A few weeks ago a good friend sent me some music. It was a wonderful surprise, all the more so because the music was made by her daughter, one half of a new American folk duo named “Undlin and Wolfe.” What was cool was not just that she sent me some music – which was, indeed, cool – or even that the music is fantastic (more about that in a moment) – which was very, very cool. What was especially cool (okay, I won’t use that word again in this post) was the vehicle by which she shared the music. You see, Undlin and Wolfe are making their music available via voluntary contributions. That’s right, you...

I’m a bit ambivalent about what folks are calling the “sharing economy”. Not from a lack of desire to share. Goodness, but I think we need to share more, partner more, and cooperate more – as congregations, seminaries, community groups, etc. – than ever. It’s more that the sharing economy doesn’t always feel like sharing. Maybe it’s simply that I’ve used Uber and, sure, it’s great. But it doesn’t exactly feel like sharing when I pay at least as much as I would pay for a cab. It just feels a little more convenient, but otherwise pretty transactional. Which is where my ambivalence comes in. I actually love the way...

I love Kiva, perhaps the first internet facilitated, global face-to-face micro-lending organization. We’ve enjoyed giving and receiving Kiva gift certificates at Christmas in our family for several years. But although I knew a bit about the organization, I hadn’t seen the TED Talk of its founder, Jessica Jackley, until just recently. And…it…bowled…me…over. Why? Because of two things. First, Jackley believed from the beginning that people care about others and want to help. She didn’t try to convince them, or persuade them, or draw them in to helping others through games or gimmicks. She just...