepreneurs, supported by people with experience in this struggle. Together they have rallied neighborhood associations, places of worship, businessmen and women, community advocates and such groups as SouthFair CDC and Frazier Revitalization.

The Forest Heights Community Center was packed for Leppert's appearance, with more than 75 people showing up in the middle of the day. The community meeting was significant for several reasons:

•Leppert not only carved out time to attend (and stay longer than he planned), but he listened to each agenda item from the group and generally gave thoughtful, frank answers. City Manager Mary Suhm was also there, as were staffers representing U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson and state Sen. Royce West.

•The group's action items, crafted through numerous grassroots meetings, are concrete policy proposals, rather than broadly stated desires. They include specific actions to create mixed-income neighborhoods, curb the havoc wrought by bars and liquor stores, and set aside jobs in city-subsidized commercial developments for South Dallas residents. (Leppert offered informed support for the first item, pointed out that the second is the responsibility of individual council members and largely rejected the third as unworkable.)

•The most immediate victory involves national developer McCormack Baron Salazar, hired to assess economic development opportunities in South Dallas. Leppert promised to have the developer brief the South Dallas community no later than it addressed the City Council's Economic Development Committee. (Of special interest to McCormack Baron Salazar is the Green Line through South Dallas.)

Although City Council member Carolyn Davis, who represents much of South Dallas, was in San Antonio on Tuesday for a weeklong National League of Cities conference, she's back in time to hold two town hall meetings today: 10 a.m. at the Exline Recreation Center and 6 p.m. on the sixth floor of Dallas City Hall.

We wouldn't be surprised if she fielded questions around the Unify South Dallas proposals. We certainly hope she does. South Dallas residents should hope that the ensuing dialogue starts a collaboration between their elected council member and an energetic, savvy new force.

Read the entire report, including other data in side bars here.

Managing change for progress

In spite of the impressions given by a handful of mega-churches, congregations all over America are in decline. That is the verdict of all of the reliable research.

While I typically don't give this sort of data much thought, I've had an experience that stretches over three years now that has been very instructive.

About this time three years ago, I received a call from the Garnett Church of Christ in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The leaders there told me that they were trying to design a plan to manage the changes occurring in their congregation. They invited me to come up for a day of conversation. I suggested that I bring John Greenan, the Executive Director of the Central Dallas Community Development Corporation along for the day. They readily agreed.

Forty years ago, the church had been on the "cutting edge" of church growth. Under the leadership of a dynamic minister, and thanks to a very successful strategic plan for outreach, Garnett grew to have thousands of members.

But, things and times changed, so that by the 1990s the church experienced sharp decline in numbers, funding and morale. By 2006, the church was down to about 500 members with others continuing to leave its membership. And, the church did not seem to be successful in attracting new members, a problem most churches experience today.

The day John and I spent with a group of the church's leaders turned out to be fairly remarkable. To be frank, I don't think I've ever seen a group of people more frustrated, concerned or depressed. We sat in a very large mall area outside a very large sanctuary (and there was much talk about how to use or change the huge space which proved a real "downer" on Sundays due to the relatively small crowd in attendance). We formed a discussion circle. Twenty minutes into the conversation I noticed that everyone seemed to speak in hushed tones, much like in a funeral parlor. Defeat tried hard to define the discussion.

Of course, we were outsiders without the history, the recent conflict or the responsibility for planning, debt or programming, so we didn't' feel the same as our hosts. Our advantage was that we didn't know what they knew. We didn't have their experience, a real advantage, especially for our thought processes.

We talked.

We toured.

We watched.

We listened a lot.

At the end of the day, we offered two suggestions.

First, we advised that the church should form a separate non-profit organization. The church would then deed to the new organization all of its assets and liabilities. Next, the church could lease back from the non-profit only the space it needed for its smaller present operations. The non-profit could then create a community service oriented, meeting center business to further reduce debt while bringing life back to the property.

