Transcript
Speaker: Welcome to the CCDA podcast.
Speaker: My name is Sarah Callen.
Speaker: I am CCDA's communications coordinator, and I am your host for this episode.
Speaker: Today, we have a very special episode in store for you.
Speaker: We will be sharing a little bit about CCDA, what you can expect from this podcast, and ways you can get involved with CCDA.
Speaker: And I could think of no better person to have this conversation with than the CEO of CCDA, Dr. Lorenzo Watson.
Speaker: Lorenzo, thanks for being here.
Speaker: Thank you, Sarah.
Speaker: And I'm really excited that you introduced yourself as the communications coordinator.
Speaker: That gets me really, really excited.
Speaker: It makes me happy.
Speaker: Yes, I'm very happy to be on the team.
Speaker: So this is great.
Speaker: It's been really cool having you on the team.
Speaker: Thank you.
Speaker: So just for starters, Lorenzo, will you introduce yourself?
Speaker: Who are you?
Speaker: I am Lorenzo.
Speaker: I'm Lorenzo Watson.
Speaker: I just a regular guy.
Speaker: No, my wife and I live in Kerrville, Texas, and we've been here since 2019.
Speaker: Originally from North Carolina, where I was born in Raleigh, but raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Speaker: My wife and I have been married for about 20 years now.
Speaker: It'll be 20,
Speaker: One year's in March of this year.
Speaker: So I am, thank you.
Speaker: I'm a very proud uncle, a host of nieces and nephews all along the East Coast and one in Texas as well.
Speaker: So that's me.
Speaker: I don't know what else there is about me.
Speaker: But that's who I am.
Speaker: You are also CEO of CCDA.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: You also, you got your doctorate very recently, which is quite an impressive achievement.
Speaker: Yes, I graduated college.
Speaker: I graduated in December.
Speaker: So that's when I've actually officially walked across the stage to get my PhD.
Speaker: That was a thrilling event.
Speaker: The culmination of a very long journey, but I am glad to say that it's done.
Speaker: And here in a couple of months, I'll be celebrating with my wife when she finishes her doctoral journey.
Speaker: Wow.
Speaker: Yeah, that is worth celebrating.
Speaker: You need to celebrate big after getting your doctorate.
Speaker: Yeah, so step one after that was going to sleep for a little bit.
Speaker: And then after I woke up, actually because when it happened, it was get back to work for CCDA.
Speaker: So how long have you been kind of part of CCDA or what kind of drew you to CCDA initially?
Speaker: Excellent, excellent question.
Speaker: So my initiation into CCDA started during my master's degree at Shaw Divinity School.
Speaker: So during this time, my wife and we're having some deeper conversations about what does it mean for us to make positive impact?
Speaker: And from what we were seeing, as we kind of looked out across the landscape,
Speaker: It didn't appear that most people had a plan.
Speaker: It was like they were just kind of throwing stuff over the fence to see what would stick.
Speaker: And all of the solutions felt like they were demeaning to the people who were receiving support.
Speaker: And we felt like there had to be another way.
Speaker: to be able to provide support and to be in solidarity with people.
Speaker: And I was sharing some of these comments with a Divinity School professor, there's a gentleman named Michael Broadway, and he gave me a book called A Quiet Revolution that was written by Dr. John Perkins.
Speaker: And I took that book home and devoured it and was like, I can't believe that people like this are actually out in the world and that there's this long story.
Speaker: And so that was really inspiring.
Speaker: We both found it to be uplifting and encouraging.
Speaker: And we're like, OK, how do we get connected to these people?
Speaker: How do we get connected to this group of individuals?
Speaker: And so Michael Broadway and I developed an independent study
Speaker: as a part of my master's degree.
Speaker: And the independent study required me to go to a CCDA conference.
Speaker: And it was in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Speaker: And I went in and, man, just hearing all the things from the stage, meeting people, having incredible conversations, I was like, this is it.
Speaker: I found my home.
Speaker: And so I've been a part of it.
