For this week only (July 10-17, 2017), this resource is completely free!
About the Resource
After speaking about the beautiful diversity that God intends for his people to embrace and enjoy as a testament to the gospel made possible in and through Jesus, Paul prays for the Church.
In Ephesians 3, Paul comes on his knees asking God to “strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” He concludes, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”
In this opening address of the recent Awakenings gathering, Leroy explored what what it might mean and look like to once again petition God to strengthen us with the power of His Spirit and dare to imagine God doing “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” in full view of the times we live in.
About the Speaker
Leroy Barber is the chair of Missio Alliance’s Board of Trustees. He is also the the co-founder and director of the Voices Project.
Leroy has dedicated more than twenty-five years to eradicating poverty, confronting homelessness, restoring local neighborhoods, healing racism, and living what Dr. King called “the beloved community.”
He is the author of Embrace, New Neighbor, and Everyday Missions, and the coauthor of Red, Brown, Yellow, Black and White with Velma Maia Thomas. He was also a contributing author to Tending to Eden by Scott Sabin and the groundbreaking book UnChristian by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons. The cofounder and director of the Voices Project and college pastor at Kilns College, Barber starts projects that shape society.
In 1989, burdened by the plight of Philadelphia’s homeless, Leroy and his wife Donna founded Restoration Ministries to serve homeless families and children living on the streets, and in 1994 he became the director of internship programs at Cornerstone Christian Academy. He was licensed and ordained at Mt Zion Baptist Church where he served as youth director with Donna, and also served as associate minister of evangelism.
In 1997, he joined FCS Urban Ministries, working with Atlanta Youth Project to serve as the founding executive director of Atlanta Youth Academies, a private elementary school providing quality Christian education for low-income families in the inner city. He also helped found DOOR Atlanta, Community Life Church, South Atlanta Marketplace, and Community Grounds Coffee shop in Atlanta, as well as Green My Hood and the Voices Project. He is on the boards of The Simple Way, Missio Alliance, The Evangelical Environmental Network (EEN), and the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA).
Leroy and his wife, Donna, have been married thirty years and together they have five children.
Other resources from Leroy include:
Introducing Two Books That Address a Key Problem for the Church
Grappling With Race and Reconciliation as Resurrected Sons and Daughters 2
Good Neighbor: Helping Mission Adapt to its Context
Beyond Looking The Part- Leroy Barber