John Perkins and Chicago

I'm in Chiago this week attending the CCDA Conference with a team from the Cedar Valley. We have a team of about 25 people including staff and volunteers from Orchard, staff and volunteers from Harvest Vineyard, Buck Clark, the mayor of Waterloo and others.

CCDA stands for Christian Community Development Association. This association shares tried and true Biblical principles for developing under-resourced communities of people. The founders and speakers are people who have been living and serving in their under-resourced communities for more than 30 years. Their philosophy of ministry has strongly influenced Orchard's philosophy of doing mission beyond our walls into our five focus communities.

So far I've been inspired by four things:

1. The clear foundation of their work is Jesus Christ and they are very clear that the first help we need to be ready to give is to reconcile people to God through Christ. (Galatians 2:20).

2. John Perkins, their 80 year old founder still has the fire of Christ and the clarity to serve young people and communities. He is definitely a biblical prophet to our day!

3. Even though CCDA is not organized as a church they understand and teach the importance of us being the church--the body of Christ--his hands and feet in the world today.

4. This morning was beautiful and I went for a 45 miniute run/walk along Navy Pier, the lake and the Chicago River. It cleared my head and helped me see God's beauty in the cityscape. Since then I've been inspired by the 25 people who've come with us to learn and grow.