A child of Latin American immigrants, Isaac grew up in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. He moved from California to North Carolina, where he served as the pastor of Chapel Hill Mennonite Fellowship for sixteen years. He was elected to the executive board of Mennonite Church USA, from 2013-2015, and served on the governing board of the NC Council of Churches for over a decade.
He teaches writing workshops for the Collegeville Institute. He writes regularly for The Christian Century and Anabaptist World magazines, and from time to time in Ruminate Magazine, Scalawag, Commonweal, Sojourners, Faith & Leadership, and Conrad Grebel Review.
The Associated Church Press presented him with their first place Award of Excellence for theological writing in 2018, an Award of Merit in 2019, and the Award of Excellence for Photography in 2019.
He’s received two research grants from The Louisville Institute for writing projects: “Gifts of Unity” in 2010, and “Remembering the Dead in the Borderlands” in 2020.