He eats. He sleeps. He does his business.
He smiles. He cries. He burps.
He grunts. He sneezes. He makes funny faces.
He's funny. He's smart. He's a handsome devil.
He is definitely my son...
when i was a kid growing up in
now i mentioned that this town was racially divided, but that is really an understatement. the racism was embedded in the gene pool and this gene pool infested our church. oh sure, they wanted to help people, but probably only the white ones. did they actually have to go to homes in the projects and deliver groceries? what if someone saw them? what would they say at the country club?
there were, however, a group of people who shared the same vision as my parents. they had been praying for years for someone with my mother's background to come along and lead the church to make a difference in the community. so, they went to the church and asked for funding, a place to work, and volunteers. the church agreed and Love Indeed was born. looking back it had a profound impact in my life. i saw my parents and my church welcome social outcasts and offer them help with no strings attached. this church provided a supplement to the inept government welfare programs and they started groups to help people get out of poverty by teaching them about financial responsibility and birth control. the culture in the church changed from just giving money and letting someone else do the dirty work to actually taking action to improve the community. even after my parents moved to another community, Love Indeed is still going strong twenty years later at
i'm an avid reader of fast company. it's a great business magazine and the web site is full of great articles. every year they have an entire issue dedicated to social capitalism. social capitalism is the idea that a "for profit" company can improve society and turn a buck at the same time. click here to see some examples. i must admit at first this seemed very counterintuitive. we have been conditioned to think that businesses are only interested in making money no matter the cost. the news is always bashing greedy "big business" and talking about how big business controls the suits we elect with their cash and lobbyists. while that might be true in some cases, there are people all over the world who want to use their business savvy to improve their community and make a profit. i think it's the ultimate win/win business plan. the business owners or investors build a business that will have a positive impact on the community and the reward for their hard work is a profitable business.
you might be thinking, "why didn't they just start a non-profit? isn't social improvement really the job of organizations like habitat for humanity, the local church, and the salvation army?" while non-profits serve to enact positive social change and fill an important role, the people who start social capitalist businesses often start their careers in the "for profit" world and are more comfortable operating under that type of business model. non-profit business is a completely different model that involves navigating government red tape, raising funds in non-traditional ways, and providing a service that is relevant under some challenging financial constraints.
at my distinguished university we were taught that a corporation has three primary goals: 1) create a product the market demands, 2) exploit that product to make a profit for shareholders or business owners, 3) operate the business in a socially responsible manner. although i was required to memorize these three goals, most of my education revolved around goals #1 and #2. goal #3 was more of an afterthought, but it's probably the most important. after reading about the entrepreneurs in fast company a couple of years ago, i was inspired.
what kind of business could i start that would allow me to pay my bills and help the homeless guy who stands at the swift ave. exit ramp of the
for two years i've been racking my brain trying to come up with a reasonable plan. i've thought of a lot of business ideas. some had great social benefits, but they ended up fitting more into the non-profit sector. others could make a lot of money, but they didn't really improve my community. i still haven't some up with good idea, but someday i truly believe that God will provide the opportunity for my family to build a social capitalist business. my mother has the social aspects covered. my father has worked in both the local church and private business. i have a cousin with a tremendous entrepreneurial mind. my bother has worked as an e.m.t and in corrections. i studied business in college and currently work in the big business world. my wife and i have spent the past year rehabbing a property in
sunday's sermon at the church i've been attending, vintage21, was about something very similar. it was something i needed to here. we looked at Nehemiah chapter 5. in chapter 5, Nehemiah sees the injustice of his society as the wealthy exploit the poor. he has a meeting with the wealthy men in his town where he tells them that they created these injustices and it's their responsibility to fix it. he didn't ask them to close their greedy big businesses because he recognized the importance of a healthy economy. he didn't ask them to hold a fund raiser or have a benefit concert. Nehemiah told the men to run socially responsible businesses. he told them to keep making a profit, but to do it in way that would build up the community not tear it down.
the challenge is embedded in me. i believe it is my calling to build a social capitalist business. i don't know what it will be and i don't know when it will happen. there is beauty in not knowing. there is fear in it as well. all i know is that i'm searching for an answer and that i need to continue to grow in my faith. the rest will happen in time.
There is an interesting article on relevant.com (click here to read) titled "Silent Evangelism." It starts with this quote by Dieter Zander, “If Christians in the
Certainly there are plenty of passages in the Bible that deal with words and deeds.
Matthew 28:19
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
and
Matthew 5:13-16
"13"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
14"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."
and
James 2:26
"As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead."
These are the three that I thought of off the top of my head. In each of these passages we are encouraged to take action. In Matthew 28, Jesus doesn't say "preaching to them ..." He says "teaching them to..." Teaching takes more than just words. The best teachers I've ever had were the ones who taught through their actions not the ones who lectured from the front of the classroom.
I'm not sure what Mr. Zander intended in his statement, but to me it is a reflection on the way the "world" perceives the "church." I can relate. I haven't been active in a church for a long time mostly because I have difficulty with this exact issue. I've watched men lecture the Gospel from the pulpit and not live it out. I've listened to my peers say all the right things in church and then live a different life at home. I began to perceive the church as a hollow social club, and I decided that I couldn't justify the duplicity I was living in my life or watch it in others. I realize that this might not be the best answer, but it was my answer at the time.
Our world values action over words. People are inundated with words. All the blogs (even mine), newspapers, TVs shows, radio, magazines pollute us. What the world wants to see are people who will back up their words with action. For example, we want a President who will stand behind his campaign promises regardless of the politics involved and move this nation to be better. We don't want a man who will say anything to get elected and then start playing games with our tax money to benefit his already wealthy friends. (I'm not picking on Bush specifically. Most politicians are guilty of this including our current leader.)
In the same way, I'm not so sure the world cares what Christians say. The world looks at the fruits of our labor. They see churches organizing book burnings for "The DaVinci Code." What good is a book burning any way? They see stupid bumper stickers and T-shirt theology. They hear their Christian neighbors, and sometimes Christian leaders, sling racial slurs at the Arabic community (and many other ethnicities). They see televangelists selling salvation for a "small donation." They see a close minded sect who chooses to isolate themselves from everyone else by sending their kids to Christian schools instead of the public schools. They see elitism when they visit our churches. They see greed. They wonder why we spend so much money on a building with a basketball court that is only open to members of the church when there are homeless in the community who could use a place to sleep. So, I can see where Zander's statement is coming from.
Deeds alone will not work either. We can't work our way to heaven. If we're not careful the deeds will become just as hollow as the words.
Isn't the answer that we should learn to balance faith with our words and our actions? To me that is one of life's great struggles. It’s something I will struggle with my entire life. For those of you who know me well, I can be quite the loose cannon with my words. As my friend, Lafe, puts it,”John likes to spout off at the mouth." Now that I've written all this stuff, I guess I have to put it into action. I have decided become involved in the church again. I figure that is a pretty good start.
i can't believe i finally signed up for myspace. i never thought i would, but it's really pretty interesting. i found a bunch of friends and acquaintances from college, mostly still aspiring musicians. i'm going to post links to their pages so that you can hear their music. if i recommend them, they are worth listening to. if we’ve met before and you stumble onto my blog (highly unlikely) and your link isn't here, it probably means i haven't found you, yet. so, drop me a note sometime.
