Don Miller’s Closing Benediction at the DNC

Just thought some of you may enjoy this. Be blessed.

I’m honored to deliver the closing prayer at the DNC. Evangelical voices have been scarce within this party, perhaps since the Carter administration. But as strides are being made on key issues of sanctity of life and social justice, as well as peaceful solutions to world conflicts, more and more evangelicals are taking a closer look at options the Democratic Party are beginning to deliver. There is a long way to go, but sending a message to Washington that no single party has the Christian community in their pocket, thus causing each party to carefully consider the issues most important to us, is, in my opinion, a positive evolution. I am glad that, for the most part, the dialogue has been constructive and positive. Will you join me in keeping the conversation thoughtful and not reactionary?

That said, I am honored to speak to, and especially pray with and for, the DNC. Here is the full text of the prayer:

Please join me for the next few moments in our Benediction.

“Father God,
This week, as the world looks on, help the leaders in this room create a civil dialogue about our future.
We need you, God, as individuals and also as a nation.
We need you to protect us from our enemies, but also from ourselves, because we are easily tempted toward apathy.
Give us a passion to advance opportunities for the least of these, for widows and orphans, for single moms and children whose fathers have left.
Give us the eyes to see them, and the ears to hear them, and hands willing to serve them.
Help us serve people, not just causes. And stand up to specific injustices rather than vague notions.
Give those in this room who have power, along with those who will meet next week, the courage to work together to finally provide health care to those who don’t have any, and a living wage so families can thrive rather than struggle.
Hep us figure out how to pay teachers what they deserve and give children an equal opportunity to get a college education.
Help us figure out the balance between economic opportunity and corporate gluttony.
We have tried to solve these problems ourselves but they are still there. We need your help.
Father, will you restore our moral standing in the world.
A lot of people don’t like us but that’s because they don’t know the heart of the average American.
Will you give us favor and forgiveness, along with our allies around the world.
Help us be an example of humility and strength once again.
Lastly, father, unify us.
Even in our diversity help us see how much we have in common.
And unify us not just in our ideas and in our sentiments—but in our actions, as we look around and figure out something we can do to help create an America even greater than the one we have come to cherish.
God we know that you are good.
Thank you for blessing us in so many ways as Americans.
I make these requests in the name of your son, Jesus, who gave his own life against the forces of injustice.
Let Him be our example.

Amen.”

Can also be viewed at donaldmillerwords.com

FollowUp to Missional in Suburbia from Al Hsu

Questions to consider. Link to Al Hsu’s (pronounced shee) post from The Suburban Christian.

Part 1: Exploring Your Suburban Context

Describe your suburban context, where you live/work/worship/minister. How did you come to live here? What brought you to the area?

What would you say is distinctive about your particular location? Consider these cultural cues:

· What institutions are important in your suburban area? Commercial, governmental, nonprofit, educational, entertainment, etc.?

· What major employers are based in your area?

· What kinds of local festivals or community events are held in your area?

· What different kinds of residents live in your area? Where do they live?

· Why do people move to your local suburb rather than others?

· How is your particular suburb different from others nearby?

What are the needs of your suburban area? Assess the “as is.” Consider physical, economic, social, emotional, relational, spiritual dimensions.

What would your suburb look like if the kingdom of God became more manifest there? What problems might be alleviated? How would your suburb be different?

What is your vision for your suburb, your neighborhood, your community? Describe the “could be.”

Part 2: Identifying Your Church’s Role

Why do people come to your church? (If you don’t know, call some ordinary church members right now and ask them, “Out of all the churches in the area, why did you decide to visit our church? What made you stay?”)

Why do people leave your church?

What’s your church’s distinctive DNA? How is it different from other churches in your area?

What does your church do that other churches don’t do? What can your church do that other churches can’t do?

What do you wish your church could do? Is that hope anchored in reality?

Consider the “as is” and “could be” discussed in part 1. What is your church’s role in contributing toward this “could be”?

How can your church partner with other churches in moving toward this “could be”?

Missional in Suburbia Seminar with Al Hsu

Missional in Suburbia one day conference with Al Hsu

Al Hsu’s a great guy. I had the privilege of sharing the platform with him as well as my old prof Dr. John Franke amongst others at The Well’s Missional in Suburbia Seminar responding to some of the things Al shared with us. His book, The Suburban Christian, offers very practical insight to something that a lot of leaders have not considered very carefully at least not so practically. It’s easy to see the needs in the city and follow Tim Keller’s lead to minister in the city to impact culture and overlook addressing the problems in suburbia. The Suburban Christian is a great companion to the groundbreaking classic,  “The Urban Christian” by Ray Bakke.