Second, we looked outside the building to the church's 35 acres of undeveloped property. We urged the group to consider using the property for the development of senior housing and/or mixed-income housing along with a possible mixed-use component. In addition to being able to gain some profit, a new community could be built up all around the church property and all sorts of ministry efforts could be brought to the new development.

The ideas seemed a bit, well, "out there." but we left feeling we had given it our best shot. Still, I noticed that by the end of the day the volume had cranked up. Clearly, the group was out of the funeral mood!

Last Saturday and Sunday, I returned to the church to receive an update from the leaders and to see what had happened.

I was blown away!

The church formed a legal limited partnership resulting in the creation of the Green Country Event Center. The place was a beehive of activity! On Saturday evening, I witnessed the wedding ceremony of an Hispanic couple attended by over 200 guests. That same evening, a large group of Pakistani women, all Muslim, gathered in traditional dress for a bridal reception with all of their traditions in play. In the auditorium a church conference had been going on since the previous Thursday. The facility's large commercial kitchen houses a new catering business operated by one of the church's members and provides meals for the groups who need them.

Earlier that day I toured the entire facility and noted that various organizations now leased offices and ran community education, child care, counseling and faith services from the once quiet buildings. And, the center is profitable, allowing the church to retire its debt as it plans for even better days.

Possibly, most important of all, the new event center signals to the entire Tulsa community that the Garnett Church is there for everyone. The center is quickly becoming a major, community crossroads for the entire city. The church finds itself ministering and serving on a daily basis and new folks are showing up to join in the new found significance.

During my weekend, we talked about housing development as the next step. I'll be happy to return in another year or two to see what else has happened for the good.

Here's a church responding to changing circumstances with creativity, effectiveness and an incredibly welcoming heart for everyone in Tulsa.

Church as hospitality center and gathering place. . .now there is a novel idea!

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Where love lives. . .

When I reflect on "how I got where I am" today, I quickly think of the very special church of my childhood and my last parish ministry. The Richardson East Church of Christ is that congregation.

As I say, I grew up there.

In something of an unusual development, I also returned to serve as senior minister at the church for 14 years from 1980 until 1994 when I move to Central Dallas Ministries.

I've always had an unusual relationship with "church" in general--more on that later, maybe. But, this church has seemed to always major on acceptance and love, inclusion and high-touch ministry to people in trouble. No, not every member, but certainly the vast majority and almost always the leadership.

On Easter Sunday this year the church experienced what must have been an incredibly inspirational celebration of "lives resurrected." We witness a lot of the same sort of reality in the lives of the people we touch here at CDM. The two settings are very different. The renewed hope and determination to move forward, very much the same.

Take a look at what's been captured on YouTube. As always, reactions are welcomed.

Urban Connection--San Antonio Part 2

Urban Connection--San Antonio, the sister organization founded by Central Dallas Ministries, is taking aggressive steps to assist in the transformation of one of the toughest neighborhoods in the city.

Working from the base at Lincoln Heights Courts, a public housing development on the west side, UC-SA recently purchased a very "troubled" house that will be transformed into a center of community hope.

I thought you would enjoy "seeing" things for yourself!

Anna Hill--community builder

Ms. Anna Hill is our partner.

She is the most important leader in the Dolphin Heights neighborhood just east of Fair Park. The new-found health and hope now being experienced in her community is due largely to her personal efforts over the past several years.

We've had the honor to work with her on an exciting mutual project over the past several weeks. She is something else!

Thank God for Anna Hill and for grassroots leaders like her all across our community. Anna Hill and others like her are key players in the work of community renewal.

Read more about this important leader and cherished partner here.

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Faith Sung and Worked Out

Hymn sung in church, Easter 2009. . .

Christ Is Alive

In ev'ry insult, rift and war,

Where color, scorn or wealth divide,

Christ suffers still, yet loves the more,

And lives, where even hope has died.

Christ is alive, and comes to bring

Good news to this and ev'ry age,

Till earth and sky and ocean ring

With joy, with justice, love and praise.

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