Beyond Colorblind...

Hello, friends! 

First of all, our latest episode of Story Central is live! I interview our Regional Director, Kathy Haug, about her staff experience and she shares about our upcoming conference, CORNERS21. I'd say it's not bad for a first episode! Please subscribe and share it with your friends!

I know I'm a few days late but Happy Black History month! As I've grown as a follower of Jesus, I've also become more immersed in issues of justice, equity, and racial reconciliation. Much of my learning has come through my wonderful Black friends who have called me out, educated me, walked with me, and shared their lives with me. I am truly indebted to them. 

One way that I've tried to live out the Gospel of reconciliation is through having the hard conversations. As an Asian American living in the Midwest, I've had to live in the tension of being neither Black nor White in a part of the country where most of the conversations around race, ethnicity, and justice are considered only in those terms. I had to have hard conversations with pastors, church leaders, and congregants, sometimes with really frustrating results. Still, it's something that I feel God has called me to do and it's a job I don't take lightly. 

When we first moved to Omaha and started going to our church, one of the things that was a blessing to us was the diversity of the church leadership team. This was also a church that talked about diversity as one of its strengths and a core value. It felt like this was a place where both Megan and I could thrive and engage in some of the hard conversations, while also learning. As we continued to attend Bridge and we saw our church really try to take on issues of racial justice and reconciliation, we looked for ways to help. 

A few months ago, I had the honor of leading the staff team through Beyond Colorblind, which was a 4 week small group series that explores our ethnic identity journeys. Apparently, it had a lot of impact on the staff team because they decided that the sermon series leading up to Easter is going to be based on Beyond Colorblind! I've been working really hard with the staff team to make sure that the material is relevant and accessible to the church. I'm really excited about it and even get to preach a little! 

So, friends, if you're the praying type, please be praying for us. Pray that God will move in our congregation as we explore our ethnic identities. Pray for the leadership as they lead the church through some potentially hard conversations. Pray for me as I prepare to preach (I'll be preaching February 14 and 28 but you can stream all services on the Bridge website). 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam