The past few weeks have been the busiest of my blogging career with the perfect storm of Huntley, the Synchroblog, and Hip 2B Holy now ranking in my top ten posts of the past two years of blogging. The Synchroblog consolidated the work of over 60 bloggers, making it a creative approach to addressing a difficult tension. Excerpts from my Huntley post were included in the editorial for Christian Week. So comments abounded.
I’ll take this moment to mention my approach to comments. Many of my readers are not familiar with the freeflowing nature of the blogosphere, and may find some comments challenging. I believe people should comment freely here, and generally allow comments to stand as written. If you disagree with the tone or content of a comment (or a post, for that matter), it’s up to you, the reader, to enter the fray.
I’ve only ever deleted one, and it was this past week. I felt it was an unsubstantiated, slanderous comment, based on an untruth I could verify, and directed at a specific individual. I’m also not keen to host the comments of those who enter into namecalling or sidebar conversations unrelated to the posted topic, but in those situations will try to redirect the conversation back to the stated theme.
And now, summer is here.
For a few months now I’ve been picking away at a book on philanthropy, but find it really hard to concentrate when I continue to be connected to the social media world. So I am taking this summer off. No blogging, no facebook, no twitter, no email, no meetings. I’m also disabling the comments on the blog, as I won’t be around to monitor them.
In a few days, Karen and I will be going to an undisclosed location to allow me to focus on writing.
This will be my inspiring view each morning…
And I’d appreciate your prayers for a thoughtful book.
Monday we had our Bridgeway AGM with eight of thirteen members able to be with us. The morning was dedicated to the business of the foundation, which was lightened up by the presence of our future chairman (see photo).
After reviewing financials, hearing an operations report, and going through the annual business of a charitable foundation, we broke with tradition. We spiced it up a bit by going on a ‘charity crawl’ in the afternoon. We lined up three local organizations with which we have a partnership, and spent time with each one. Many of our members hadn’t had the opportunity to see the work of these partners up close, so it ended up being a great day of learning.
After eating a quick lunch at Melville Café, we started with the University of Waterloo School of Architecture in Cambridge. Rick Haldenby, the director of the school gave us a tour, and his enthusiasm for what they are doing there is infectious. Under his leadership, the school has become the leading centre for architecture education in the country. Also he led the school to be relocated to downtown Cambridge, to an abandoned silk factory on the shore of the Grand River — an act that is rejeuvenating the city. I love his passion to see Cambridge host the North American version of Venice’s Bienniale. And his views on the spirit of architecture and the spirituality of a building were what clinched the deal for me. I particularly appreciate the school’s generosity back to Bridgeway — each year they host us for our innovation awards.
Next, we galloped over to Sunrise Therapeutic Riding and Learning Centre to meet Ann Caine and view the development of her dream to see severely disabled kids receive therapy through horseback riding. She’s another passionate advocate. We met three children who rode for us; the obvious joy on their faces is a compelling reason for involvement.
Then, cue huge thunderstorm… with lightning.
We ended the day at Cambridge Shelter, otherwise known as the Bridges, and Gillian Aiello taking us on a tour. This service offers emergency shelter to 40 people who are homeless in Waterloo Region, and 20 transitional apartments for those moving between homelessness and housing. The best part of the day was serving meals to around 80 people, with dinners provided thanks to Pasta Kitchen (with rave lasagne reviews).
Richard Taylor, on his Wellspring Foundation for Education blog, reflects on his reading of Henri Nouwen’s The Spirituality of Fundraising.
I’ve mentioned Nouwen’s booklet previously here, but this is worth repeating.
Read Richard’s whole post here. Excerpts below:
- Fundraising is proclaiming what we believe in such a way that we offer other people an opportunity to participate with us in our vision and mission. Fundraising is precisely the opposite of begging. When we seek to raise funds we are declaring, “We have a vision that is amazing and exciting. We are inviting you to invest yourself through the resources God has given you—your energy, your prayers, and your money, in this work to which God has called us.”
- Fundraising is always a call to conversion. Whether we are asking for money or giving money we are drawn together by God, who is about to do a new thing through our collaboration (Is. 43:19).
- We must not let ourselves be tricked into thinking that fundraising is only a secular activity. As a form of ministry, fundraising is as spiritual as giving a sermon, entering a time of prayer, visiting the sick, or feeding the hungry.
- God’s kingdom is the place of abundance where every generous act overflows its original bounds and becomes part of the unbounded grace of God at work in the world.
- If we ask for money, it means that we offer a new fellowship, a new brotherhood, a new sisterhood, a new way of belonging. We have something to offer—friendship, prayer, peace, love, fidelity, affection, ministry with those in need, and these things are so valuable that people are willing to make their resources available to sustain them.
