| | | | | | | | | | | | PRACTICAL WISDOM FOR LEADING CONGREGATIONS |
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Some pulled coins and small bills from pockets and purses to place into offering plates. Others wrote large checks and pooled funds. Together, a network of Chicago churches from several denominations wiped out $5.3 million in medical debt -- by raising only $38,000.
This fall, nearly 6,000 families received letters wishing them "a beautiful, wonderful holiday" and telling them their debt had been forgiven. While recipients might never enter the doors of the partnering congregations, which were listed in the letter, the churches erased their debt as an expression of God's love, said the Rev. Traci Blackmon, the associate general minster for justice and local church ministries of the United Church of Christ.
The households had been identified as having especially burdensome debt by RIP Medical Debt, a New York-based nonprofit that cancels debt after buying it the way debt collectors do: for a fraction of the cost.
Health care providers and related companies sell medical debt at a discount if they aren't able to collect, and debt buyers then seek to collect as much payment on the debt as possible. Instead of engaging in that process, RIP Medical Debt uses donations to buy out the debt at the discounted price and forgive it.
Read more » |
| | WHAT DOES THIS STORY MEAN IN YOUR CONTEXT?:
QUESTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION |
| Medical debt is a wicked problem throughout America. What are other wicked problems that could be addressed in similar ways?This story is one of effective regional partnerships working together to address a problem. Who are your partners at a local or regional level? What organizations, like RIP Medical Debt, could you work with to address other issues?Who in your community or congregation is struggling with medical debt? How could your congregation help them?About 66% of American bankruptcies result from medical debt. What is the role of faith in changing the American health care and insurance systems? How does your theology inform the way that you think about these things? |
| | FROM THE ARCHIVE: FAITH & HEALTH CARE |
A British medical student, angry at the idea that a for-profit company would make money offering inferior treatment to her impoverished neighbors, founded her own clinic rooted in her Christian faith.
Read more about Laura Neilson » |
In medicine as in the church, many traditional markers of success are ultimately idols, say leaders of a Christian primary care health network in Memphis. Young doctors "with eyes to see" are called instead to care for the poor.
Read more from Rick Donlon & Nathan Cook » |
Choosing Partnership, Sharing Ministry: A Vision for New Spiritual Community by Marcia Barnes Bailey
Like many clergy, Marcia Barnes Bailey began her work as an ordained leader with a vision of the pastor as leader extraordinaire, empowered by education, authority, position, and resources. She soon found herself thinking: "There has to be another way."
In this book, Bailey invites pastors and congregations to a new understanding of ministry, leadership, and the church that challenges hierarchy by fully sharing responsibilities, risks, and rewards in mutual ministry. This model took shape over 10 years as Bailey, pastoral colleague Marcus Pomeroy, and the congregation they served began writing their own definition of partnership -- creating their own map, trusting their own instincts, making their own mistakes. For Bailey, this kind of partnership began when she discovered the courage to listen to herself and to the Spirit for the inklings of another way -- to incarnate Jesus's example, a ministry that was widely inclusive, delegated power, shared authority, and thrived with the multiplication of gifts.
Partnership invites us on a journey that can transform us as leaders, as human beings, and as the church. It is challenging and exciting, and it requires hard work. It is also energizing, engaging, and empowering. Partnership unleashes the Spirit to create a new vision and reality among us, moving us one step closer to living into God's reign.
Learn more and order the book » |
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