Jonathan Brooks joins me on the podcast this week as we talk about Church Forsaken, which is all about practicing presence in neglected neighborhoods. Jonathan, known as “Pastah J,” is pastor of Canaan Community Church in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood. He has a master of divinity in Christian Community Development from Northern Seminary, was an art and architecture teacher with Chicago Public Schools, and is a recording artist with the hip-hop group Out-World. He and his family live in West Englewood.

Our conversation encompasses Jonathan’s story of leaving the Englewood neighborhood and moving as far away as possible hoping to not return. When God had other ideas, the story continued and revolved around the true meaning of loving our neighbors.

Find Jonathan on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, as well as at www.pastahj.com and www.canaancommunitychurch.org.