Alexia Salvatierra is a prophet in our midst

This is a guest post by Rev. Alexia Salvatierra. She is currently the Special Assistant to the Bishop for Welcoming Congregations for the Southwest California Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.  She also serves as a consultant to many major organizations and just released a new book, “Faith-Rooted Organizing. See her full bio, and book her to speak, train, or consult your group here.

What is a prophet?  For many evangelicals, the calling/category of prophet is more confusing and controversial than apostle or evangelist.  Some believe that the Old Testament prophets’ focus on communal repentance for culturally common sins (idolatry, adultery, social injustice) has been replaced from the New Testament forward by prophets who speak particular divine messages to individuals about the consequences of specific choices.

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I just read this chilling article by Christina Cleveland and we need to listen to her as we plant. I am curious about your thoughts for those of you who are starting and multiplying churches – especially in urban areas.

I don’t want to be an unhelpful, ignorant, or overbearing white guy, so listening to voices like this is helpful for me. Furthermore we are a body of christ in mission and we need to remember that – especially as we start.

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This is a guest post by Rob Dixon. He serves as the Surf and Turf Divisional Director and lives in Clovis, CA. He’s married to Amy and together they are raising Josh, Lucy, Grace and Lily. In his spare time, you’ll either find Rob out running or in a book. He’ll be starting a DMiss program through Fuller Seminary in March. Rob blogs regularly on issues related to male privilege at challengingtertullian.com

I love the idea of releasing A.P.E.s into the world.

This is a guest post from Gina Hurford. My sister of all people! She is a Financial Planner and Investment Consultant in San Francisco. She is also an InterVarsity alumni and came to faith in college at the University of San Diego. I have seen her grow since the beginning of her faith and I couldn’t be more proud of what she is doing now. When she told me this story a few weeks ago, I knew she needed to share.

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This is a guest post by Brian Sanders. He leads an awesome church network in Tampa Bay called Underground. He is one of the most inspiring leaders I know. I love listening to him teach and I love the way he thinks about leadership, church planting, and missional communities. He is an apostolic leader through and through and you see this no better than in the way he is the chief architect for his network of churches. But he also comes hard with timely prophetic words. One of which lies here in this post. Buckle up for the ride and I hope you listen!

The Missing Component

Leadership is three dimensional. All our work on gifts, and even context, leave us still missing a third component to real transformative leadership. Intensity. I might be a gifted pastor or evangelist in the right place at the right time with the right people and the right gifts but I still have to wake up and go lay down my life. These variables are all (in my opinion) nothing without wholehearted, burning obedience. And that element is more a feature of our organizational culture perhaps than we realize. It is captured in the sometimes overlooked biblical exhortation from Romans 12 (one of the most relentless chapters in the bible) “Never be lacking in zeal…”

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photo courtesy of MICHELLE STOCKER — The Capital Times

I am way late on this post, but its not too late. Rev. Alex Gee, a friend of mine and pastor among many things in Madison Wisconsin, is speaking out on racial profiling and why he is concerned about life in Madison for an African American. He is raising some great points.

I am posting it here for three reasons:

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Scott Hall is a prophetic voice in our culture and a great guy that I work with in Los Angeles. Here is a post I thought could be helpful that he wrote a few weeks ago. Enjoy and be challenged!

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In light of this past week’s MLK holiday, and the upcoming Black History Month, I’ve been reflecting on the role White people have to play in God’s heart for justice.  After centuries of being at the center of power in the West, is it time for White folks to take a back seat to people of color?  Do we no longer have the right to have a voice in the conversation?  Or is there a place for our voices and leadership?  Is there something lost without us in the mix?

Last week I asked some of these questions to students at Pacific Lutheran University.  A junior at PLU, Catherine, responded to my challenges in an email I have pasted below:

You can read the whole article and their responses here