The passing of a friend and colleague

Last week Joe Snell the current Director of Multiethnic programs at Azusa Pacific University passed away from a heart attack at 45 years of age. He will be greatly missed by students and colleagues. Over the last year and a half I got to know Joe well and I can say that he was passionate about racial reconciliation and seeking change on campuses in the area of diversity. He worked at Seattle Pacific University prior to his time at APU. Please join me in praying for APU as the mourn the loss of a leader on their campus.

Last month I attended the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity (NCORE) in which Cornell West was the keynote. If you ever have a chance to hear him speak you should take the opportunity. He is an intellectual and I believe has a lot to say to us regardless of where you stand on the diversity issue. The quote I took away from his talk was the following: "Justice is what love looks like in public." I have been reflecting a lot on this as of late in regards to our role when it comes to issues of immigration and other social issues. I would challenge all of us to reflect on this quote as it might provide insight into allowing God to shape us more into his image.

Wisdom from Desmond Tutu

A few weeks ago I had the honor of being able to hear Desmond Tutu speak at the University of Portland. It was an amazing experience to hear from Bishop Tutu speak on the topic of reconciliation. There were many things to take away from his talk, but the thing he said that had the most impact on me was his call for people and organizations to create safe spaces. Safe spaces were true dialogue can occur which is often missing when discussing topics on diversity. For me as someone who is doing the work of diversity this is very important and at many times missing. We as people of color need to be willing to create spaces were our brothers and sisters from the majority culture can ask hard questions that many times they are afraid to ask for fear of being labeled a bigot or worse a racist. I have always striven to be a bridge between people of color and people from the majority culture my hope and prayer is that I will be used in this way and will be someone that can create the space necessary to have difficult dialogues.

ABD. Let the fun begin.

As I mentioned earlier I am now officially ABD (all but dissertation). I wanted to update you all on what the final research questions are. I have chosen four Christian colleges to do case studies on. I am in the process of obtaining permission from their presidents to conduct my research. The working title for my dissertation is the following: Diversity and Christian Colleges: Examining the role mission plays in furthering or hindering diversity at Evangelical Christian Colleges. The research questions are as follows:

For those institutions that have shown some evidence of a commitment to diversity using Smith’s (1995) dimensions of diversity, what drives these efforts?
- What role if any do their missions play in driving the change?
- Does tension exist between their mission and diversity?

How have institutions linked their diversity work with their history and theology?
- If they have linked their efforts to their theology; what biblical texts do they use to make that link?
- Are there things in the institution’s or their denominations history that either hinder or help change in the area of diversity? Which could include the following:
- Adherence consciously or unconsciously to the homogenous units principle
- Role in relationship to racism and slavery

What types of efforts are being made to facilitate change in the area of diversity?
- How are they coordinating their efforts?
- How are they monitoring their progress?

Please feel free to provide me with any feedback.

Last week I had the opportunity to attend the 13th annual SCORR conference with thirteen George Fox students and two other staff members. It was an amazing experience. This was my twelfth SCORR conference that I attended. I was also given the opportunity to present a workshop along with Joe Snell the Director of Multiethnic Programs from Azusa Pacific University. Our workshop was centered around the race based bias incidents that have occurred on our campuses over the last year and how students can use their voice during these type of incidents to encourage more change on a campus. We had over fifty students and staff attend. We had very good dialogue that continues to take place over facebook and email. I am reminded on how much farther our campuses need to go, although progress has been made. Please pray for our Christian campuses that are grappling with these issues on how to better reflect the Kingdom of God. The demographics of those who attended the conference also gave me a glimpse of what I believe the Kingdom of God will look like as described in the book of Revelation. This conference encouraged me to continue to make progress on my doctoral program as I hope to seek ways Christian colleges can make meaningful change.

