Tom will be meeting folks and signing his new book, Live Like You Give a Damn! at the Plough Publishing table at the CCDA (Christian Community Development Association) conference in LA on Friday, 11:30am-1pm.
Stop by, say “Hi”, pick up a book and get it signed!
JOIN JENSEN ROLL & I AT OUR WORKSHOP AT 5PM ON AUGUST 31 AT CCDA IN THE SAN PEDRO ROOM IN LA ON HOW TO INVITE THE CHANGEMAKING CREATIVITY OF GEN NEXT: LIVE LIKE YOU GIVE A DAMN! JOIN THE CHANGEMAKING GENERATION
Jensen will share his plan for the 20 unit Tiny House Village for those with low incomes…rent to own. I will share how churches can help the young in your church and community to create and launch new social innovations…AND HELP YOUR ENTIRE CHURCH Live Like you Give a Damn.
Come Join Us! 5pm August 31 at The Westin Bonaventure LA
CCDA is the major Christian Conference in the US on urban empowerment- register here
CCDA has always been a place that invites the innovative ideas of the young. “One of my favorite memories was when Christine and I facilitated an Imagine That! workshop with an intercultural group of high school students at Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) conference in Philadelphia several years ago. I told these students that research showed that they would be the first generation to grow up in an America that is no longer dominantly white. I asked them to create an innovative way to prepare for a richly intercultural future. The next day they presented their creative proposal to the entire conference.
Their innovative idea was to have high school students from a predominantly African American urban church and students from a pre-dominantly white suburban church video a typical week in their lives in their respective communities. These two videos would capture scenes from their home life, school activities, sports, service projects, as well as their party lives. Then the two groups planned to meet to view and discuss one another’s videos, and to continue to visit each other’s youth groups, as one way to begin building a bridge to a new more inclusive future. The adults at CCDA gave these young innovators a standing ovation.”
Come Join us at Live Like You Give A Damn! Join the Changemaking Generation Workshop… at CCDA Conference at 5pm August 31 at The Westin Bonaventure LA
“There’s an urgent question under discussion among church leaders in Britain: Will those in the millennial generation (aged 18-35) affiliate with the Church? Research suggests that if immediate creative action isn’t taken, a growing number of churches will be unlikely to have a future among the next generation as we race into the 2020s.
First, the good news. God is at work not only through people of faith, but also through people of compassion who are bringing welcome change to our world in what some are calling an ‘innovation revolution’. In the last ten years there has been a veritable explosion of new forms of social entrepreneurship and community empowerment that are bringing remarkable change to the lives of our most vulnerable neighbours, both locally and globally.
And this good news gets better! Much of this new, change-making celebration is being led by young social innovators in the UK and countries all over the planet from Generation Y (those born between 1981 and 1997) and Generation Z (those born between 1998 and 2014).
Since generations Y and Z are the first digital generations, they’re far more aware of the daunting new social, economic and environmental challenges facing our neighbours across the globe. Most importantly, a surprising number of young people want to create innovative ways to solve these international problems.
For example, Alice Boyle is the founder of East London’s Luminary Bakery. By employing disadvantaged women, this social enterprise is building a brighter future not only for these women, but for their families. Alice and her team teach women how to produce professional baked goods and develop other skills. Their aim is to ‘break the generational cycles of abuse, prostitution, criminal activity and poverty, which currently hold these women back from reaching their potential.
The traditional model of doing social and charitable good when you have reached a certain level of economic wealth, namely later in life, is no longer viable,’ observes Claritta Peters, a student involved in the social enterprise movement in the UK. ‘This generation wants their entire lives to make a difference; 31 not just to contribute a share of their discretionary resources as they prosper.’
I suspect that God might be using these young people, largely outside the traditional structures of the Church, to remind followers of Jesus that we are called to be people of compassion, creativity and action. God is challenging us to move beyond token handouts and instead to create innovative new ways to help those in need become self-reliant.”
Tom Sine, “Does the Future Have a Church?
