Good Leaders: How are you promoting fairness?

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The Good Leadership Breakfast Series is celebrating another “first” next week: we are meeting on a THURSDAY!  If you decide to break out of your Friday morning habit, I guarantee you will be inspired. Here’s why:

The founders of America dreamed of a “melting pot,” where people from many lands could mix together in the pursuit of life, liberty and freedom for all. Our speaker, Pastor Kelly Chatman, is a catalytic leader who is stirring the pot.

Will you accept my invitation to hear Kelly Chatman as our speaker on Thursday, April 23, 2015?

Glenwood Avenue, in the Harrison neighborhood of North Minneapolis, is a smorgasbord of racial and ethnic variety most of us never see. Some people see tension and feel threatened. Others see hope and opportunity. At the center is Redeemer Lutheran Church; radiant with people promoting fairness and positivity stimulated by Pastor Chatman. Along the way, he’s become one of the most influential voices in urban development in America.

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“The role that I play is the development of a dynamic, multiracial, multicultural Lutheran church where we blend race, ethnicity and the socioeconomic narrative to bring people together,” he explained.  “I believe the church is the most powerful institution in the world, and nowhere is that more true than North Minneapolis. You are always welcome in this place, in a world where so many people are feeling out of place every day.”

When Redeemer church was founded 107 years ago, its site on Glenwood Avenue was an economic highway with a straight line of opportunity to downtown Minneapolis. For many of the people within Chatman’s influence, that’s becoming true again today. The community is a public-private partnership that represents hope and prosperity through housing and mentoring.

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With $100,000 of seed money from three suburban congregations, the church has been buying the surrounding property. Today, the outreach includes Venture North bike and coffee shop, Matilda’s restaurant, and two houses where young adults pay part of their rent by working 5 hours a week in the community. Urban Homeworks is the development partner who has the vision for 50+ affordable housing units.

Chatman’s primary motivation is love for working with disadvantaged children. He grew up in Detroit in a large family with 12 brothers and sisters. “When I walk out of my office and get a hug from a kid… I’m good to go again.”

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“The most satisfying part of my leadership is seeing the faithfulness multiply in the young people. When they know they are not alone, we start seeing them share their gifts in amazing ways. It’s wonderfully satisfying,” he beamed.

Good leaders thrive when they work together to promote fairness and spread positivity. And they change the world by stirring the pot of hope and opportunity with disadvantaged children.

Will you please join us on THURSDAY, April 23?[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]