All but dissertation

It has been a long time since I have posted, so I thought I would write a quick note to let you all know that as of Friday, February 27th I have officially advanced to candidacy or ABD (all but dissertation). It is a surreal feeling, but I am very glad to be at this point, later this week I will let you know what the official research question will be as it is different from my earlier post. I am currently at that SCORR (student conference on racial reconciliation) at Biola and will post some thoughts about the conference. Be back soon. I promise.

Meditation on Perfection

Below is a copy of our annual Christmas letter for those that have not seen it. We look forward to writing many more in the years to come.

A Meditation on Prayer

A couple of weeks ago I was reading one of the “mommy blogs” I follow. The author wrote that throughout the year she tries to give her readers an honest and realistic picture of what life is like in her family, warts and all, but when it comes to taking their Christmas card photo, she suddenly develops an intense desire for perfection. She didn’t want the kids being happy and playing and enjoying one another, which causes messy hair and out-of-focus shots. She wanted them looking happy and…perfect.
I have to admit that as I read her confession, I was critical and judgmental. Why is she worried so much about what other people think of how her family looks? Doesn’t she know how shallow she sounds? And then I saw our photos. We had a good time taking them, nobody was crying or fighting or refusing to cooperate, we had a great setting in front of my parents’ fireplace, and my brother, who took them, is an amazing photographer, so I was sure ours would be…perfect. And they’re not. The alternative was one where everyone had great smiles but you couldn’t really see Samuel because Noah was in the way. And I caught myself facing the same temptation, to maybe photoshop a couple of different shots together, so we would look more…perfect. Just so you would get an accurate picture of what the moment was truly like. Not because of any concern for what you might think. Of course not.
So this is the real us. Our outfits are not coordinated. Two of us are not looking at the camera. One is not staying in his assigned seat. There are a couple of somewhat forced smiles. (This is fun. We’re happy. Really.) But we’re together. And that’s a pretty good picture of what our life is really like.
Our house is rarely, if ever, as clean and organized as it “should” be. The kids are not perfectly well-behaved. (As I write, two boys are cleaning up the contents of an entire box of Cheerios intentionally dumped on the living room floor, while another, who is supposed to be napping, is crying in his crib. Just to give you an idea.) We are not always patient with and kind to one another. We sometimes use our time and resources unwisely.
But the truth is also that we really do love each other, and we love our families and friends and community, and we are so very, very blessed. When it’s my turn to tuck the boys into bed we pray that our Lord will help us to love him and others more each day, and he is. We are healthy and learning and growing. Samuel, who will be 5 years old (!) in a couple of months, loves preschool and time and numbers. Noah, who is “two-half,” is our cuddler and loves animals. Seth, 11 months, is saying “uh-oh” and “mama” and clapping and thinking about learning to walk. They all adore each other, giving lots of hugs and kisses and wrestling (and stealing toys and fighting and yelling, to be honest). We have an amazing new church family, which is very different from our other (still much loved and missed) one in California, but is evidence that our God is truly everywhere. We have access to plentiful and nutritious food, clean water, and the best medical care in the history of the world. Joel and I both love our work and are continuing to develop new friends and interests. We are blessed to live in the age of facebook and the internet, where reconnecting and staying connected with loved ones from all parts of our lives and throughout the world has never been easier.
Life is not perfect. Friends get sick, and sometimes die, even small children and babies not yet born. Marriages dissolve. Loved ones lose jobs or are unhappy in the ones they are stuck with. People can be thoughtless and even cruel. We are mindful of evil and suffering throughout our country and world.
And yet we have hope. We have hope in a Father who inexplicably loves us so much that he allowed his Son to be born into shocking conditions, to live among us, and then to die, so that we might be adopted into his family, and to conquer evil and suffering and death, so that his will might be done on earth, as it is in heaven. We have hope that how we choose to live can help to build his kingdom. And while life is certainly not perfect now, we have hope that one day it will be, and this is our prayer this Christmas. Come, Lord Jesus, Come.