Christianity Magazine UK, August 2016
“I have some very good news-and some really bad news. The good news first. God seems to be at work not only through people of faith but also people of compassion who are bringing welcome change to our world in what some are calling an “innovation revolution.” In the last ten years there has been a veritable explosion of new forms of social innovations, like the Cold Hub, all over the planet.
The good news just gets better. Much of this new changemaking celebration is being led by young innovators from Gen Y (those born between 1981 and 1997) and Gen Z (those born between 1998 and 2014). Since Gen Y and Gen Z are the first digital generations, they seem to be more aware of the daunting social, economic, and environmental challenges facing our world. Most importantly, a surprising number of them are determined to do something about it. Even though research also shows that some in Gen Y and Gen Z do feel more entitled, I want to join, support, and learn from those who want to use their lives to have an impact on the lives of others.
I think what we are witnessing, however, is a changemaking celebration more than an “innovation revolution.” I suspect you will also celebrate the sense of satisfaction and significance changemakers often seem to experience as they create and discover in ways that make a real difference in the lives of others. I believe the Spirit of God may well be using the lives of these young social innovators, who are largely outside the church, to entice and challenge those of us in the churches to become much more a part of this
remarkable new movement that is making such a difference in the lives of our most vulnerable neighbors. Why would any follower of the servant Jesus want to settle for less and miss the best discovering how God can more fully use our lives to make a little difference in our troubled world?”
Here are some pictures of the changemaking that young innovators are doing through Same Thread, a social enterprise to employ women in Northern Thailand so they they won’t need to join the sex trade. You can join this part of the celebration by shopping at Same Thread and helping to get the word out there!
Greetings from the Wild Goose Festival!
Cascade Books asked us to share the same promo on Live Like You Give A Damn! Join the Changemaking Celebration that they are distributing at the Festival. Click here to purchase the book at a special price of $19.99. Send us stories of innovative changemaking you are involved with so we can share it with others!
Jensen Roll’s tiny house arriving at the Wild Goose Festival!
A Bold Invitation from Mustard Seed Conspiracy Author Tom Sine:
Live Like You Give A Damn!
Tom Sine’s latest book announces the very good news that God is raising up a new generation, largely outside the church, that is creating innovative forms of social enterprise and community empowerment to bring impressive change to the lives of neighbors locally and globally. The even better news is that those of us, in the church, can join this changemaking celebration and discover creative new ways God can use our mustard seeds to make a more remarkable difference in the lives of others than we ever imagined possible. Tom offers practical ways you can join those who are creating their best communities, and in the process, their best lives. Following Jesus in a world changing at warp speed, according to Sine, is a “design opportunity.” Not only are new ways to make a difference found and engaged, but in fact new lives are formed in the way of Jesus that are not only simpler and more sustainable, but ones that throw better parties.
Why would anyone want to settle for less and miss the best?
Tom Sine, PhD, has spent much of his life as a consultant working with individuals, churches and Christian organizations to anticipate new waves of opportunity breaking on the beaches of our lives, communities and our world… so we have lead time to imagine and create new ways to follow Jesus and make a difference. He and his wife Christine live in an intergenerational community in Seattle and enable people to create new possibilities through the Center for Imagination and Innovation. www.msaimagine.org. Some of his other titles include: Mustard Seed Conspiracy, Wild Hope, Mustard Seed vs McWorld, Living on Purpose and the New Conspirators. He has also taught at Fuller Theological Seminary in Seattle and the University of Washington.
Foreword by Walter Brueggemann,
Tom Sine is filled with energy. He writes with energy. He transmits energy to his readers. The reason for his energy is that he has made seen a lively linkage between the deep promises of the gospel and the concrete practices of people who move out toward new futures with imagination, energy, and stamina. More than that, it invites us out of the narrative of old ways of our comfort zones, to new modes of life that may seem at first to be inconvenient in the extreme but that very soon may turn out to be joyous fulfillment in coming down where we ought to be.
