City As Playground

the Street and the Academy

Cities, by their very nature, point us to the contradictions and paradoxes that are an inseparable aspect of our world. To love cities - as the Leadership Foundations global network seeks to embody - is to embrace these contradictions.

Join us in this episode where we explore the contradiction and tension between two sources of authority - the Street and the Academy - and how both have something to teach us about our urban world.

The Bible and The Newspaper - An Introduction

How do we navigate today's urban world - holding the bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other? How do we navigate the tension of contemplation and action, street and the academy in our active engagement in the city?

Join us for this new City as Playground series as we'll be exploring these tensions by engaging thought leaders and practitioners from across the world and throughout the Leadership Foundations' global network.

Can You Imagine a Playground? - A Just City

Can you imagine a city that is just? A city where everyone - regardless of background, birth family, race, or creed - receives what they need to fully thrive as human beings...

Justin Beene, President of the Leadership Foundation of Grand Rapids, Center for Community Transformation (GRCCT), joins us to explore the shape of God's justice in his city.  Dr. Beene describes how GRCCT is seeking to extend opportunity in a city ranked amongst the worst economically for African-Americans. 

• • Statistic cited from Forbes Magazine, 2015. 
  • Grand Rapids Center for Community Transformation

Imagining Abundance: Conversation To Be Continued

Can you imagine God's economy of abundance even in places where resources appear so scarce? Can you see it?

Join us as we wrap up this City as Playground podcast series, Imagining Abundance, recapping our conversations of seeing abundance throughout the Leadership Foundations network in Bloemfontein, South Africa; Fresno, California; and Philippi, West Virginia.

Imagining Abundance - Reimagining Fresno‘s Economy

In Fresno, the Center for Community Transformation Leadership Foundation is reimagining the local economy of God's abundance.

An economy where the city is full of practicing and prospective entrepreneurs starting and sustaining small businesses of every shape...

A local economy nourished by a vision of God's economy - one where there is enough for everyone, particularly those most vulnerable and marginalized.

Traditioned Innovation: An Invitation into Brave Space

What if instead of seeking safe spaces, we worked to create brave spaces, spaces where we could bring our deepest selves, our deepest vulnerabilities to the table in a way that might make real transformation possible? Rev. Jen Bailey, founder of the Faith Matters Network joins us to explore the possibility of building trust across our deepest and most intractable lines of difference, recognizing that all social change happens at the speed of trust.

Traditioned Innovation: Upside Down Hospitality & The Little Way

Dr. Richard Beck - Author, blogger, and professor of psychology at Abilene Christian University - joins us to discuss the psychology of why we get so stuck in our tribal ruts. He suggests that an often overlooked Saint, Therese of Lisieux, offers a simple, yet profound way of finding ourselves swept up in a God of hospitality, who turns all our expectations on their heads.

 

Forgiveness And The Art Of Collaboration

A Conversation with Rachel McPherson of Mutuality

In this podcast we explore what real, authentic collaboration is and how it can help us out of our deep ruts of resentment and rivalry.

Rachel McPherson, Founder and CEO of Mutuality, joins us to share about nurturing collaborations amongst the least likely of suspects in the New York Governor's Office and amongst businesses and nonprofits.

 

 

 

A 40 Year Legacy: Cultivating Global Impact- Episode 44

In this episode, Dave and Rick are joined by Leslie MacKrell, Partner at The Bridgespan Group. Together they discuss the intensive Bridgespan project and how it better positioned LF to cultivate and drive global impact. Listen here and send in any questions you would like answered to info@leadershipfoundations.org.

 

 

Servant Leadership Whispercast- Episode 27

If we take the city as playground metaphor seriously, how does it shape our leadership in the city? In this Whispercast, Rick and Dave reflect on this idea and discuss how servant leadership can move us from transaction to transformation, from a culture of management to leadership. This sets up our next full length podcast with Dr. William Hutton, CEO of JMJ Entrepreneurial Excellence LLC and LF Leadership Council member. Listen here and send in any questions you would like answered to info@leadershipfoundations.org.