Speaker: That was around 2009, I believe.
Speaker: And since then, I have been associated with the community in some way, whether it was as a volunteer at the conference or as a contractor to being on staff in 2015, to leaving, to coming back in 2020, to now being CEO.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Wow.
Speaker: And you talked about going to the conference and feeling at home and feeling like you had found your people.
Speaker: And we hear that all the time.
Speaker: Yes, we do.
Speaker: People have been searching and then they find CCDA and they're like, oh my gosh, this is it.
Speaker: So how would you describe CCDA?
Speaker: What is CCDA?
Speaker: Well, CCDA is just that.
Speaker: It's a home.
Speaker: It's a vocational and spiritual home for people who just want to love God and love their neighbor with everything that they have.
Speaker: It's easy to find communities that...
Speaker: that talk about the things of Jesus or talk about the things of God.
Speaker: But CCDA is a community of folks who are not satisfied with just talking about it.
Speaker: They want to live it out.
Speaker: And they believe that living out the love of Christ requires us to love our neighbor with everything that we have.
Speaker: And
Speaker: So it's a home for people who want to do that, a place where you can get some spiritual support, some communal sense of belonging, vocational training, all of the above.
Speaker: That's what it's been for me, and that's what other people have found it to be as well.
Speaker: And I think that's one of the things that helps, that makes CCDA unique is that it is a place to belong and you can be inspired and all of that and be encouraged.
Speaker: And that's so important.
Speaker: And you are equipped and trained and given practical tools that you can take to your community and take to your context.
Speaker: And so you have both the inspirational and the practical all within this place where you can belong.
Speaker: Absolutely.
Speaker: From a very practical sense, CCDA is an association, right?
Speaker: So it's Christian Community Development Association.
Speaker: So we are a network of individuals.
Speaker: And because of that, it's not like your typical top-down organization that you might find in your local neighborhood.
Speaker: We are designed to
Speaker: to support our practitioners or our members, right?
Speaker: These are the folks who have made the commitment to loving God and loving neighbor who need practical support.
Speaker: They need training.
Speaker: Like we often talk about, you know, we fall in love with neighborhoods, not necessarily with managing boards or with fundraising.
Speaker: Now, if you're listening to this and you love fundraising,
Speaker: You know, this is not a disparaging comment.
Speaker: I'm just saying that the majority of folks don't get into this work because they're trying to just fundraise, or they're just trying to manage a budget or a staff.
Speaker: But these are the things that we have to do to maintain and sustain the things that we are passionate about.
Speaker: And so CCDA, in a sense, then, in a very practical way, is
Speaker: is the scaffolding around our passions, right?
Speaker: It is the opportunity to find a webinar that will introduce you to some of the best practices around fundraising, some of the best practices around managing a staff or a board, and then connecting with your neighbor as well, right?
Speaker: So early on, I mentioned, you know, my wife and I were really dissatisfied
Speaker: with how many of the things that we had been taught felt like they further marginalized the people that we loved and actually wanted to help.
Speaker: But what we found in the CCD philosophy is that it was a way to honor our neighbor in a way that
Speaker: helped them and helped us, right?
Speaker: It felt mutual, but the end result was this communal uplift and not them being the target of some ministry that we had set out or created.
Speaker: Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker: And you mentioned the philosophy, and that's a big part of CCDA that, like you said, it's Christian Community Development Association.
Speaker: And so the CCD philosophy is these kind of guiding principles for what does it look like to do CCD in your neighborhood so that it is uplifting and honoring to the people that you are serving.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Yes, yes.
Speaker: Yeah, to the people that you're living with.
Speaker: You know, it's a way of being.
Speaker: It is both a tool for development as well as a tool for formation, right?
Speaker: A tool that challenges the way that you see the world as well as a tool that challenges the way that you act in the world.
Speaker: And, you know, we...
Speaker: have a ton of resources that help people do both of those things in depth and breadth, right?
Speaker: Like as a member of the CCDA community, you will find a bunch of things that will help you develop as a practitioner, as well as many spaces to help you reshape your thinking and attend to your own personal formation as an individual.
