I am being asked about Venezuela. Last year we hosted an event at Menlo Church which outlined the historical issues and economic problems with Venezuela. We thought the problems would be somewhat short-lived with the possible and immanent replacement of President Nicolas Maduro with opposition leader Juan Guaido. Then things went south. Guaido has been…
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Philanthrocapitalism
At a New York Social Enterprise event called the Feast I had the privilege of hearing Matthew Bishop, author of Philanthrocapitalism which is about the “head and the heart coming together” in a new model of capitalism. We should use the present financial crisis to build something worthwhile, said Matthew, and shared with us that more will…
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Resourcing Missional Entrepreneurs
Reblogging this post today because I get requests how to find my presentation. ————————————— Prague. Yesterday I spoke to a group of Christian business professionals and Foundation leaders from USA about how to resource missional entrepreneurs in Europe in a sustainable way, ie, without creating eternal charity cases. These people, all of them very friendly, are…
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Feeding Syrian Refugees at the Border
From the main blog A little update from me. We arrived at the border a few days ago and started cooking immediately, both for the team and for the stream of Syrian refugees. Most of them were in too much of a hurry to stop and chat – they were at the finish line of…
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Helping Syrian Refugees
We leave for Turkey in a few days and are quite excited about helping out with the Syrian refugee situation but also not quite sure exactly how we can be of greatest assistance. Perhaps the best answers will come when we arrive in Turkey and then Jordon. Right now we are putting a team of…
Read More12 Resources for Christian Generosity
My friend Sas Conradie from the Global Generosity Movement has just released 12 Resources for Christian Generosity: E.G. “Jay” Link’s latest book ‘Who’s In Charge Here?’ is now available. The pdf and Kindle versions of the book are free – just go to this webpage. The Money Revolution is a website linked to a book that helps…
Read MoreOverhead on non-profits
Summary of study from GreyMatter: New research shows the average American believes it is reasonable for non-profit organizations to spend 23 cents out of every dollar on overhead expenses such as fundraising or administration. However, 62% believe non-profits typically spend more than is reasonable for overhead, and the average American estimates spending on overhead at…
Read MoreHybridrization Movement: integrating social and financial enterprises
In Search of the Hybrid Ideal is a good article based on some research by Stanford and Echoing Green on the emergence of “hybrid” social enterprises, early stage projects that focus on both social impact and financial sustainability. This integration is something we have both worked towards for many years. All of the social and mission…
Read MoreEmerging Philanthropy: NOW Funding, not SOON Funding
Sometimes, you need NOW funding to assist an emergency situation. When an earthquake hits, people need resources immediately. They have no house and only the clothes on their back. If its cold, their families will freeze. Rescue workers need to be fed or they will stop shifting bricks and more people will die. Fundraising takes time…
Read MorePhilanthropists and the Reformation
This week we visited Bethleham Chapel in Prague, where Jan Hus pastored and preached. Sasa Flek gave us a great historical overview of the Reformation from the Czech perspective. Normally, when theologians tell the story, they focus on the doctrinal changes of the Reformation and honor the theologians like Wyclif, Hus, Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, etc. But…
Read MoreGrant Writing: 5 Rules
HT: OneAccord newsletter. Amy Karjala from the Non-Profit Fundraising Blog gives 5 rules for writing grants: 1) FOLLOW THE RULES2) EMBRACE THE NEW MATH: YOUR ORGANIZATION ? YOUR CAUSE3) DON’T CHASE SHINY OBJECTS4) FOUNDATIONS ARE PEOPLE TOO5) FOLLOW THE RULES
Read MoreSocial enterprise and mission-shaped mission
“Mission-shaped mission” is a phrase that came to mind a few weeks ago. If mission shaped churches no longer resemble traditional churches then mission-shaped mission also will be hard to recognize, since it takes its shape from factors other than the modern missions movement (1791 – 1991). Some of the most exciting mission projects I…
Read MoreMark Driscoll goes to Haiti
My old friend Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church went to Haiti with James MacDonald. They recorded some footage that I look forward to seeing. Well done Mark! The first video is here on YouTube but I expect much more to come. He also got interviewed by USA Today where he speaks out against the…
Read MoreHelp Towards the Haiti Earthquake
Just reading about the 7.0 earthquake in Haiti yesterday. Awful blow to the country and we pray for the families involved. Its the largest earthquake there since 1770. Possibly thousands killed and the presidential palace flattened. I remember that palace from my last visit there. This is how I remember it, before it collapsed yesterday.…
Read MoreKiva and faith-based micro-finance
The Kiva Effect is a great article on micro-finance and faith based micro-credit unions. Thanks to CT for publishing it and Becky for the HT. Of course there are a lot of these initiatives that escape the media’s eye. Check out my post on emerging philanthropy and the Indian Taxi Fund. Related: I read a…
Read MoreOne Day’s Wages and Eugene Cho
Speaking of my Korean-American friends making the headlines, as I did in yesterdays post, another one is stirring things up in the USA. Eugene Cho, whom I met at Tom and Christine Sine’s house in Seattle, is part of a church called Quest and a regular blogger and speaker on all things emerging and missional.…
Read More100 Incredible Philanthropy Blogs
A list of 100 Incredible Philanthropy blogs has just been released. They kindly sent me an email to tell my that my blog was on the list. Thanks!!!! I am listed under the ‘faith based philanthropy’ section along with some other blogs that are worth checking out. A blog that should have been on that…
Read MoreMoney for Missions: The Big and the Small of it
This week I was on the phone with an Executive Director of a Foundation that gives millions of dollars to missions. Things are tight right now for them, as they are for many other faith-based Foundations, but they are doing their best to keep commitments to missionaries. Not easy during this recession when the returns…
Read MoreLarry’s Recession and the Debt-Dependent Church
Larry Burkett's videos were hugely popular when we watched them in the 1980's. He wore the same hideous brown suit for every video which we thought was funny but we also wondered if he only owned one suit to cut expenses. His teaching videos were about living debt-free and managing your money according to Biblical…
Read MoreRecession Busting Ideas for Global Mission
Thanks everyone for your input. For those that were not here over the past week, here is a summary of the conversation about mission, church, and how we can get over the recession. Top 5 Ways for Ministries to Get Over the Recession Recession: The Carnival is Over Recession: How Bad is it? Other bloggers/writers…
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