|
|||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
 |
Chicago, Illinois
I found out about the Acton Institute’s Toward a Free and Virtuous City conference on July 10th, 2006 via an email from a fellow from Rev. John Nunes; a man whom I had never met. While the email was effective in peaking my interest, I knew that my family’s impending transition from Minneapolis to Chicago in August would probably prohibit me from attending. Moving a family is a big task. The Acton Institute, I reasoned, would have to wait another year to be graced by my presence. After 2 weeks in Chicago, I received another email from Acton; this time from Elly Barnette. I had a different sense of prompting when I received this simple “reminder.” My initial response to the first email was replaced by an unusual, internal sense of urgency. I had to attend! Why? I was not sure. Wanting to follow protocol, I emailed another Pastor on staff to get his perspective. His response, almost immediately, was “sign me up too.” This only confirmed my decision to attend. I still had no idea what to expect, but the date was firmly locked into my Outlook calendar. We arrived on a Thursday evening. The reception was nice; dinner was outstanding. As we introduced ourselves around the dining room, I began to sense the magnitude of experience and the depth of the minds that I was surrounded by. As a young leader, I was somewhat intimidated. I decided that it would probably be best to listen and not speak once the sessions began. I did not want to make a fool of myself around all of the experiential and intellectual giants in the room. As I reflect on what the rest of the conference shaped up to be, I am embarrassed at my own logic. It was an absolute blast. The intellectual rigor of the conference was no laughing matter, yet we laughed together – mostly over meals. I was introduced to old and profound truths; I felt as if intrinsically I had heard much of this before, but for the first time so many things began to clarify at once. We discussed Christian Anthropology, Public Policy, Economics and Principles of Charity, and so much more. It was an experience I will never forget. When I returned home after day 2, I told my wife that the conference was like an undergraduate degree program, but condensed into a select few pithy lectures. This Acton Institute conference has fundamentally changed my thought processes. I am now rediscovering some of the most ancient realities that have always been right there in front of me. I see my neighborhood as a rich source of assets, based primarily on God’s investment into the people of this community – regardless of their socio-economic status or education. I see a harvest that is plentiful out on the street corners. Acton has given me a renewed and clarified sense of calling. Chris Brooks has worked in Juvenile Corrections, the Public Schools, and served as a Youth Pastor at Woodland Hills Church in St Paul, MN and at Park Avenue Church in Minneapolis. He currently serves as the Pastor of Family Life at River City Community Church, and also as the Coordinator of UrbNet, the National Network of Youth Ministry’s Urban Initiative. Chris lives and Ministers in the Humboldt Park neighborhood of Chicago with his wife Bobbi and his 2 children, Selah and Gabriel. QUESTIONS? |
|
|
|
||||