Speaker: And we also hope that this podcast would be one of those resources as well.
Speaker: So we've had the podcast previously, and there's a lot of good content back in the archives of this podcast.
Speaker: But going forward, we're going to take a little bit of a different tactic to try and bring all of those components about who CCDA is and create that sense of belonging and inspiration along with
Speaker: practical tools as well.
Speaker: So kind of, can you share a little bit about what to expect from what people can expect from this podcast?
Speaker: Sure, absolutely.
Speaker: So you'll get a new episode every other week and you'll be able to hear member stories and interviews that are going to both inspire you and challenge you.
Speaker: Sort of like my own story at the beginning where I found something that was like, wow,
Speaker: I really want to connect to that.
Speaker: But then there are also these subtle details that kind of push me into new ways of thinking and new ways of being.
Speaker: So you're going to hear from individuals who are on the ground doing incredible work.
Speaker: And that's going to be exhilarating to hear, but it's also going to push you into new ways of thinking and new ways of being with your neighbor.
Speaker: You're going to get some very practical tools, things that will leave you
Speaker: you know, even more prepared to make a positive difference, to make change.
Speaker: So you can come and get those things as well.
Speaker: And you'll have an opportunity to learn more about the CCD philosophy.
Speaker: All right.
Speaker: Because that's sort of, that's at the, not sort of, it's at the center of all the things that we do.
Speaker: And so as you start out on this journey, or even if you're a seasoned
Speaker: vet who's been doing this for a long time, it's always a good time to revisit those principles to investigate and interrogate how they're showing up in your space.
Speaker: Yeah, and we're going to try and make sure that we showcase these in all different types of contexts.
Speaker: So one thing that CCDA does every year is Locked in Solidarity, which is an awareness week for mass incarceration.
Speaker: And so we will have an episode that takes some of these CCD principles and puts it in the context of mass incarceration and how we can be involved in loving those neighbors.
Speaker: So we're going to curate kind of very, very wide example of what the CCD philosophy looks like, because all of our contexts are different.
Speaker: So this is a place where we can share those resources and those encouragements.
Speaker: And maybe you're not working in that mass incarceration space, but you can still learn something from those practitioners who are working in that space and take and apply it to your context.
Speaker: Absolutely.
Speaker: Absolutely.
Speaker: And you're exactly right.
Speaker: God is doing so many wonderful things around the nation and in so many different ways and through such a diverse group of leaders.
Speaker: It's going to be really cool to hear from all the individuals who are doing this work.
Speaker: Yes, we are so excited about this podcast and kind of our plans and even our dreams for it.
Speaker: And that's just one thing that CCDA is doing in 2025.
Speaker: So, Lorenzo, is there anything else that you're looking forward to with CCDA in 2025?
Speaker: That I can talk about?
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: I mean, if you want to drop some secrets on the podcast, that's cool, too.
Speaker: That's a tease.
Speaker: I will say that if you are not tapped into the community, the CCDA community, you want to do it now because we have really cool things on the horizon.
Speaker: And it feels timely because we are in a season within our nation and within our world where it feels like we need this space.
Speaker: We need a space where we can come together for civil discourse, to come up with solutions that are grounded in Scripture, that are grounded in communal understandings of Scripture,
Speaker: and that honor people and what they bring to the table.
Speaker: And so at a very base sense, I am excited about that.
Speaker: I am excited about the CCDA members coming together in this particular season and going back to their communities with new insights and amazing ways of bringing people together.
Speaker: And so I'm looking forward to seeing that.
Speaker: I'm looking forward to the first full year of our Flourishing Congregations initiative.
Speaker: That's going to be exciting.
Speaker: I don't know, maybe some of those folks will be on the podcast.
Speaker: You'll have to keep listening to find out.
Speaker: But that is exciting.
Speaker: I'm also looking forward to being in Grand Rapids later this year for the conference.
Speaker: That's going to be a ton of fun.
