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Leadership Foundations is a global faith-based network that works to renew the social fabric in 45 cities around the globe. In this conversation, LF president Dave Hillis and his Atlanta-based colleague, Cornelius Williams, elucidate their earned conviction that relationships that change our cities change our world

In 2016, homicides in Chicago reached an all-time high. A group of local business, government and civic and faith leaders came together with a sense of urgency and prayerful hope, trusting that in the composite whole of their skillsets, networks, and diverse perspectives, a more integrated approach might rise up to quell the violence. Four years later, something beautiful is afoot. Michael Allen and David Dillon share Together Chicago's emerging story.

In a year of intensified racial heat and ideological warfare, cultivating the skills of bridge-building feels more urgent than ever. But do Christians bring anything distinctive to the task? Robin Shaw and Joe Meyer, co-leaders of a "Be the Bridge" group, humbly think yes.

“Home" strikes a million chords for each of us: familiarity, pain, loss, and roots that go deeper than words. But what happens when we choose to return in commitment to the place that bore us, believing that our individual agency matured (perhaps) elsewhere might come back to help nourish a future in the forgotten places? Lead for America is cultivating a 21st-century story about homecoming by giving young adults the tools and support for proximate, culturally humbled, and empowering service in their hometowns — at all levels of local government and civil society. Joe Nail and Benya Kraus are two of their co-founders, and in this episode, share hope and a roadmap.  

On November 8, 2018, a massive fire was triggered in northern California and decimated the town of Paradise and surrounding mountain communities in less than half a day. Nearly two years later, as the nation grapples with urgent questions around community resilience in the wake of trauma, two pastoral figures from the area, Richard Yale and Lew Powell, reflect on mission, relationalism, and the civic responsibilities of the church.  

Bridge-building and breaking down barriers can sound innocuous enough, even praiseworthy, but what’s the underside of the embroidered tapestry? Dwan Dandridge and Chris Lambert have been doing this work in Detroit for some years now, and aren’t afraid of the mess. 

Sometimes it’s the people we assume are the most broken that have the most to teach. The Other Side Academy is a life-training school for people with long criminal and addiction histories. Students commit to a minimum of a two-year residency — many as an alternative to incarceration — and from there undergo one of the most rigorous regimens of moral recalibration out there. The community's secret to thriving? 200% accountability. As we all wrestle these days with heightened questions of authority and trust, power and truth, justice, and reform, this school of former felons has something to say.

America's criminal justice system - and police norms in particular - are under the public microscope. Ernie Stevens and Joe Smarro are cops from San Antonio’s police department who have played a pivotal role in seeding a more humane culture there, with ripple effects emanating out into the broader community. In this episode, they share all that they’ve learned and would like to see as the country wrestles with “Defund the police."