 Hey Friends!
We’re on the back end of the RELOAD season and God is still drawing youth leaders from city to city! The RELOAD Team continues to work hard at providing a local platform for “Kingdom exchange” amongst like-minded servants. I’m reminded of an old speech by Dr. Martin Luther King entitled “If I Had Sneezed.”
The reality is this…if Dr. King had sneezed, we may not have had the opportunities we have today to experience the gospel together; if he had sneezed, our attempts to “build community” may have been blocked with more resistance than we could imagine; if he had sneezed, our hopes to disciple kids and develop them as “next generation leaders” would be non-existent; furthermore, if he had sneezed, where would you and I be?
I’m so happy, he didn’t sneeze!
- Fred Oduyoye, Director of RELOAD Training Tour
UYWI08, May 15-17, 2008
Featuring Community Justice Workshops:
- Would Jesus Vote In 2008?, Kazi Joshua
- A Roadmap For Beginning Activists, Christy Lambertson
- Building Young People By Building Homes, Jill Shook
- Civil Rights Is Not Dead, Milo Carrasco
- Environmental Justice And The Call To Stewardship Of The Earth,
Michael Mata
- Gentrification And Community Youth: Impact and Responses,
Juanita Irizarry
- Helping Communities Heal From The Wounds Of The Past,
Marvin Jacobo
- Immigrant Youth: Audacious Hope And Bold Action,
Alexia Salvatierra
- Impacting Your Community To Give Our Youth A Chance, Brian Dye
- Invisible Children: Every War Has An End, Justin Wheeler
- Is Justice Local? (Who Is My Neighbor?), Kazi Joshua
- Social Action And Public Policy, Juanita Irizarry
- Social Justice And Evangelism
Featuring Shane Claiborne:
 Shane will be training on two workshops in the community justice focus and is a founding partner of The Simple Way, a radical faith community that lives among and serves the homeless in Kensington, North Philadelphia. Their days are spent feeding hungry folks, playing with neighborhood children, running a community store, and reclaiming trash-strewn lots by planting garden. Shane's ministry experience is varied, from spending 3 weeks in Baghdad with the Iraq Peace Team to a 10-week stint working alongside Mother Teresa in Calcutta. Shane is the author of The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical, 2006- an autobiography describing an authentic faith rooted in belief, action and love. Come and check out what Shane will have to say!
Conference Registration, Team Rate: $95, Individual Rate: $110, Spouse Rate: $55,
These rates expire February 29th!
Click to find out more
behind the scenes with UYWI staff
name: Larry Acosta
title: President, UYWI
favorite kind of pizza: I really love Giordanos pizza when I’m in Chicago, but since I live in Southern California, my second favorite pizza is pepperoni, sausage & black olives from Sal’s Bit of Italy in Anaheim California.
favorite sports team/sport: It hasn’t really been a great time to be a Los Angeles sports fan. But I’m staying True Blue for my Dodgers (come on Joe Torre, help us!) and the Lakers, awww come on you don’t have to hate, give Kobe a break! I’m also a huge UCLA Bruins basketball fan and hope they can go deep in the tournament again this year.
I could live without: I could live without the pressures of fundraising, and the aches and pains of my aging body but I’m still hitting the weights and beating the pavement to fight the inevitable, trying to keep up with all you young cats!
recent good read/flick (why?):
A recently re-read “Overcoming the Darkside of Leadership” and “The Masterplan of Evangelism.” These two books have been extremely influential in my life because they shape two very important aspects of my heart as a leader. “Overcoming the Darkside of Leadership” is a powerful call to integrity and character formation as a leader. It forces me to acknowledge yet again my weeknesses and to counter those tendencies through accountability and intentional personal growth. “The Masterplan of Evangelism”, has shaped my theology of evangelism and discipleship. In fact, it’s probably the single most influential reasons I lead a discipleship based youth ministry back in the day and why Urban Youth Workers Institute even exists- “to strengthen next generation urban leaders for transformational ministry.”
As far as movies I don’t get out much. I have four kids, and the last movie I went to was “Alvin and the Chipmunks” with my kids.
3 to 5 favorite weblinks: I don’t think I really have any favorite weblinks that I consistently check on a daily basis. However, some things I would consider among my “favorites” would be; BBQ in my back yard with family, friends and leaders for the UYWI network, I also enjoy listening to worship on my iPod while running or lifting weights. These are great outlets for me.
best tip in ministry: A best tip in ministry, remember that Character still counts. 1.Take care of your heart, because if you boil dry you wont have anything to offer those you lead. 2. Clearly articulate your vision. People want to follow a leader who has a clearly defined vision and one who will allow them to invest their gifts to see it come to fruition. 3. Make leadership development one of your top three priorities. You may call this discipleship, you may call this training or you may call this mentoring. Whatever you call it, make sure you are pouring into others around you- within your ministry/organization and in your community. Your leadership legacy depends on it! |
