Faith Builders
Koinonia Co-Founder Martin England-Insurance Guy
Submitted On August 10, 2012
"Fuller Center Bike Adventure Dad" Dave Willis tells the story of Koinonia co-founder Martin England's anxiety about the financial protection of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s family and England's tenacity and success in writing King a policy just weeks before he was assassinated.
Last month, the Christian community in South Georgia and beyond celebrated the 100th anniversary of the birth of Clarence Jordan, co-founder of Koinonia Farm. The farm, which in 2008 received the Community of Christ International Peace Award, has been described as “the most daring social experiment in the South during the last century.”
A National Crisis - It is Time for the Church to Create an Act of God
Submitted On May 30, 2012by:
Kirk Lyman-Barner, Director US Field Operations
The Fuller Center for Housing
The foreclosure crisis is a national disaster. The Christian Church should treat it as such and respond.
When a tornado, flood or hurricane strikes a community, our nation’s governors generally use 100 damaged or destroyed houses as the benchmark to declare a disaster and ask for federal assistance.
There are over 18.5 million vacant houses in America. Meanwhile, nearly 6 million Americans live in poverty housing, not counting those who are homeless or living with relatives. As many as 3 million children have lost their homes to foreclosure and another 8 million are at risk because they are living in rental units that are at risk of foreclosure.
Where are the cries for help? If this was “an act of God” (the insurance term I despise) celebrities would be organizing telethons, and the Church would be organizing volunteers to assist first responders to rescue the children, the elderly and the most vulnerable of the communities.
A ride on the love train
Submitted On March 16, 2012
Director of U.S. Field Operations
There are many metaphors for life’s journey. One might be a race. We are born on a starting line and we run as fast as we can to receive victory at a finish line. We ask for the Lord to guide our feet as we run this race.
But I prefer a different image of life as a ride on a train. We board knowing and appreciating that the train has been to many places before we climb on board, and the train will travel on when we get off. Today, I had the tremendous privilege and honor to ride with Dr. Vincent Harding, an 81 year-old Mennonite who was a personal friend of Clarence Jordan and Martin Luther King Jr. Vincent was a speech writer for Dr. King and the first director of the King Center. We met at historic Morehouse College in Atlanta. In the early '60s he worked with Mennonite Central Committee helping various Civil Rights efforts in which he describes as an ongoing and never ending democracy project. Vincent Harding is an icon of the Civil Rights Movement although he rejects the term "Civil Rights Movement" because of its chronological limitations to a process and struggle that continues to this day. He continues his ministry through teaching and a Veterans of Hope project that collects stories and works toward reconcilliation during our contemporay times.
When I learned from Clarence’s son, Lenny, that Vincent had helped arrange for the one and only meeting between Clarence and Martin, I knew that we could clear up some of the mystery about their relationship. I asked John Pierce, editor of Baptist Today, to write a story about the meeting as it has never been published. We had a wonderful time and I’ll be sharing the link to the article and some video of today’s conversation in the coming days.
There have been many inaccurate stories published and some of them have been cited in academic and other publications. Vincent’s story will be breaking news, and this is a wonderful product of the upcoming Clarence Jordan Symposium. The Symposium will bring together many theologians, historians, artists and agriculturalists who will reflect on the meaning of Clarence’s life and the Koinonia Farm community celebrating Clarence and Florence Jordan’s 100th birthday and the 70thanniversary of Koinonia. Our own David Snell, president of The Fuller Center for Housing, will be presenting on the history and future of the affordable housing movement that grew out of the expression of love for Jesus both King and Jordan demonstrated with their lives and was made possible by Millard Fuller's passion for the cause of providing shelter for "all of God's people in need of at least a simple decent place to live."
John Pierce will share the details of our conversation, but I’ll give you a teaser: The purpose of the meeting between Dr. Jordan and Dr. King was an attempt by Jordan to talk King out of using boycotts as a weapon as they began to develop as a strategy during the Albany Movement. As a victim of a boycott, Clarence knew firsthand how much harm they could cause and this seemed to be a contradiction of his interpretation of Jesus’ ethic that demanded we love our enemies. King was convinced the boycotts were a necessary and loving tactic so unlike the vitriolic politics we see today; the two agreed to disagree and never lost their deep respect and admiration for each other.