Download the Sessions Here
Part One
Part Two

Missional in Suburbia

I should have posted earlier about this but it’s not too late. My good friend Todd Hiestand, Pastor at The Well, is hosting in partnership with the Ecclesia Network and C4ML at Biblical Seminary, “Missional in Suburbia” inviting Al Hsu, author of The Suburban Christian, this weekend August 8-9, 2008.

The Well has really done some great things helping us retool our thinking about Suburbia. They recently invited local community leaders from Bucks County to discuss the unique issues of suburban poverty.

So this seminar should really be worth your while. See you there!

National Bike/Walk to Work Day

Just Do It.

I just hate it when it rains on days like this. It’s a real challenge to my convictions.
Am I serious about making a difference? Am I willing to do this despite the inconvenience?
May is National Bike Month as well as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and today, May 16, is National Bike/Walk to Work Day.

Since my undergrad days studying urban planning at Rutgers I’ve been an advocate for less cars on the road and more bikes. I’d like to see that cyclists be given more preference than motorists. I’m actually OK with the fact that gas prices are going up as a way to discourage our dependency on cars as they attempt to do in Europe. They have parking lots full of bikes. Imagine that!? European cities has a good record of creating initiatives to encourage bike culture. Many places of employment encourage it by offering locker rooms for showering. There’s places to store your gear and equipment at train stations for longer commutes. Get around the city using bikes and bike taxis. We could do that. We’ll even be a healthier nation.

However, every year I’ve become more dependent on our highways and my two cars.
Inches have also been added to my waist. One child too.

The issue according to experts like Bill McKibben is to cut CARBON to 350 parts per million. That’s the most important number in the world right now he says.
http://www.350.org

So one way to do this is promote bike culture. Perhaps instead of choosing to go to that big church miles and miles away that you drive that gas guzzler to, invest in a faith community closer to home so that you can together impact where you live and bring a new vibrancy to smaller churches. Bike to church together.

Q Conference, NYC, Part 4: Green the Ghetto

So I missed posting anything on Earth Day last week but I wanted to highlight a part of the Q conference that I was blessed to experience. We each had an opportunity to participate in what was called a Learning Journey. These were experiences throughout the city where we can learn how to engage culture. I was fortunate to journey with 50 other leaders to experience Sustainable South Bronx [SSBX], an environmental justice project created by Majora Carter to “Green the Ghetto. They’ve really made an impact in the community and address real needs. They’ve installed about 4 green roofs on buildings which has generated green collar jobs as well as providing a way to reduce the temperature below the roofs for residents which further reduce air condition needs. SSBX is one of the leaders of the green collar revolution.

When we arrived at Hunts Point we hiked up many flights of stairs to a roof that had been greened. Our guide explained how SSBX gave him a chance when no one else would because of his record. Now he loves horticulture and being green. He’s found a purpose for his life.

Apart from the green roofs the real impact has been Majora’s initial project, Hunts Point Riverside Park, the area’s first new park in 60 years. She was able get over $3 million in contributions and once where there was landfill is now two acres of green space for local residents to stroll, play and kayak on the water. The park is an amazing third place for the community.

What I find most exciting about SSBX is their ability to do something many others fail to do which is change culture and the way a community thinks. I was there with my friend Samuel Chez. We both grew up in Brooklyn in a different era (as if we were that old) and we were reminiscing about what it was like for us to grow up in the city. The thought of kids growing up in the ghetto having access to a park like this where they can learn to canoe left us both agreeing this is the real deal.

Links
• Fermi Project / Q co-founder Jeff Shinabarger shares his experience
WALK THE GREEN LINE
MAJORA CARTER: 5 QUESTIONS
• Charles Lee also was with us in this learning journey shares his thoughts.
• Sustainable South Bronx [SSBX] official site
• Watch Majora Carter’s TED Presentation

My Q Conference blogging Part 1 | 2 | 3

Victor Lin CD Release Party

My uber talented friend Victor Lin is having a CD release concert for his latest work, The Hymnbook. Check it out if you’re in the Big Apple Saturday.

