Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement (CIVIC) — the national immigration detention visitation network — believes that ending the isolation of people in immigration detention starts with being a good listener. CIVIC teamed up with Jesuit Refugee Service/USA (JRS/USA), a longstanding partner of the U.S. visitation […]Continue Reading →
Bill Hybels says that casting a vision is the process of inspiring people to move from “here” to “there.” We often think that to “sell” a vision, we need to paint a compelling picture of “there,” he says, when we really need to make the case for […]Continue Reading →
Let me start by saying how nice it is to write something that’s not contingent on a final grade for the first time in a very long while … Ahh, let’s all just let that soak in….
For the past four years I’ve been grinding […]Continue Reading →
As we get closer and closer to the possibility of actually passing immigration reform legislation—this week, the Senate Judiciary Committee is considering amendments to the bill—I want to address a question I’ve heard (sometimes sheepishly, sometimes unabashedly) from some of my friends who align decidedly to the political Right: if we let undocumented immigrants […]Continue Reading →
A few weeks ago, in the bulletin at my church, there was an announcement that I felt had been written specifically for me:
Folding Chair Amnesty Week—Have you ever borrowed folding chairs from the church? We need them back! Please return any folding chairs to the church this week—amnesty […]Continue Reading →
Last Wednesday, hundreds of pastors and lay leaders from evangelical churches and campuses all over the United States gathered in our nation’s capital for a national Day of Prayer and Action for Immigration Reform. Several months ago, national Christian leaders drafted a letter to President Obama and to […]Continue Reading →
If you know someone who is going through deportation and don’t know what to do for them, today is your lucky day. Here are 3 things you can do that will go a long way in alleviating the stress and strain that they […]Continue Reading →
On Friday morning, I spoke in the chapel service at Bethel University, as part of the campus’ G92 event. Let me fill you in on a little secret: usually, when I’m asked to give a talk at a chapel, or at a conference, or at a church, I basically just […]Continue Reading →
