In 2011, Rebecca Lujan Loveless entered the stream of leaders seeking to improve well-being in Greater Orlando as Executive Director of POLIS Institute. She brings considerable experience and leadership skills to the job – a more gifted leader could not have been found. Phil Hissom remains Founder/President and will share leadership responsibilities with Ms. Lujan Loveless. The two have worked together for several years and believe this is a critical step in fulfilling the organization's mission.
The POLIS story began with a 40-day fast in 2005 by Vonette Bright, co-founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, during which she sought a vision for what should be done to bring hope and healing to the area in which she lived – Orlando, Florida. After the fast, Vonette hosted a series of dinner parties dubbed "Table Talk" and a research project into the culture of service in Greater Orlando called “Seeking the Welfare of the City” was launched. The project received critical support and leadership from three other leaders with a heart for the city – Jim Seneff and Angela Winn of CNL, and Dr. Frank James, then the President of Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) Orlando. Dr. James recruited seminary students to work on the project which he began to call polis, the Greek word for city.
In 2007, the world changed. For the first time in human history, more people lived in cities than did not. World history became urban history. As an Oxford trained historian, Dr. James was enthralled by such a fundamental shift and read widely on matters concerning the polis. He expressed his deep conviction that our response to urbanization, from either a civic or religious perspective, had to be one of compassion towards the poor and disenfranchised. He coached and encouraged the students through the project while Ms. Winn led the work. She was compelled to involve herself after a life-changing experience as a juror. The young man was in fact guilty of a crime but had experienced such a tragic upbringing that the jurors labored to convict him of a crime that seemed almost inevitable. After the trial, Angie decided to do what she could to help bring greater opportunity for those living in poverty. She brought passion and vast experience in organizational development to her leadership of the polis project.
The project ended in 2009. Three main findings can be gleaned from the report – there were 100 distressed neighborhoods in Greater Orlando, Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) was the best supported modality to alleviate this distress, and there was no evidence of mature ABCD work in the area. Phil Hissom, who had been asked to lead the project during its latter stages, decided that unless an entity was formed to champion the cause, little else would happen. In May of 2009, Mr. Hissom incorporated the POLIS Institute as a research and educational non-profit dedicated to improving well-being in Orlando and other cities of the world. The Christian narrative of humanity’s journey from the garden to the city imbued the Institute with purpose and an overarching question – How can this City be more like the New City in Isaiah 65 and Revelation 21?
Mr. Hissom hails from a family that has been laboring with the poor as Christian mission for four generations - his great-grandfather founding a work in Charleston, WV that his family continues to lead today. While Phil conceded the necessity to do something to address poverty, he felt strongly that how we went about it meant all the difference. He had seen both his father and grandfather crushed by the weight of responsibility while seeing his own life turned around through caring for others. He saw that needs were best met in dignified, interdependent relationships which became the core teaching of the Dignity Serves curriculum and the backbone of the POLIS community building strategy.
POLIS also extended its presence to a second city in 2011 with the relocation of Dan Crain and his family to South Atlanta. A most dedicated and compassionate man, Mr. Crain will be learning from this important global city as he facilitates Dignity Serves groups and adds the stories that he becomes a part of to the next chapter of POLIS.
|
|