Speaker: There are some cool ministries in Grand Rapids.
Speaker: And so when you get there, you'll have the opportunity to do the go-and-seas like we typically have.
Speaker: I don't think you're going to want to miss these because there's some amazing ministry happening in that space.
Speaker: I'm also very excited about our Strengthening Your Organization series that's happening over the summer.
Speaker: Mary Beth always does tremendous in pulling that together.
Speaker: And so that'll be excellent.
Speaker: And then one other thing is the mental health field or the mental health offerings coming from CCDA.
Speaker: under Mary Beth's leadership has been very timely as well.
Speaker: Like, we're constantly hearing from folks who talk about just the toll that ministry takes on one's mental and spiritual, even physical well-being, and how we need places that help us address burnout,
Speaker: as well as not just burnout, but also places that help us develop healthier rhythms of being and leadership.
Speaker: And so some of the things that will be coming from the mental health space will be incredible as well, incredibly helpful.
Speaker: And then the cohorts are coming back.
Speaker: It's so much.
Speaker: Yes, cohorts have always been an important part of the CCD.
Speaker: a community, and they're coming back, you all.
Speaker: So be on the lookout for more information and opportunities to apply.
Speaker: Is that enough?
Speaker: That's so exciting.
Speaker: That is so much.
Speaker: This is amazing.
Speaker: So that's a lot.
Speaker: We got mental health resources.
Speaker: We got strengthening your organization.
Speaker: We got the conference in November.
Speaker: If you are listening and you haven't yet marked it off in your calendar, Lorenzo, you're going to have to check me on the dates because I'm doing this off the top of my head.
Speaker: But November 5th through the 8th, I believe it is, in Grand Rapids.
Speaker: So make sure to save the date.
Speaker: For that.
Speaker: You are right.
Speaker: November 5th through the 8th.
Speaker: You got it.
Speaker: Amazing.
Speaker: So in the coming weeks, we'll also be opening registration up to members for early bird pricing and then after that to everybody.
Speaker: So be sure to be on the lookout because you don't want to miss conference in November.
Speaker: It's a long ways away.
Speaker: Get ready.
Speaker: You have months to get ready.
Speaker: You do.
Speaker: Yeah, but don't wait.
Speaker: Definitely don't wait.
Speaker: The team has been working hard on that.
Speaker: Scott's been doing excellent, providing leadership in that space as well.
Speaker: And you know what?
Speaker: I'm actually also looking forward to this particular team being together again in more spaces.
Speaker: in 2025.
Speaker: Like other organizations out there, you know, we weren't, we haven't been able to be together as much as we might would like because of early on, you know, coming out of the pandemic, it was because of that.
Speaker: And then, you know, we're a remote team.
Speaker: And so,
Speaker: Being able to be with each other a little bit more in 25 is also exciting.
Speaker: And we've been together.
Speaker: Oh, man, it feels like this team right now has been together for two or three years now.
Speaker: So it feels like we're coming into our own.
Speaker: I'm excited about that.
Speaker: I'm excited about, I'm excited about the stuff that you're doing.
Speaker: I'm, I'm a happy person and it's, and I have a ton of reasons to be happy when I look at this team.
Speaker: So I'm, I'm just excited about that.
Speaker: Yeah, we have a lot of fun.
Speaker: We work really, really hard.
Speaker: And we are just, as you have heard, curating so many opportunities and so many spaces for people to connect and find belonging, find those tools and resources that they need.
Speaker: So, Lorenzo, how can people get involved with CCDA?
Speaker: Because there's a lot going on, but how can people get involved?
Speaker: There is a lot going on.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: Step one is always telling people, sign up for the newsletter.
Speaker: It comes out, what, every two weeks?
Speaker: And that will be your first introduction into a lot of the things that are happening in the community.
Speaker: So you'll want to be on the newsletter.
Speaker: And then once you do that, you'll definitely want to become a member.
Speaker: of CCDA because there are some opportunities where they are particular to CCDA members.
