Monthly Archives: October 2011

When I was a child I remember following my dad down the trail during a walk and I would always look for cool things to pickup along the way. My dad would have to work hard to see what I was seeing and often time he would say, you can’t bring that in the house. To me these sticks and rocks looked like a gun or a grenade, it was valuable and worth collecting but to others it might be just common until they look deeper. That is how I see this blog as well, I hope as I pick up things and show you, it can be inspiring and not just common. So take what you like from this trail and bring it in the house, I’m good with it!

New York City September 19-22
I had the privilege to travel with two great guys to NYC, Dave Runyon and Jay Pathak with one mission in mind, to look and listen together for guidance in our efforts to see Denver, Colorado become a place known for God’s people working together for the “common good” of the city. We choose to gather around an event called “Movement Day” hosted by Tim Keller. Prior to this gathering we attended a one day round table at the American Bible Society to meet with 9 other metro cities who are covenanting together to see a wonderful marriage between the good news and good deeds, the kind of heart and passion only God can give you for a city together with the kind of care and service that is transformational. We were challenged to create a culture where the DNA of a city is curious and willing to look deep enough systemically to find the pockets of hope and despair that needs to be highlighted and brought forward into a redemptive process. It was amazing to hear the reports of two cities which presented to the group, Boston and San Diego. Boston and the faith community have done amazing work in the area of “Applied Research” and helping the faith community engage in the right places to bring about true change. Read about Boston Here San Diego has really seen favor and impact within the business community and has engaged businesses all over to address the city’s needs. Read About San Diego here
We are working together here in the Denver area to see groups of pastors and civic leaders work together to address their city’s primary issues. We are currently reaching out and encouraging people all over the Denver area to keep unifying around the good news and service to the community!

4th Annual Jefferson County Prayer Breakfast October 6th
A friend of mine invited Christian Fiadonu (our prayer center director) and myself to be involved in this year’s prayer breakfast. It was wonderful to see both civic and faith community leaders in prayer for the major concerns of Jefferson County. It opened with the Lakewood Police Department Honor Guard entry, followed by prayer for government by Bill Armstrong from CCU, prayer for our military by Col. Chris Johnson, our families by Lynn Johnson Dir. Of Human Services here in the county, for businesses and the economy by Darryl Hudspeth, youth ministries by Mark Jay our area Young Life Director and the keynote speaker Stephanie Riggs from 94.7 KRKS. It was so good being a part of a collaborate effort of prayer for our county. There will be ongoing prayer opportunities within the county on the first Friday of every month. To see locations and learn more about these efforts, check it out here

Chaplaincy at the Golden Police Department
Many have asked me lately how things are going at the Police Department? It has been going very well in reference to our chaplaincy program. The department has recently hired some new staff in for their dispatch center, records department and as patrol officers. It has been great to see how the command staff has worked hard to prepare these staff members for law enforcement work here in Golden. They take them through a rigorous amount to background work, training and general preparation needed to work at GPD. One the things we have instituted over the last year as chaplains is meeting with new personnel and their family members to prepare them for the unique career they and their families are entering into. We have been doing some training around how to utilize a chaplain and our services to the employee and their families. We talk about keeping home life in check, taking care of yourself, debriefing tough work encounters and the numerous kinds of impacts law enforcement can have on a person and a family. It has been great to see how these new members of the department and their families see it as a healthy part of their journey to connect with a chaplain. There are four chaplains and we all feel very honored to be apart of these wonderful servants lives!

That is it for now, until next time, keep picking up things along the trail and telling people what they mean to you.
Dan