The teenage boys were not warned that Andrea was a small college All-American and Hall of Famer at her college.  So...they were all mystified and amazed when she beat them all three times in a row.  Soon the younger boys started teasing the teenagers for losing to her.  One young man said that I should have warned him and his feelings were hurt (he was kidding, of course, or at least we think).  It was a fun day for all of us.

We just got back from the first annual Camp Shalom!  Approximately 50 people spent the weekend at Golden Valley Christian Camp, and it was a special experience.  The young people from East Oakland had new experiences such as archery, night hikes, s'mores and camp songs.  Our theme, "God is our Father, and we are loved" was woven throughout the weekend.  It really couldn't have been much better of a weekend.  New friends were made by all of us...rich and poor, black and white, silly and serious, young and old, boisterous and shy, urban and suburban, fabulous dancers and the awkwardly uncoordinated (that would be Nate, as pointed out by Troy to the whole camp).  We sang, danced, hiked, climbed through obstacle courses, prayed and talked.  Thanks to everyone who contributed to make it happen!

Just yesterday we took a trip to visit the camp and solidify the plans.  It's a beautiful place, and we hope and pray that our plans go smoothly.  Hopefully this will be the first annual Spring camp of many.

Peace,

Nate

From the new website of our good friend and Board Member, Harry Williams...The statistics are startling but there is hope!

Welcome To The Movement

Did you know that America’s incarceration rate has risen 500% in 30 years.  Did you know that today there are 2.3 million Americans behind bars?  Did you know that the Sentencing Project predicts that 1 out every 3 black males can expect to go to prison in his life time if current trends continue?  Did you know that Latino incarceration rates rose 16% between 2000 and 2008?  Add to those startling stats the fact that gang membership has migrated from the hardcore inner cities to villages and farm towns all over America.

20th century answers will not work in an age where gang members plot and recruit through the internet.  In the absence of fathers and positive male models, many young girls are drawn to “thug niggas” who settle disputes with 9 millimeter pistols.

Most traditional churches exist far outside of the hip hop/street culture where inner city young people live.  Class issues have separated most mainstream churches from their mission field.  The poor and elderly live in terror as stray bullets blast out in the streets of the hood.  We are living in turmoil and heading for disaster.

Can this hell on earth be healed?  Yes.

Welcome to the movement.

The CCDA was started 20 years ago when John Perkins, a Mississippi sharecropper's son, and Dr. Wayne "Coach" Gordon, an inner-city Chicago transplant from Iowa, invited like-minded people together for fellowship and training in best practices for work in under resourced neighborhoods.

The CCDA philosophy began with the three R's that John Perkins first articulated: relocation, reconciliation and redistribution.  There are now 8 Key Components in the CCDA Philosophy: Relocation (living among the people), Reconciliation, Redistribution (just distribution of resources), Leadership Development, Listening to Community, Church-Based, Wholistic Approach and Empowerment.

John Perkins like to quote an ancient Chinese proverb...

Go to the people.  Live among them.  Learn from them.  Love them.  Start with what they know.  Build on what they have.  But of the best leaders, when their task is done, the people will remark, "We have done it ourselves."

Far too often middle and upper class Christians try to help people in under resourced neighborhoods, but the efforts have little or even negative impact, because it is too easy to underestimate the gifts God has given people in those neighborhoods.  People need to be empowered and given a voice in the process.  The CCDA has helped people understand this for 20 years now, and as our country evolves and changes, I hope that the CCDA can keep the passion and key parts of the foundational vision while adjusting to the times.  Things like gentrification, the suburbanization of poverty, immigration debate, globalization and social media are changing our country and our world, and I hope that the CCDA can continue to provide friendships and resources to workers in these changing times.