Reconcile

Last week Stephanie and I had the opportunity to spend a few days in Minneapolis at the CCDA National Conference. Every time I go to a CCDA event I feel like I am with family. There is no need to explain to anyone why we do what we do, because we have all decided that we will live and work in places where no body else will go, not only for the development of that community, but because the Gospel compels us.
This year's theme was Reconcile, which has become one of our buzz words in the church, however, there seems to be very little action behind it. As a good friend told me a few weeks ago "Reconciliation is the new cool thing we all talk about, but if we can be honest, we don't really want to do it." The church continues to be racially, culturally, and socio-economically divided while our communities become more and more diverse.
My take away from this conference is that true reconciliation is not an event, neither is it reached when people from different backgrounds become friends. True Biblical reconciliation is when we all work together to return to the standard which God has set  in the New Creation, and drop our man made labels we use to identify each other.
Our time in Minneapolis was a great reminder to us that there are thousands of people around the world who love the poor, who are developing under resourced communities, and who are raising up leaders in those same communities. My prayer is that God will lead Stephanie and me to do this through the local church here in Kansas City.