Cultivating Neighborhood Shalom
Jonathan Brooks, Author and Co-Pastor of Lawndale Christian Community Church
Episode 9 - Jonathan Brooks on completing the narrative in your neighborhood
In this episode Sara Joy and Eric interview Jonathan Brooks of Chicago, currently co-pastor at Lawndale Community Church and the former pastor of Caanan Community Church in Englewood and author of Church Forsaken: Practicing Presence in Neglected Neighborhoods. Jonathan tells how his attempt to get out of Englewood by pursuing a career in architecture led him right back to his old neighborhood where he had to learn to see it with different eyes. "Pastah J" shares about becoming a pastor in the neighborhood where he grew up and discovering that God was very much at work. The narrative of Englewood involved much more than violence, drugs, and brokenness, and Jonathan found a lot of goodness and beauty throughout as he stuck around and got to know his neighbors.
Image credits: www.pastahj.com
Links to resources and terms from this episode:
Articles, Books, Media, & organizations
Christian Community Development Association
Church Forsaken: Practicing Presence in Neglected Neighborhoods by Jonathan Brooks
Making Neighborhoods Whole: A Handbook for Christian Community Development by Wayne Gordon and John M. Perkins
The New Parish: How Neighborhood Churches Are Transforming Mission, Discipleship and Community by Paul Sparks Tim Soerens, and Dwight J. Friesen
Everywhere You Look: Discovering the Church Right Where You Are by Tim Soerens and Walter Brueggemann
Key Terms
Eyes on the Street
Food Desert
Gentrification
Parish
Placemaking
Social Determinants of Health
Third Place