“Our church is set up to make a point but not a difference.” Such a truth has not resonated with me so deeply in a long time. Tom Sine has, in this book, has begun building the bridge between making the point, and making the difference. I am grateful for it and after reading it I want to say, “Let’s be church like we give a damn!” Bishop Greg Rickel, Diocese of Olympia
For too long, Christians have used our faith as a ticket into heaven, and ignored the world around us. We’ve promised people life after death, while many folks are asking if there’s life before death. At times we’ve been so heavenly-minded that we haven’t been much help here on earth. Tom Sine’s new book invites you to see another version of Christianity — and it is all about bringing heaven to earth. Let this book inspire you to do something with your life that leaves off the fragrance of Jesus and moves the world closer to God’s dream for it. Shane Claiborne, author of The Irresistible Revolution and Executing Grace & member of the Simple Way
Tom Sine has been engaged in the struggle for social justice for many years. In Live Like You Give a Damn! he lifts up the new generation of activists and social entrepreneurs who are taking the baton from his generation and doing wonderful, necessary, and world-changing work in all over the globe. The justice challenges of our time demand an unprecedented response from Christians and all those of faith and conscience, and the witness of millennial activists in response to this challenge fills me with the same hope for a better future that Tom articulates so well in this book. Jim Wallis, New York Times bestselling author of America’s Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege, and the Bridge to a New America, president of Sojourners, and editor-in-chief of Sojourners magazine
Tom Sine’s new book is a great introduction to his life-long message of making change and seizing opportunities. It’s as fresh and inspiring in 2016 as The Mustard Seed Conspiracy was in 1981.
Brian McLaren, author/speaker/activist
At a time when the church is falling short in bringing Good News to those who need it most, Sine observes that there is a blossoming movement among Millennial entrepreneurs to facilitate social change and community renewal. I encourage church leaders of all stripes to read the stories of changemakers in Sine’s book and ask themselves how they can foster this kind of energy and social transformation in their own congregations and communities. Sarah Withrow King, Deputy Director, Evangelicals for Social Action at the Sider Center of Eastern University
This imaginative and prophetic invitation to envision a church that exists for the sake of others is an urgent call for pastors, students, and practitioners who are tired of status quo Christianity. Sine captures the creative and entrepreneurial spirit of millennials and everyday people who are committed to a mustard seed kingdom and an experience of “the good life” that is not captive to comfort, self-interest, and fear. David Leong, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Missiology, Seattle Pacific University and Seminary
Live Like You Give a Damn! is one of the best snapshots of millennials in action today; it captures the optimism and determination of the young men and women actively working to change the world. His enthusiasm and hopefulness for what God is doing through the next generation is contagious and inspiring. Live Like You Give a Damn is a much needed addition to the ongoing conversation of community renewal and social innovation. Amanda Allen is receiving a PhD in Intercultural Studies with a concentration in Development from Asbury Theological Seminary.
With every fiber of his body, Tom Sine is compelled to look up and out towards the new horizon and report to us what he has seen. Live Like You Give a Damn rouses us to join the movement of a generation of global social entrepreneurs who are changing the world with creative solutions to complex problems. At the heart of this book you can hear his desire that we see what he has seen, a social and cultural revolution arising from the fragmentation of our times, propelled by human creativity and energized by the compassionate love of Jesus. This is a book for our times and a guiding light to our future. J. Derek McNeil, Academic Dean of the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology
Join us at Wild Goose Festival 2016! Jensen Roll will show you how he and other young changemakers are creating new forms of social enterprises to create more just communities with our neighbors. I will show you creative new ways that you, your friends and community can be much more a part of this new changemaking celebration.
Jensen will also take you on a tour of the new Tiny House he is constructing. He will show you how all of us can create new ways to reduce housing costs so more of us can invest our live in making a difference in the lives of others.
Join us at the WILD GOOSE FESTIVAL… Live Like You Give A Damn! Join the Changemaking Celebration!
Get on board with a whole a trainload of millennial college students who have just settled into a an antiques coach in San Francisco called the Millennial Trains Project. I call it the “Innovation Express.”
Join these milllenials as they tour the innovative edge of the changemaking celebration on The Millennial Train Project as it tours the US. Watch and see how these aspiring innovators respond to this Express innovative adventure!
“Dreaming and Scheming” on the Innovation Express!
