KIVA + UMC = UMC Connection

His name is Jonathan Bell and he works at Church of the Resurrection (CoRO. The past several years Mr. Bell has been working to create a microlending platform. Specifically leveraging the UMC inter-connectivity, the local relationships the UMC has in developing areas, the brand identity of the cross and flame (as well as CoR), Mr. Bell and his team have created a working prototype called the "UMC Connection" umcmicrofinance.org.

This working prototype has not only proven itself to be successful, Mr. Bell and his team are raising capital ($150,000) to build a new platform, hire staff and expand. 

So if you are a person who believes in the work of microfinance and what it has and can do to transform lives or if you are a person new to microfinance and have been waiting for a more established organization like the UMC to get in the game, I hope you would consider creating a profile on umcmicrofinance.org and make a $25 loan to someone who is just on the cusp of transformation.

I was made aware of this project by Rev. Dawne Phillips of the Central Texas Conference. She asked if I would be willing to do a little more research into this project and share any recommendations. In an effort to promote this project that I believe in, I created this five page summary report. If you are interested to read more about the specifics (average loan, default rates, field partners, etc.) feel free to download, read and share. 

Jubilee Bank - Could it work?

A few years ago I had this dream called "Jubilee Bank". It was a hybrid of micro-credit and "pay day lending". The idea was to use the network of churches in the UMC to advance money to a person in need (like a pay day lender would). However, the overhead of the Jubilee Bank would be much less than that of a single pay day lender thus, Jubilee Bank could afford to lower the interest rate (perhaps at the proposed cap of 35%). Additionally, rather than use the title of a car for collateral (like that of a Title Loan company) the Jubilee Bank might be more modeled after payday loans. This may insure the borrower could get quick cash to cover an emergency while ensuring the lender is not taking on too much risk. Jubilee bank would not have to receive interest, but make it clear that any over-drafting on the account of the borrower was risk they had to accept.

It never came to fruition but the dream still is there. 

The payday lending area has been demonized by many with a lot of different data. Recently Freakanomics radio took on the merits of some of these claims in their episode, "Are Payday Loans Really as Evil as People Say?" This episode stoked the dream of Jubilee Bank. 

I encourage you to take some time to listen to the episode and then close your eyes and see if you can see a world with a Jubilee Bank? 

Hope in Baseball (and Christ)

Each spring there is a sense of hope that moves through the hearts of so many people. There is a sense that this is the year that all the pain of the past will be destroyed and that all the shame of mistakes and falling short will be redeemed. It is the sense that finally, after much work, recovery from injury, getting the right leaders and trusting in the basic fundamentals that this is the year the Cubs will win the Major League Championship. 

This sense of hope has moved through the hearts of Cub fans for over 100 years. There is always hope that this is the year the Cubbies, or any team for that matter, will overcome all the difficulties and struggles of the long season in order to stand victorious. And even if they don't, well there is always next year. 

As Peter Gomes said in his book The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus:

 “Hope is not merely the optimistic view that somehow everything will turn out all right in the end if everyone just does as we do. Hope is the more rugged, the more muscular view that even if things don’t turn out all right and aren’t all right, we endure through and beyond the times that disappoint or threaten to destroy us.”

The thing about baseball fans is there is a sense of hope and not just optimism. These fans don't abandon the team just because they did not preform the way the fan hoped they would have. Fans are not driven by optimism, but by hope. They will turn out even when the team stinks and all hope is lost. 

 The question for the disciple of Christ in the Easter season is are we just optimistic about the Way of Christ or are we hopeful?