Why Invested Faith?
Many have asked what I have been up to since leaving the pulpit of The Riverside Church earlier this year. First and foremost I’ve been attending to the work of rest and recovery, which has (ironically) involved many airplanes. Dear, generous friends have offered places of respite, I’ve shared wonderful time with my children, and the spaciousness of these months has allowed a good bit of reflection.
Anyone who knows me, though, knows I cannot sit still for long. My therapist would say there are obvious reasons for this, but there’s also the undeniable urgency of this moment, the call of God to love the world and change it with that love, and what calls to me most of all: those untapped corners of beloved community just waiting for an opportunity to lead the change.
So in between walks on a beach or the streets of London, during so many layovers in airports near and far, I’ve been in conversation with some incredibly smart people (such as the founders of Impact Assets, the first fund to invest in companies dedicated to healing the world, and SoCap, the largest convening of leaders dedicated to catalyzing change in the world through market-based solutions) talking about an idea that has pulled at me since I pastored Calvary Baptist Church in DC.
I believe the time is finally ripe to build a vehicle that can help us bridge the gap between institutional Christianity and social innovation and seed the conversation within the Church about how best to steward our individual and collective resources. Invested Faith will be a fund, but it will start with a story, a story people of faith have been telling as long as our faith has moved us to do the work of healing the world.
More of my thinking is below. If you share my vision, I hope you will consider giving a tax-deductible gift in support of Invested Faith.
Here's why I think Invested Faith is so important:
At the turn of the 19th century, faith-based organizations and individuals built significant institutions for the purpose of social benefit (e.g. your local Baptist hospital and the YMCA). Since that time, however, dramatic shifts within the religious landscape in America have left many religious institutions unwilling or unable to tolerate the risks necessary for entrepreneurship and innovation. As a result, in recent years, the launch of social enterprises for the common good has largely existed outside of religious institutions, creating a gap in the impact investing landscape with the Church on one side and social entrepreneurs on the other.
This matters not only because faith-based organizations hold a compelling moral vision for the good that can be done in the world, but also because of the tremendous capital we still hold. According to one 2016 Guardian article, religious institutions and industries in America represent $1.2 trillion a year in wealth, more than Apple, Amazon, and Google combined.
Instead of being bold and courageous with these tremendous resources – moral as well as financial – too many Christian institutions are preoccupied with a narrative of decline.
But…let’s be honest: staving off death is not a compelling moral vision.
Still, too much time, focus, energy, and money within the institutional Church is being given in service to this end. As the narrative of the increasing and steady decline of institutional religion in America grows more real with each new news story, people of faith are responding by defaulting to a theology of scarcity. We need a narrative of hope that helps us to see the abundant resources that are ours to steward and God’s invitation to join in the work God is doing in the world - work that is not dead, but is bringing about healing and restoration of all things and a fullness of life often beyond the walls of the Church.
Many of our young leaders understand this, which is why, tragically, some of the brightest and most innovative, theologically-trained world changers are abandoning stained-glass walls and finding their vocations in their communities: launching social enterprises, creating alternative economies, and innovating in contexts beyond the institutional Church.
Meanwhile, the gap between institutions and innovation leaves philanthropists with an imperfect choice: give to Christian institutions that have significant infrastructure and capacity but are failing to innovate, or to invest in scrappy social entrepreneurs doing kingdom work on the margins but burning out at significant rates. This dichotomy is a disservice to everyone in the equation. Institutions are starved for innovation. Entrepreneurs are hungry for resources, support, and community. And philanthropists long for their money to create meaning and impact. What would happen if we brought all three together?
People of faith need an organization with a fund that marries social innovation with the resources of America’s religious institutions to close the gap between them and invest in the well-being of our neighbors, to rebuild communities, to do the work of the gospel in the world.
I am currently raising funds for the creation of Invested Faith and have a goal of matching large grants with smaller individual donations, an effort I’ve begun these last few months. All donations are tax-deductible through Impact Assets, the fiscal sponsor for Invested Faith, and gifts can be given online. Funds given through this link will automatically be directed to Invested Faith. You might be able to tell that I’m excited about the theology and practice around this idea, about helping pastors and other people of faith think creatively about how the work of God is happening among us. As ever, I’d love to come preach, talk with your church or institution, share with you about all the possibilities coming to be; please reach out if that’s of interest to you.
Will you join me in imagining a new way - and a new world?
I’ve shared more of my dreams for the institutional church and my vision for what’s possible in recent op-eds published by Religion News Service.
