Lace Up Your Jordans: Awakenings 2025 Day 1
"We need to walk out our faith. It’s time to get up, lace up our Jordans, and walk it out! God is saying ‘go first, and I’ll do the work on the way.'" -Rev. Enid M. Almanzar
“We need to walk out our faith. It’s time to walk it out — the least of these are under attack. It’s time to practice what we preach. Pick a verse — of 2000! — that mentions poverty and justice, and walk it out! It’s time to get up, lace up our Jordans, and walk it out! God is saying ‘go first, and I’ll do the work on the way.'”
-Rev. Enid M. Almanzar (Chair of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition) “The Church & the Mission of God: The Messy Middle”
When Reverend Enid M. Almanzar began her plenary with the introduction, “I’m an old-school Pentecostal girl with fire in her bones,” we immediately sensed that it was time to strap in, and allow the Holy Spirit full freedom in our midst. Rev. Almanzar’s words immediately carried a sense of prophetic urgency, spiritual fire (a raging bonfire at that!), and a deep desire for the Church to embrace its mission in a newfound way in this cultural moment. Her message was clear from its inception: “We are not a people to be colonized under the insidious grasp [of empire] – we are a people of hope. These are our spiritual roots, and they are both powerful and prophetic.”
This declaration invited searching within, for where have we allowed our power to diminish, and how has our prophetic voice as the Church fallen silent in these days?
Unpacking the parable of the 10 healed lepers in Luke 17, Rev. Almanzar followed the upside-down teaching of Jesus, inviting us to consider how we (in particular as American Christians) are the people who are spiritually sick within our nation. How must we confess this truth, and ‘turn back in gratitude’ as the one leper does (a foreigner, mind you!)?
Over the course of her sermon, her words a building crescendo of truth, power, and conviction, Rev. Almanzar reminded us of this reality: We need to walk out our faith ‘on the way,’ and God will come through.
As Rev. Almanzar reminded us:
“Beauty and wholeness is not about the environment or circumstances. It is not confined by what constricts us, but rather what liberates us in the middle of our pain. True beauty is not found in the freedom from our pain of it, but in spite of it. We must see beauty now, right where we are, in the messy spaces and places where we find ourselves. It is seeing beauty in our prophetic lament, in the places of our righteous indignation, of our righteous laments. We are not a people to be colonized under the insidious grasp — we are a people of hope. In this season, we are invited to join God in mission.” -Rev. Enid M. Almanzar (Chair of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition) “The Church & the Mission of God: The Messy Middle”
How is the Holy Spirit inviting you to ‘lace up your Jordans, and walk it out?’ How is God expecting you to witness in a powerful, prophetic voice, in this season? What are you to do next?
~Missio Alliance
Download a PDF ‘Awakening 2025 Day 1 (Thursday) Notes | Missio Alliance’ here.
Rev. Enid Almanzar being prayed for by Miriam Swanson, Awakenings 2025 MC, after her session.
Editorial Note: How do you recap a profoundly deep and prophetically challenging biennial gathering such as Awakenings 2025? Without saying “Check out all the clips and images already on our social channels” (Do this!), the answer is, imperfectly yet with short reflections. Thus, the next few articles will contain a short reflection and key ideas and quotes from plenary speakers during each day of Awakenings 2025.
Several hundred of us gathered in the DC Metro area in early March to seek God, and begin to make sense of this cultural moment. God met us, as God always does, and we left transformed.
We hope these simple reflections spark your own transformation journey with Jesus as you continue to pursue wholeness and beauty in the life of the church alongside our team. ~CK
P.S. Pick up the Awakenings 2025 Conference Bundle, which includes video of all Main Sessions + audio of all Workshops, today!
