MY PASSION
Some individuals have an internal motivator that fuels them to do something great; we call this passion. We can use this passion to create an incredible impact, or we can sit and do nothing. Although I'm a ministry practitioner who enjoys teaching topics on leadership, one of my passions in life is to help individuals understand the culture around them and find ways to engage it with cultural intelligence.
My Impact
Emerge Church
Ministry Practitioner
My Christian faith is central to fulfilling God's plan and purpose for my life. Currently, I serve as the Lead Pastor of Emerge Church in Berkeley, CA. This leadership role allows me to oversee the vision and direction of the church. Faith allows me to focus on the people in the church community who remains unchurched or disengaged from a local church. My leadership platform also allows me to empower other leaders to engage those individuals outside the local church.
Global Leadership
‘dminlgp.com’ serves as the tag aggregation application for the Leadership and Global Perspectives Doctor of Ministry (LGP DMin) program at Portland Seminary (of George Fox University). The program focuses on equipping Christian leaders in faith-based nonprofit organizations and churches to confidently, constructively, and effectively carry out the mission of the gospel of Jesus Christ in an increasingly interconnected world. It is through this leadership resource many of my academic writing can be found.
Cultural Intelligence
Globalization influences the development of international interactions among leaders serving in cross-cultural settings and creates challenges for those who are unprepared to lead cross-culturally. It is my belief that cultural intelligence may influence the strategic design of a church congregation’s worship practices. I challenge leaders to honor a person's culture because it helps to shape their behavior.
Research topics include:
Worshipping with Cultural Intelligence
When two objects stand in opposition, they create tension, but standing in opposition with another person creates conflict. Moreover, since the evolution of technology, there has been a migration to a culture where people demand immediate access to information. Therefore, “whether consciously or unconsciously, [a two-tiered mentality is developed], one for Christians and church functions, and one for the broader cultural encounters that take up most of the rest of the week” (Carson, Christ, and Culture Revisited, 7).
Music Ministry in the Multiethnic Church
Although many churches are located in large, multicultural communities, this does not always translate to a strong church presence within the communities. In fact, there can be a disconnect between the church and its surroundings, contradicting the assumption that churches in multicultural areas have an active presence in their communities.