I’ve always been a friend of gays. I don’t think my friendship of another should be dependent on one’s sexual orientation and practice. From a high school friend who came out to me years later, to my best friend in college, to a roommate at seminary, to my wife’s nephew, and finally to our current friends — an engaged and engaging gay couple that call Karen and I the “funnest heterosexual couple we know”. A few months ago, we cooked up a celebratory engagement dinner for them, and plan on attending their Toronto wedding. Having these people in my life is both enriching as well as stretching for me.
I admit in my earlier years, I couldn’t rationalize how one could be a Christian and gay. My literal reading of Scripture didn’t seem to endorse it. While this didn’t stop the friendships from forming, but it did cause them to be stunted and eventually die. This sort of thinking was common in the evangelical community I was raised in. When I think about it, I feel sorrow for those broken relationships. I believe my rigidly held theological stance eventually drove the earlier friends out of my life. Doctrine was more important than relationship.
Having your doctrine and your sexuality straight was important in that world. If you didn’t toe the party line, you were shunned and isolated. Anything that did not conform to a certain standard was rejected. Diversity was suspect. This is the heritage that some in our circles are trying to recover from.
Over the past decade or so, I’ve abandoned the comfort and security of having a black-and-white world. Sure, it’s easier to have all the answers. Exclusion is easier than embrace. But I don’t think it reflects the heart of God for His diverse array of people. As I reflect on the person and example of Jesus, I am blown away by the extent of His love for all people regardless of their orientation.
I’m one of a new wave of (post?) evangelicals who are exhausted by the culture wars, yet still cling to my faith. Jesus came to liberate us from religious systems, not to set up new ones. In this new landscape, it’s not about who’s right or wrong, but how well do you love? I would rather err on the side of generosity.
That’s what the New Direction DVD project is all about. In December 2007 our grantmaking committee met to approve this project. It was a stretch for some on our committee to go for it, but I’m proud to say we decided to stand behind this initiative. What you see today is a four-session DVD series on bridging the gap that you can order here. It’s the result of hours and hours of work, interviews, research, and prayer by Wendy Gritter and her team. You can use it to create dialogue and conversation in the groups you are a part of.
I’d like to see others stand behind New Direction in support and encouragement. You can imagine how taking a stand like this has cost them as a charitable organization — donors often exert control by withholding funds, and New Direction’s boldness in moving towards inclusion has impacted the organization. It’s a small organization with three incredible individuals that I’ve enjoyed getting to know. If you are able to give to them, please do so generously — your support help makes groundbreaking work such as the synchroblog and the DVD series possible.
To close, I’d like to leave you with some of my thoughts that were recorded earlier. I haven’t posted them on my blog before, but they’ve been on YouTube for awhile:
Thanks for joining us in the synchroblog today. There have been 60+ bloggers who are writing posts today on this topic … my hat goes off to each of them. You can find a full list of the bloggers who are involved here (view right hand column). If you’re on Twitter, catch the conversation at #btgblog.
Please leave constructive comments below that will help us dialogue better.
How should donors be viewing the recent news regarding the top Canadian Christian TV show, 100 Huntley Street? That’s one of the questions racing through my mind as I consider the announcement that Ron and Reynold Mainse have been asked to step aside as hosts for a period.
First, to clarify: Neither I, nor our foundation, financially support this ministry. To be honest, it’s the type of ministry that in my mind speaks to the choir … aka a certain segment of the Christian community, and thus doesn’t qualify as something of interest to our granting committee. To me, Huntley is an in-house conversation complete with jargon (bless you, sister), strange rituals (prayer lines, JIMBee music, tithing) and big hair. All of this may be meaningful to certain insiders, though it’s obscure and foreign to me. But when the show is transmitted in the public sphere, it sets up Christian faith for mockery, or at least bewilderment, by those who don’t share it. Which is the majority of the Canadian population. As a result, I find that the typical images, tone, and approach are frequently a barrier for effective communication of faith, not a help.
While I believe this, I have also taken time over the years to meet with people on the inside, including Ron Mainse. And truth be told, on a personal level, I like him a lot. I don’t believe he has a malicious bone in his body. I’ve also liked the direction I’ve been seeing over the past couple of years — attempts being made to be more inclusive of other theological positions and developing broader attitudes towards engaging with our culture as people of faith. I also like the multiple voices, perspectives and youth I’ve been seeing on the Full Circle couch on Fridays. So I see progress.
Which is why the recent news saddens me.
So what does a donor do when a difficult announcement like this comes?
- Don’t pull funding… yet. It might be a temptation to cut them off immediately based on your emotional reaction to the news. It will take time to bring resolution to this matter. If I were a monthly or regular giver to this ministry, I would continue giving through the confusing time. Patience is needed. Facts are not yet revealed. This is especially true with legal issues — if there are matters before the courts, there will be certain information that cannot be immediately forthcoming. So wait. It’s up to the board and leadership to ensure their faithful donors continue supporting, especially through the tougher summer months.
