Today, November 2, 2009, I was part of this inaugural event of the Diane and  Guilford Glazer Institute for Jewish Studies at  Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA . Over 400 people spent the day listening and interacting with Jewish, Muslim and Christian religious and political leaders. It was a fantastic event. Here are some of the [...]

This is a beautiful expression of the Christian faith from an African perspective. This creed was composed in 1960 by the Masai people of East Africa in collaboration with missionaries from the Congregation of the Holy Ghost. The creed attempts to express the essentials of the Christian faith within the Masai culture. Jaroslav Pelikan, a [...]

I have been doing alot of thinking about heretics lately.  Heretics are the necessary leaders of the future. Heretics, challenging the status quo, create new movements. Marketing guru Seth Godin writes in Tribes: “Heretics are engaged, passionate and more powerful and happier than everyone else…. Challenging the status quo requires a commitment, both public and private. [...]

December 21st, the shortest day of the year, with the longest night of the year, is Homeless Memorial Day. This day throughout the country homeless people who have died will be remembered. These are often the invisible people in our community. Usually the homeless we see on the streets are just a fraction of the homeless in [...]

Advent Conspiracy Promo Video The story of Christ’s birth is a story of promise, hope, and a revolutionary love. So, what happened? What was once a time to celebrate the birth of a savior has somehow turned into a season of stress, traffic jams, and shopping lists. And when it’s all over, many of us [...]

We don’t listen to each other enough. Stories are being lost because we don’t the take time to listen. We are a culture with amnesia. A culture with too few memories.  Here is a great project. StoryCorps is declaring November 28, 2008 the first annual National Day of Listening. This holiday season, ask the people around you [...]

This weekend, the Free Clinic of Simi Valley hosted a fundraising open house. The Free  Clinic serves the working poor and the homeless with medical, dental, legal, and counseling needs. The event was pretty great–wonderful food, an amazing band and wonderful people from the community. The mix of people who attended was quite diverse. One of [...]

This is an historic presidential election. And a night when I am so proud to be a person of faith and an American.  People in record numbers turned out to vote signaling a desire for change, for a new direction for our country domestically, as well on the world stage. The economy did not trump faith-based issues, though [...]

I just got back from a trip to China, sponsored by Fuller Seminary. I had the wonderful privilege of meeting with pastors from the Chinese Christian Council. This is the state-regulated church. I know there is a lot of discussion and debate concerning the registered and the underground church in China. I am [...]

I am a proud member of a Rotary Club in my hometown. I have been in Rotary for over ten years. I faithfully pay my dues, attend meetings, work on projects that better my community, traveled to Peru and Zambia working on projects to better those regions of the world. I have met [...]