Category: urban onramps

My 9/11: “Turn on the TV. Any channel. ANY CHANNEL.”

At 6 a.m. on September 11, 2001, I was home recovering from surgery. I was asleep when my brother Andrew called. “Dude, are you watching TV?! Turn on the TV. Any channel. ANY CHANNEL.” Then he got off the phone. It was odd. As I reached for the remote I wondered, “What kind of situation would be covered by any and every channel?” I turned to one of the local network stations and watched a tape replay of a plane crashing into a large building.

And so it began.

I learned later that a relative had seen the second plane crash from her office at Salomon Smith Barney in lower Manhattan. She was among the thousands who walked home across the Brooklyn Bridge that day after the twin towers collapsed.

A friend in DC told me she was driving near the Pentagon when the plane crashed there.

A few days later I wrote “Religion Matters” for Re:generation Quarterly. I reflected on the media’s unwillingness to probe Islamic faith and belief in light of these attacks. A portion of the article is here (the rest is behind the Christianity Today paywall).

I remember being angry that the U.S. English language media refused to show footage of people falling from the World Trade Center heights to their deaths. (Some Spanish-language outlets were showing such footage.) I didn’t mean to be macabre. But the full horror of the attack is symbolized by these 9/11 victims, and I felt – and continue to feel – that they must not be hidden. Here is the Wikipedia entry on The Falling Man.

Back by popular demand: The 3-page Business-as-Mission startup plan w/ bonus Usain Bolt clip

Some months back I made a blogpost about a business as mission start-up plan. If you missed it the first time around, here it is.

Meanwhile, here is the new 4×100 world record by the Jamaican team at this year’s World Championships (final leg anchored by the man with one of the great names in sporting history, Usain BOLT).

How are BAM and Bolt connected? Just by my mind. Enjoy both.

“Rescuing people out of trafficking and prostitution is insufficient unless there is a job with dignity at the other end”

Mats Tunehag writes on the need for “BAM in a Box”:

I recently met a fellow BAMer who has a background in franchising in the US. Now based in the Middle East, he told me about a recent gathering in that Region that consisted mostly of aspiring BAMers. They were enthusiastic, but had little or no prospect of succeeding.

Are we missing something in BAM because we are assuming everybody can start from scratch? Are we missing an opportunity to tap into this pool of committed people because we don’t have a ‘BAM in a Box’ to offer? Could these people become good BAMers if there were franchising options? Many people are medium-level entrepreneurs, medium risk takers and good managers. These are good qualifications for franchise operators.

BAM in a Box is also worth exploring and pursuing as we deal with human trafficking. Regions with high unemployment are high risk areas for human trafficking and unemployment makes people vulnerable to traffickers’ cunning schemes.

Rescuing people out of trafficking and prostitution is insufficient unless there is a job with dignity at the other end. Thus BAM in a Box can be one answer to scalable job creation measures both in prevention of human trafficking and restoration of its victims.

The spiritual, social, demographic and economic challenges of the Arab world and Asia are enormous and growing. How can we begin to meet the many needs there?

BAM in a Box could potentially engage more people in applying BAM. That would mean more opportunities to serve people and nations by providing employment and good services and products, and so on.

Global conversations are underway on business as mission and franchising. We need to move further. Are you an entrepreneur who can help develop BAM in a Box?

via BAM in a Box: Accelerating the Impact of Business as Mission | Mats Tunehag.

Christian Community Development for 15-19 year-olds

October 13-15 in Indianapolis:

What is the NSLI?

As a part of CCDA’s National Conference, the National Student Leadership Intensive (NSLI) is a two-day event designed specifically for student leaders. This Intensive promises to engage, equip and encourage youth to have a deeper understanding of what Christian Community Development is all about…and leave ready to take action!

This year’s NSLI will focus on two of CCDA’s Eight Key Components: Relocation and Redistribution.

The conference will include:

  • Intimate and energetic worship sessions
  • Dynamic Bible Studies
  • Practical teachings from seasoned CCDA leaders
  • Dialogue and connection with CCDA’s Emerging Leaders
  • Hands-on opportunities in various Indianapolis communities
  • Knowledge and wisdom from John Perkins and other CCD pioneers
  • Crazy fun evening activities

Visit the NSLI for costs and registration details.

Business as Blessing

Kristyn Komarnicki of Evangelicals for Social Action writes:

Business sometimes gets a bad name in the justice world, but we need businesses, both large and small, in order to for people to have jobs, move out of poverty and dependence, have a sense of dignity and purpose, and bless the world. Below is a selection articles that show how businesses can benefit the public good.

Partners Worldwide recently hosted a one-day event bringing together Haitian businesses with NGOs and nonprofits, with the purpose of boosting the Haitian economy by encouraging groups with significant relief funds to source from local Haitian businesses.

By its very nature, business serves a social justice function by Anthony Bradley

The PRISM archives contains six great pieces on business (logging onto PRISM archives requires free and easy one-time registration), including “Protest & Invest” by Rudy Carrasco and “Beyond Profit” by Al Tizon, Ron Sider, John Perkins, and Wayne Gordon.