Speaker: And then there are other opportunities where you can still participate if you're not a member.
Speaker: It's just a little bit more expensive.
Speaker: So I would say become a member.
Speaker: save your money for something else.
Speaker: But yeah, and then also get access to those member-specific opportunities as well.
Speaker: So sign up for the newsletter, number one, become a member, number two.
Speaker: And then once you get in, reach out, talk to somebody, and then we can help you come up with a more tailored plan for how you can maximize your involvement in the community.
Speaker: Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker: Because we also have local networks, we have affinity networks that will connect you with people either for the local working in your region or for the affinity networks kind of coming together around a shared passion that you can work with and collaborate with.
Speaker: So there's so many different ways to get involved in something specific for your interest in your work.
Speaker: Yeah, there's, there's a lot of ways to get involved, but newsletter first members, and then we can get you plugged into a, a community that.
Speaker: Absolutely.
Speaker: Shares your, your interests.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: And we also have a membership survey that's out right now.
Speaker: I'd love to hear your feedback on that survey.
Speaker: So if you are an existing member, that's another way for you to be involved is to share your comments and thoughts about how we can better serve you.
Speaker: So that's another way as well.
Speaker: Absolutely.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: So much good stuff.
Speaker: Great stuff coming with CCDA.
Speaker: Absolutely.
Speaker: But for fun, Lorenzo, I just want to ask, because you really enjoy movies.
Speaker: I do.
Speaker: And so I just wanted to ask, are there any movies that you've been really enjoying lately that you might want to just talk about a little bit?
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: There are lots.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: Maybe not lots.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: I know.
Speaker: There are really only two.
Speaker: So I recently watched Wicked, which was a ton of fun.
Speaker: And I watched Mufasa.
Speaker: So I thought both of those were really good.
Speaker: I love the singing in Wicked.
Speaker: I thought Ariana Grande did a good job as well as Cynthia Erivo.
Speaker: I always think Cynthia is great in all the work that she's done.
Speaker: When she did Harriet Tubman, I was like, okay, this is incredible.
Speaker: Fantastic.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: So those two were really good.
Speaker: And then in terms of television, I think
Speaker: I started watching Squid Games.
Speaker: I don't know what that says about me, but I did watch.
Speaker: I have been watching season two of Squid Games.
Speaker: And I think there's some interesting parallels for me in watching that and thinking about where we are right now as a country.
Speaker: So I don't know if you've watched Squid Games at all, but.
Speaker: I have not.
Speaker: There's something weird about my personality where sometimes I just want to be contrarian.
Speaker: And when Squid Game originally came out, I was like, oh my gosh, everybody loves this.
Speaker: I'm not going to watch it.
Speaker: And so then I feel like I need to catch up, obviously, because the first season is great.
Speaker: And now there's a season two.
Speaker: And I think there's a season three coming out at some point.
Speaker: I could be wrong.
Speaker: But that's the way it ended.
Speaker: I would think so.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: So I have some catching up to do with Squid Game.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: So I thought, like I said, I think there were some interesting parallels with some of the voting scenes that happened and some of the things within society today.
Speaker: So I found that interesting.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: That is, that is a wide variety of things.
Speaker: Wicked Mufasa and Squid Games.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: I can go way down the media path, but yeah, those are just a couple that I've seen recently.
Speaker: All right.
Speaker: All right.
Speaker: Those are good, good recommendations.
Speaker: Yeah, I hope so.
Speaker: All right.
Speaker: Well, that's it for today.
Speaker: Thank you for listening to the CCDA podcast.
Speaker: And thank you, Lorenzo, for joining us.
Speaker: Thank you for having me.
Speaker: Oh, anytime.
Speaker: You're always welcome back.
Speaker: If you'd like to learn more about CCDA and get involved, check out the show notes of this episode.
Speaker: Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker: This episode is produced by me, Sarah Callan, in association with Christina Foer, and we will be back soon with another episode featuring CCD practitioners who are committed to seeing people and communities experience God's shalom.
Speaker: We'll see you then.