- Request clarity. Before I release funds, I would want to have a meaningful and transparent description of the events that have occurred, the rationale for any decisions taken by the board, and assurance of the effective use of my money towards any projects I may be interested in. This is true for the small donor as well as the major donor — in fact, in Huntley’s case, I would especially be interested in preserving the ongoing donations by smaller donors on which the majority of their ministry budget is based. If there are rumours going around, it’s up to the board and hosts to set the record straight, and I’m not sure they’ve done as good a job as they could have. The communications strategy (web, broadcast, social media, and in print) has seemed woefully inadequate (investigative blogger Bene Diction describes the confusing communications strategy here). So if you are a donor and still have questions, call Crossroads directly and ask for the clarification you need. Don’t give until you’re satisfied.
- Take the heat out of your giving decision. I am not a fan of emotional giving to operations of charities. Rather than making decisions about giving in the emotion of the moment, take some time each year to review your charitable contributions. The best, most meaningful decisions to generously invest in meaningful causes throughout the upcoming year are made in the cold, cool light of a January morning.
- Pray for the affected individuals. This scandal has revealed about 100 victims of a ponzi arrangement. Even if they were motivated by some get-rich-quick-scheme and naively taken for a ride, they are hurting by the loss of real money. Perhaps some have become indebted. As well, the nature of these inbred, closely-knit schemes means victims are now likely struggling with feelings of betrayal, anger, and deep hurt against those closest to them. This is a deeply humbling experience that has the potential to divide long time friendships. May each one learn and grow through this.
- Pray for the organization and its leaders. Ask for God’s mercy on them, just as you would want it shown to you. It should come as no surprise that no one is perfect, so why do we relish setting leaders up and then seeing them crash-and-burn?
Possible positive outcomes? If anything, I am hoping for an organization which is transparent, accessible, and though fallible, authentic. I want to hear the full story, the humbling story — not one coated with religious mumbo-jumbo where image is more valued than substance. That’s where this story began; it doesn’t need to end there.
Through my twitter feed to Tactical Philanthropy, I discovered Robert Egger’s blog where he introduces some great thinking. He views the current economic downturn as a potential Starbucks moment for nonprofits. Just as Starbucks correctly gauged the culture and seized an idea during the S&L crisis of the late 80s to grow their business and offer a completely new concept to the marketplace, the opportunity presents itself now to nonprofits.
Read Robert’s thoughts below, and visit his well-written piece for the full article:
Flash forward to today. Many nonprofit organizations are laying off staff or freezing services. This is certainly understandable, as the current economic climate would suggest that growth is now all but impossible. But some nonprofits have been looking at the business model we have used for decades and are wondering….”Is this our Starbucks moment?”…a time where we move beyond the metaphorical fast food of charity and develop a more sustaining menu of philanthropy. Surprisingly, the opportunities are strikingly similar.
In just a few months, millions of students will be graduating from colleges and universities and trying to find work in an environment crippled by another economic meltdown.
Unlike their Generation X elders, who were at the forefront of the community service movement, this generation has been fully baptized, with most new graduates having 5-7 years of community service under their belts. Like members of the previous generation, they look at the jobs being offered by most nonprofits and, while intrigued by the opportunity to give back, they know that they would be hard pressed to pay back unrelenting student loans or afford rent in many urban cores on the salaries offered by most nonprofit organizations.
This is where forward thinking foundations and charitable organizations are now considering a seemingly counter intuitive push to raise traditional salaries and make strategic hires, with the goal of not just attracting bold new talent, but to elevate the entire concept of charity in America.
A few months ago Wendy Gritter and I met to discuss how to get the word out about New Direction’s smashing 4-part dvd series on how to bridge the gap between churches and the gay community. As this project was co-sponsored by Bridgeway, we have an interest in seeing this product used and disseminated widely. But even more important than product distribution is the conviction we’ve been having – that it is time for the culture wars between churches and the gay community to end. Even though both camps have deeply held personal convictions, we need to stop feeling threatened by one another, learn to listen, enter into dialogue, and respect divergent positions.
We believe this is what Jesus would do.
Turn the other cheek. Be full of grace. Take the log out of my own eye before even considering removing the splinter from my brother’s.
So we came up with the idea of a synchroblog. One day where bloggers from across North America and beyond, would gather to write their own thoughts on this topic. We expect to see a wide divergence of opinion and expression. Readers will feel uncomfortable. But we invite you to move beyond just reading, and interact. Comment. Think. Pray. Engage.
This will happen on June 24, a date that arrives during Pride Week. The complete list of 48 bloggers (as of the morning of June 15) is found on the BTG blog, right hand column. Come back then and add your thoughts.
And if you haven’t yet done so, check out the DVD series and purchase your own set.