“‘Last call for the Innovation Express!” The conductor’s voice echoed through the station on a sunny San Francisco morning in 2013, and twenty-five millennials began boarding a vintage 1950s train complete with a domed observation car, an elegant dining car, and sleeping cars.
The Millennial Trains Project, a nonprofit organization supported through crowdfunding and other contributions, is one of the most imaginative expressions of the new changemaking celebration. What I found most fascinating about this trip—the first in a series of transcontinental train trips with the same function—was its design as an innovation incubator on wheels. The twenty-five millennial passengers were selected on the basis of their current and potential work as social innovators. Each Millennial Train stops in seven key cities to visit new expressions of social innovation in the United States.
The train also serves to create a space for learning and invention, as key entrepreneurs and innovation leaders are invited to mentor their younger counterparts in their new ventures, some of whom were already at work creating new innovations, while the rest brought creative possibilities to work on during their trip.
Remember that the millennials—those born between 1981 and 1997—are the first generation of “digital natives.” (Excerpt from Live Like You Give a Damn: Join the Changemaking Celebration) As we have seen they tend to be more globally aware. They care about the well-being of the igniting our imaginations.
They care about the workers who make their clothes. They also they care about issues of racial justice, social justice, and environmental stewardship. Not surprisingly, the passengers on this Millennial Train trip were eager to learn about innovative ways to use their lives to work for change.
The train stopped in strategic cities that are experiencing a resurgence of entrepreneurship and innovation. For example, in Omaha, the innovation has primarily been driven by creative leaders who have purchased rundown warehouses and converted them into workable, livable spaces. In Denver, the Downtown Denver Partnership is creating hubs for startups with the intention of making the city the number one destination for young entrepreneurs in America.
Listen to the insights of a sampling of the millennials who were a part of this first transcontinental venture: “We created a community that valued creativity, curiosity, collaboration, and introspection and we pushed each other to push our ideas further,” Travis Korte reported. Web Barr expressed surprise: “What I thought would be a cool trip across the U.S. by train was so much more. It was an incredible way to learn about the intersection of innovation, community space, entrepreneurship and philanthropy.” And Autumn Carter added, “I felt like a part of a community and network that believe in the vision of this generation.”
Several of these young innovators actually gave birth to new forms of changemaking during their cross-country journey: “Daniella Uslan . . . met with local food purveyors to understand how they recycle their food waste and subsequently launched a social enterprise to repackage and sell salvageable food waste. Jenny Gottstein used a fictional zombie apocalypse as a framework for disaster preparedness training.”
Doesn’t this innovative train journey whet you appetite to join the millennial generation and become more a part of this changemaking celebration…maybe without Zombie apocalypse disaster preparedness training?
Tell us about how you are creating new forms of changemaking and churchmaking so we can all join your changemaking your celebration!
At URBANA 15′, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship ran a HACK 4 MISSIONS process. As a result there are a growing number of students in IVCF who are leading this new changemaking celebration. At URBANA 15 Jimmy Quach presented a paper on “How to start a social business.” Brian Chan offered another paper on “Calling Technologists, Entrepreneurs and Innovators: A Different Breed of Missionaries.” Chan stated “We an bring economic empowerment to communities” as a new form of missions.
Scott Bessenecker, who heads up urban missions for IVCF, that we introduced in our last post as we shared lunch with him and Scott Hall. Several months ago Scott Bessenecker introduced me to Bethany Harrington a very creative social entrepreneur. Bethany enlisted fellow students in Atlanta to create a very innovative form social enterprise that is bringing economic and environmental empowerment.
“Bethany took time for an internship at an urban community in Chicago. InterVarsity’s Urban Projects not only encourage students like her to learn to listen to the people and the places where they work but also to imagine and create new responses. Bethany returned to Atlanta with a social enterprise idea called Atlanta Harvest. Her ideas were taken seriously by Grace-Midtown Church, where she was a community development intern.
