The History and Practice of Christian Community Development

I, I want to go back to something that you were, you were saying a little bit earlier as you were introducing yourself and talking about, you know, your commitment to the work, and that, that's ...

As I've got, as I'm getting to know you, that's one thing that I would say I truly admire is your deep connection to your neighbors and to your city, and ...

E- because it reminds me of the stories that I heard about, you know, how CCDA started.

So that, that's one thing that I've always appreciated is that this work didn't start with people just getting in the room, you know, and writing theory on a whiteboard-

Yes

...

but it grew out of real people doing real work in real places, trying to follow Jesus and responding to that call through their actions.

So what drew you to CCD?

It's funny when people ask that question because, you know, I realize I never had a moment when I discovered Christian community development.

Hmm.

I was born into it.

Hmm.

And long before it was a name for it, I was watching it lived out in my house, um, with my family.

And I watched my parents love Jesus and then try to work out what love required of them, you know, and, and work where God planted them.

So I didn't first learn about Christian community development as a philosophy.

I learned about it as a life and a lifestyle.

Amen.

And thank you again for, for sharing that, and I absolutely agree.

You know, when we think about Christian community development, at its very heart, at its very nature, it is loving God and loving neighbor.

Doing life with those who are around us.

And not just doing, you know, making our neighbors the, the target of our ministry, right? It's not about seeing them as people who need to be fixed-

Mm-hmm

...

but as seeing our neighbor as individuals who journey with us as we s- both seek the, the face and the, the heart of God.

Absolutely.