Gift Hub

Working Jesus into the Program

How in Dallas does a Baptist minister who works with the poor, and who by his own attestation, "believes more and more in less and less," handle the question, "How do you work Jesus into your programs?" No, he doesn't convert the homeless to Christianity any more than he converts suburban Christians to operative Christianity. He lets them be, the poor, the bewildered, the willfully ignorant, and the Godly.  Jesus did not come to overturn the Roman Empire, nor does Larry seek to upend Christianity. He just does what he can in the margins, it seems. He might want to back off a tad, though. This is Dallas and we don't take kindly to social justice. We are going to put Jesus on the greenback, instead of that staring Masonic eye. That way we can worship the All-Mighty Dollar without any moral confusion.

Questions for Larry James on Inclusive Community

Yesterday I met Larry James and had a tour of Central Dallas Ministries. Today, Jeremy Gregg of the Ministries came by to talk about their upcoming capital campaign.

Mission of Central Dallas Ministries

To share the love of God in word, action and attitude while building genuine community in the neighborhoods where we live and work.

For Larry, three questions about the wealthy who might partner with him in the work.

1. Who is our neighbor? Are those of us who live and work in the wealthy suburbs your neighbor?  Are we included in the mission of your ministry? As means to an end, or as "Members of the Kingdom of Ends," as Kant put it, in our own right?
   
2. What gift does CDM extend to those with material wealth? Who receives most from the gift exchange between wealthy and poor?
   
3. Where is the best place in Dallas for wealthy people of conscience to come to talk about love, family, money, democracy, and community? A donut shop or a Crystal Charity Ball?   

I as a pro bono Morals Tutor to America's Wealthiest Families, or World Class Fool, would volunteer to moderate conversations about love, money, power, and justice if anyone in Dallas were interested. I can't think of a better place than the conference room over the community food pantry.  We can lecture on the Obligations of Wealth in a Just Society.  If only the hungry show up, so be it.  If no one shows up, you can sit in your office, and I outside it and we can blog.

Root Causes Never Had it So Good

Sean on Schambra with passionate commentary by Phil Anthropoid. If Root Causes of injustice were slated for eradication they would hire William Schambra to insure they were never found. Root Causes live in the Caymans, toasting Philanthropy from afar.

Microfinance and Systemic Injustice

Drawing on an article in the Harvard Business School Alumni Magazine,  Where Most Needed provides a thoughtful and balanced look at microfinance in the light of economic injustice. Would lending nickles and dimes to sharecroppers in the Jim Crowe South have made Greene County, GA a better place? Sure, up to a point. Profitable too, if you had the Sheriff collect.

David Simon on The End of American Empire

"I expected a lot more of the future 20 years ago," David Simon, a former police reporter and writer/producer of The Wire, delivering a speech at Loyola College titled, "The End of the American Empire." Maybe a more accurate title might be, "The Rise of American Oligarchy and the Devaluation of Human Life." Can capitalism cure what capitalism causes? Is unbridled capitalism compatible with a working democracy in which all persons are equal, though some are destitute? We all have answers, identical, generally, to the soundbites repeated endlessly from the talk show pundits and think thank thinkers, the framers of our current common sense. But when you think, what do you think? If the system is about to crash, how do we reboot it? Philanthropy, new corporate structures, a more robust capital market for social good, spiritual and ethical revival, and a more acute political consciousness (not of parties turned against one another, but of our shared fate and responsibility)?

The Color of Money

Betsy Leondar-Wright:

America is a meritocracy, my father always told me. The harder he worked, the more money he got: clear cause and effect. But my father had a legacy that he couldn't see, a legacy he only got because he is white. He was a World War II-era veteran, and bought his first house with a Veterans Administration mortgage, which almost all veterans of color were denied. His parents got Social Security old-age benefits when the program excluded domestic and agricultural workers, which meant that most people of color did not qualify. Of course effort and talent make a difference in climbing the staircase to prosperity. But for most white men, the staircase has been an escalator powered by public assistance. Historically, for people of color, the escalator has been broken or has run backwards.

From The Color of Wealth: The Story Behind the U.S. Racial Wealth Divide," by Meizhu Lui, Barbara Robles, Betsy Leondar-Wright, Rose Brewer, and Rebecca Adamson, with United for a Fair Economy. I showed the quotation above to Smoky Joe, the Executive Director of our sponsor, Rooster Foundation: Crowing in the New American Century. He rocked around in his chair laughing and slapping the desk. Then he had this to say,

People still write like this? I thought the last 60's liberals had died off, or gone into the mountains to prophesy to the wind. Yeah, so it is you and me; it is our fault women and minorities are so often losers. We white men are to blame for everything. Look at Candidia Cruikshanks, she is a woman. She is worth billions. Attorney General Gonzalez, he's - what do they call them? - Latino. Condi Rice - unless I am mistaken she is - what do they call them? - African-American. This is a great country if you just work hard and stop making excuses. Worst thing you can do is to pity the weak and pander to the shirkers. What minorities need is a) our moral example and b) a swift kick in the pants. The color of money is green. Tell your liberal friends to stop smoking banana peels and get a job. Get me a few copies of the book. We can use it to raise money for Rooster. "See, the whiney liberals are still alive. We ain't got 'em all yet. Give us another $100 million and we will stamp them all out and let Freedom ring from sea to shining sea."

Well, I am sure good money can be raised on both sides. It is all philanthropy one way or another.  "Making a difference," that is what it's all about. And "outcomes," its about outcomes too.  Values too. We all got values.  The main thing is to connect with the donor's values so they use strategic philanthropy to get outcomes.  When the outcomes include more political clout, repeal of onerous regulation and high taxes, the key outcome is more money for the donor, so you have a virtuous spiral of never ending good.  What liberals seem to miss is the part where you get your money back 1,000 fold through policy change and patronage in high places.  Pity and compassion and laying a guilt trip on white males is not going to get it done.   Unless we put the money and the time into organizing across class, gender and race for social justice, Rooster et. al will prevail.  The days of getting it done by guilt are gone.