She organized people in her church and community, as well as IV students from Emory University where she was studying, to start a major urban farm in an abandoned parking lot only two miles from downtown Atlanta. Her church not only supported her new social enterprise but also generously contributed to this innovative startup. So now, instead of Atlantans buying produce shipped in from hundreds of miles away, they can buy leafy greens grown practically in their own back yards. What might happen if your church took the ideas of young people like Bethaney seriously?” (Tom Sine, Live Like You Give A Damn! Join the Changemaking Celebration, Cascade Books, 2016)
What might happen if, not only in progressive campus ministries like IVCF, but Christian colleges, and local congregations started inviting the under 35 to share their innovative ideas of new ways to empower our local communities so the vulnerable are not chronically dependent on handouts?
Where have you seen examples of schools, churches or campus ministries who are not only inviting the ideas of students but also help them launch their best ideas like IVCF staff and Grace-Midtown Church did in Launching Atlanta Harvest?
Thank God for the huge number of young lives that have been touched, nurtured and launched through the remarkable array of leaders in InterVarsity Christian Fellowship over many years. I have not found a campus ministry anywhere on the planet that does a better job at enabling students to become whole life disciples of Jesus that create ways to invest their lives in making a lasting difference in the lives of neighbors near and far.
I want you to meet two of these creative committed leaders in the photo with Christine and I…Scott Bessenecker {with the glasses}who heads the urban ministries for IVCF all over the planet and Scott Hall who heads urban ministries here in Seattle. After enjoying a salad with greens from our garden Scott the elder and Scott the younger brought us up to date a bit on IVCF. They shared both what God is stirring up in cities all over the world.
Then and now of the Cuyahoga River Fire in Cleveland, Ohio.
One such example of IVCF’s innovative ministries is The Burning River Project in Cleveland OH. “Cleveland: from a river so polluted it caught fire, to race riots, to the mortgage crisis–we’ve had our share of hard times. But Cleveland is tough, and make no mistake, God is at work here through His Spirit and His people. This city has a lot to teach us. The goal of the Burning River Project is to connect college students to the city in order to see students transformed, the city and campuses renewed, and world changers developed. The BRP has spring break and summer opportunities where students from all over Ohio, Western PA, West Virginia and beyond spend time living in Cleveland to experience God in the city. We also have year-round opportunities for Cleveland area students to connect to saints in the city and learn from them.”
As we learned about some of the creative urban ministries Scott Bessenecker shared some great news…Tom Lin who has been serving as Vice President of IVCF will become President of IVCF on August 10, 2016. Reportedly Tom Lin is a very able leader who has virtually grown up in Intervarsity as staff worker. In 2002 Tom and his wife Nancy traveled to Mongolia and joined others in starting a student movement there. Tom returned to the US to head up the Central Region 2006 to 2010. When Alec Hill had to step down as President 2015 Tom became Vice President. We pray God’s strong favor on Tom Lin’s leadership as he and his able staff equip students to follow Jesus and become changemakers in communities all over the planet as we race into the turbulent 2020s.
Tom Lin of InterVarsity
Speaking of Alec Hill, Scott Bessenecker reported God is bringing surprising healing. I am looking forward to getting together with Alec in September when he is out of quarantine. Alec is a former student and a good friend. He also is a very creative leader. Under his guidance IVCF experienced remarkable growth.
Steve Hayner who was the President of IVCF before Alex was also a dear friend and mentor. The very last story in my book on the Changemaking Celebration is written to honor Steve Hayner because he was one of the most authentic Christian leaders I ever met and he was taken from us much to early.
I share the story in my new book when I was working at World Concern and we were dealing with the unexpected Indo Chinese boat crisis in the 80s. Steve, then a pastor at University Presbyterian Church, started donating a morning a week of his own personal time for months to help prepare supplies to help the arriving refugees. Students also told me they admired his remarkable compassion and transparency.
IVCF seems to have the ability to find authentic Christian leaders to enable the students they work with to become serious followers of Jesus Christ in times like these. I am confident that Tom Lin will also lead a new generation in the radical way of the servant Jesus.
I was so blessed to be able to attend the Work of Our Hands Summit at Fresno Pacific University recently! Check out my interview with Randy White, Executive Director of the Center for Community Transformation at Fresno Pacific.