I never had the honor of meeting Clarence, but Millard Fuller made him my spiritual friend. I did meet Martin Luther King, Jr. but I was too young to recall the encounter. In 1964, my father was holding me in his arms when I was one year old in an airport terminal in Chicago. When he recognized and confirmed that he was indeed seeing Dr. King walking alone to the gate, my dad ran up to him and said, “Dr. 
King, I would like to thank you for all that you are doing.” King stopped, and asked my dad who he was and while they were talking he reached down and patted my head and smiled.
I obviously don’t remember that happening, but it has been an important part of my journey. I like to think of Martin Luther King looking down at a young child, so innocent and unblemished by the sins of racism and the politics of the environment. As an adult, I’ve never wanted to disappoint that smile. I’m sure I have from time to time, but this is part of the journey that began before I was aware.
I’m so thankful for Dr. Harding’s generosity in sharing his time and this unpublished account of the meeting between my spiritual friends, Clarence and Martin. I hope that you will join us for the ride at the Clarence Jordan Symposium. I’m confident that you will feel as much joy as I do today.
Click here to learn more about and sign up for the Clarence Jordan Symposium.
Faith in Action Weekend 2011: Caregiving hits close to home
Submitted On October 11, 2011
Seventeen years ago, Rosalynn Carter began her landmark book on Caregiving with the following quote:Litany for Earth Day
Submitted On April 20, 2011
Praise and Recognition
People: Let us rejoice and be glad in it
Leader: The Bible tells us that on the sixth day
of the Creation, God looked over
everything God had made; it was so
good, so very good!
People: The stars and moon, the mountains and
valleys, the forest and fields, the
oceans and the babbling brooks; all of
it was good, so very good!
in God’s image; all of it was good, so very
good!
The Short Lines are the Best Lines!
Submitted On March 16, 2011
We have been blessed all week with a college work team on their Alternative Spring Break service trip here in Americus from The University of Idaho .
"Name one!" Part Two
Submitted On February 24, 2011It was an emotional drive leaving Atlanta and the worship service with the homeless folks and Matthew Works. 
I was headed for Savannah to meet up with some wonderful leaders from various cities around the state of Georgia for another Georgia Initiative for Community Housing (GICH) retreat.
GICH is a one of a kind program in the nation that helps communities build collaborations within their own area, but also helps them learn from the experiences of other munincipalities. Having a strategic plan and a collaborative mindset is esential in obtaining funding and then successfully executing any renewal effort. In the past 7 years 21 communities have "graduated" from the program which is a 3 year commitment. Our Americus-Sumter team has begun its sophmore year in the process and we came to report our progress.
I rolled into town and enjoyed seeing the historic buildings and Live Oak trees with the Spanish Moss. It was a georgeous, warm day for February.
"Name one!" Part One
Submitted On February 23, 2011When I was growing up, I often heard friends' parents say, “Finish everything on your plate. There are hungry people in China.”
Once I repeated this line while joking with a seminary classmate and he retorted, “Name one.” I couldn’t. My cynical friend made a good point. The truth was that I didn’t and still don’t know a single hungry person in China. Advocates should have a relationship with those for whom they are advocating.
This Sunday, I journeyed to my new church in Atlanta, Praxis UCC. Rev. Chris Lyman Waldron arranged for Matthew Works to be the guest preacher. Matthew Works is an artist, writer, and activist for the homeless, who has lived in Boston for thirty years, the last thirteen of which have been spent "out, on the streets," homeless.
The service allowed for some networking. I had invited Mark Galey, the founder and chair of our Fuller Center Greater Atlanta to meet with Matthew and to begin the process of creating volunteer opportunities with FCH Greater Atlanta. I also had the privilege of visiting with Jim Rodgers, former chair of the board of directors for the Atlanta Habitat for Humanity affiliate. We had some other special guests; several homeless people were invited to hear Matthew speak. These folks live in churches up and down Ponce de Leon Avenue in Atlanta. One of the gentlemen introduced himself as Dwight and said he was just walking by, heading back to his shelter for the evening, but Chris’s wife Leah, who co-pastors at Praxis, enthusiastically greeted him and invited him to join us for the service and a meal that would follow.
I had been asked by Chris and Matthew to read the gospel lesson for the service, Luke 2:41-50. This is the story of Jesus, as a 12 year-old boy, getting separated from his parents for three days. Matthew’s unique take on this story was that Jesus was effectively homeless. He said the Bible doesn’t say that his parents found him famished and dehydrated. No, the boy Jesus was fine because the church had the good sense to take him in and feed him. Matthew then asked, “Why are so many of our churches locked up?”