Video: Love and Entrepreneurship: Alfa Demmellash, co-founder of Rising Tide Capital in Jersey City, NJ, shares her vision and heart for grassroots economics (22 minutes, and very much worth the time).

via The Sider Center at Eastern University.

Harambee, Solar Panels, and Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard

This photo with Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard is from a couple of years back. I think it was the day we celebrated the installation of solar panels on one of the houses at Harambee Ministries. Mayor Bogaard has been a friend of Harambee and many Pasadena-area community groups.

Here’s a PDF of the Pasadena Star-News article about the solar panels (from July 2008).

Nehemiah, Social Entrepreneur

Nehemiah – from the biblical book of the same name – used the skills and methods of a social entrepreneur to get that wall built and Jerusalem back on track.

I preached on this topic this past weekend at the Michigan Men’s Weekend.

Definitions of Social Entrepreneurship:

  • Muhammad Yunus says: “Social Entrepreneurship relates to a person. It describes an initiative of social consequences for a social purpose. This initiative may be a non-economic initiative, a charity initiative, or a business initiative with or without personal profit. Some social entrepreneurs house their projects within traditional nongovernmental organizations while others are involved in for-profit activities.”
  • Ashoka says: “Social entrepreneurs are individuals with innovative solutions to society’s most pressing social problems. They are ambitious and persistent, tackling major social issues and offering new ideas for wide-scale change.”
  • Rudy says a social entrepreneur is a person using business skills and community building methods to make social impact by achieving a specific goal.

So let’s consider Nehemiah.

Social Impact: The wall around the city of Jerusalem lies in ruins. Rebuilding the wall will remove the disgrace of the Jewish people.  (Neh. 2:17)

Process:

  1. Nehemiah identified the need (Neh. 1:3)
  2. Nehemiah affirmed a vision (Neh. 2:4-5)
  3. Nehemiah sought partners (Neh. 2:16-18)
  4. Nehemiah approached regulators and funders for support (Neh. 2:1-9)
  5. Nehemiah secured resources (timber for the walls and buildings) (Neh. 2:8)
  6. Nehemiah won the support of the authorities/officials (the King) (Neh. 2:6)
  7. More resources (escort, security, legitimacy from army and cavalry) (Neh. 2:9)
  8. Developed a plan with a timetable (Neh. 2:6)
  9. “Exegeted the community,” i.e. made personal assessment of the need (Neh. 2:12-15)
  10. Gathered community leaders, won community buy-in, and secured project partners (Neh. 2:16-18)
  11. Project management: Divided up the work among partners (Neh. 3, all)
  12. Project management: Addressed external threats (enemies) (Neh. 4, all)
  13. Project management: Addressed internal challenges (usury) (Neh. 5, all)
  14. Was brave and courageous when faced with a threat to his person (Neh. 6:10-13)
  15. Completed the project in 52 days (Neh. 6:15)
  16. Addressed sustainability of the wall by addressing root causes: The root cause was the disobedience of the Israelites and their failure to follow the Law of Moses (Neh. 1:5-11)
  17. Held a public reading of the new (old) contract (Neh. 8, all)
  18. Secured a public agreement from the people to follow the contract (Neh. 9-10, both, all)
  19. Set up leadership to follow through on the new agreement (Neh. 7:2; ch.s 11-12)
  20. Returned to his previous work, leaving the indigenous leadership in charge (Neh. 13:6)
  21. Came back to Jerusalem to assess the progress of the “root causes” section of the overall project (Neh. 13:6-7)
  22. Got the project “back on the track” by addressing sustainability (Neh. 13, all)
  23. Back on track: throws out Tobiah from the Temple (Neh. 13:7-9)
  24. Back on track: gets the tithe to the Levites (paying the priests/clergy) (Neh. 13:10-13)
  25. Back on track: reboot on honoring the Sabbath (Neh. 13: 15-22)
  26. Back on track: dealing with intermarriage (Neh. 13: 23-28)

The entire book reads like a report on a grant. But the report is not to some foundation, nor to the King, but to God.

Dig it.

Latinos, Rocket Science, and Urban Ministry

A contact from my old church back in ‘dena – Adetutu Aghedo – posted a link in her Facebook stream to an abstract of her paper on atmospheric chemistry and physics: The impact of orbital sampling, monthly averaging and vertical resolution on climate chemistry model evaluation with satellite observations. I love writing that title. It makes me feel smart just for typing it.

Anyway, it reminded me that a friend of mine and ally in the urban ministry trenches is also a rocket scientist. This Latino brother (Central American) has a masters degree in Aerospace Engineering (Astronautics & Planetary Studies) and has worked on space exploration projects with NASA – all while doing urban ministry. So I’ve had my joke all these years. My joke is that it’s not rocket science, but just in case it becomes rocket science, we happen to have a rocket scientist on our team (so all bases are covered). Ok, that doesn’t read as funny as I make it in real life. But you get my gist.

It’s good to have a rocket scientist in your corner….

Remembrance: I remember the day one of their NASA missions was successful. He sent me a photo of the scientists in the room as they celebrated. BUNCH of Latino scientists had worked on that project….