APR.26.08 @ 7:30pm
CD Release Concert: The Hymnbook
Church Of The Advent Hope
111 E 87th St at Lexington Ave

Listen to select tracks at victorlin.net
Download some on MySpace

A Day of Remembrance: Virginia Tech One Year Later

April 16, 2008 is A Day of Remembrance
On this day, the Virginia Tech community reflects on the vibrant lives of the 32 students and faculty who were tragically taken from us a year ago. Through light, art, and music we pay tribute to each and every person we lost. [From the VT Remembrance Site]

Last April, the world’s attention focused on a campus community ripped to its very core with the grief and pain of a tragedy unparalleled in the history of American higher education. And what they observed was more powerful than they ever expected… they saw a campus filled with energetic students and talented faculty that displayed grace, poise and fortitude beyond all imagination — a community fueled by something we know as Hokie spirit. That spirit reaches deep and spreads beyond the campus throughout our 200,000 alumni, and indeed across the entire globe.Take time to remember the legacies, remember the dreams and remember the talent that our community has lost.

I hope you are inspired to work harder to honor the 32. Share you talents with the world for the 32. Achieve your dreams for the 32. Be more compassionate, friendly and thoughtful for the 32. Be better, for the 32.

In 2008, we remember the 32; we are thankful for the survivors; and we are proud we share together that incredible Hokie spirit.

Tom Tillar
Vice President for Alumni Relations

Schedule of Events

Linkback
Aint The Way It’s Supposed To Be - Engaging The Virginia Tech Tragedy [i]
Aint The Way It’s Supposed To Be - Engaging The Virginia Tech Tragedy [ii]

Engage Speaker Series: Living Out the Gospel Across Racial and Socio-Economic Lines

It’s been awhile since I’ve attended an ENGAGE speaker series event in NYC sponsored by PaLM. I’m hoping to go to one again. They’ve done a great job of exposing issues and equipping leaders to engage culture. If you’re in the New York area there’s one tonight featuring Christine Lee of All Angels Church.

“Living Out the Gospel Across Racial and Socio-Economic Lines”
Ephesians 2 says that Christ Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility. So then as the familiar saying goes, why does 11 am continue to be “the most segregated hour of the week”? Come hear how one church - of professionals, families, students, artists, homeless men and women - has sought and struggled (and sometimes failed) to live out the reality of the gospel in community and overcome the dividing walls of race and class.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008
7:00pm - 9:00pm
All Angels Church
251 W. 80th Street New York, NY

Christine Lee is the Director of Spiritual Development and Outreach at All Angels’ Church, an evangelical Episcopal Church on the Upper West Side. She attended the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago and received her M.Div. and Th.M. at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. After seminary, she spent a year and a half serving as a short-term missionary in Bangkok, Thailand, teaching Thai and tribal students at the Thailand Evangelical Seminary. In 1999, she joined staff with Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, first at the University of Chicago and then Columbia University after getting married to Jimmy Lee in 2002. Before coming to All Angels, she worked for Habitat for Humanity - NYC engaging the faith community in volunteerism and advocacy around affordable housing issues.

All Angels’ Church Official Website
All Angels’ Church Mission Statement: To build Christ centered communities of witness and healing, and equip people to be a transforming presence in NYC and beyond.

Q Conference, NYC, Part 3

Of all the things gained from the Q Conference, connecting with the amazing individuals around me has been the most valuable. It has been very refreshing to dialogue and many times just laugh together. I find that it’s easy to become myoptic in ministry and never have any awareness of life outside of that environment including the issues that affect us all. Every person that I encountered at Q extended my view of the Church [big "C"] and culture. Sometimes I need to get out of the Chinese Church. I very much enjoyed reconnecting with Tim Lucas [Liquid] and J.R. Briggs [Resonate] who I did not anticipate being there.

I also had the privilege of spending time with Asian-American leaders/bloggers at the Q conference as well as informal dinners sponsored by L2 Foundation. Among them Ken Fong [Evergreen], DJ Chuang, David Gibbons [NewSong], Charles Lee [Just4One.org], Ted Law [Access], Paul Wang [ECBC? Those Canadians!], Dan Cho [Veritas Forum], Greg Wong [Origins], Brian Kim [NewSong NOC] and Jason Ashimoto [Evergreen]. On the last night we debriefed a bit, encouraged one another and dreamed some.

Here’s some pictures of a few of us sharing some very expensive shaved ice at Koryodang.

David Gibbons presented earlier that day with a similar but equally compelling message that he gave at the Asian-American Leadership Conference in Fullerton, CA [See earlier post: AALC Blogging Part 3 Hype & Substance] The focus here was more on Third Culture and Adaptability.

Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup; You put water into a bottle it becomes the bottle; You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend
- The Theology of Bruce Lee.

There’s some great blogging on this experience. I’ve got nothing.

If you want details on each of the presentations check out Scott Hodge | Chris Bell | Seth Kim
DJChuang live-twittered
Charles Lee has some provoking reflections