This document advertises a conference for pastors and church leaders to be held on May 23, 2012 at The Congregational Church of South Hempstead from 8:30am to 2:30pm. It discusses big questions around how the church can lead in creating a new economic paradigm and supporting people during economic hardship. Specifically, it explores how the church can use its economic strength for ministry, move towards energy independence, and become an agent of change around food access.

1. www.actogether.net
presents
A Conference for 21st Century Pastors & Church Leaders
Wednesday May 23rd, 2012
8:30am – 2:30pm
The Congregational Church of South Hempstead
United Church of Christ
www.theccsh.org

2. Thank You To Our Sponsors

3. Capitalism is running amok.
Source: Visual Thesaurus

4. Sounds extreme? Well, while most people on
the planet are struggling through an economic crisis, global
wealth is at an all time high.
“The past year saw a continuation
of the recovery from the financial
crisis, with total household wealth
reaching an all time high in the
world as a whole, and in all regions of the
world except North America and Europe.”
Source: Global Wealth Report 2011, Credit Suisse Research Institute, October 2011

5. $231 trillion….that’s the total of all the
wealth in the world today…
2011 Global wealth = $231 trillion

6. $231,000,000,000,000

7. $231 thousand billion

8. $231 million million

9. THAT’S A WHOLE LOTTA MONEY!!!!

10. 25% of all the
About
wealth in the world
is in the USA, the
wealthiest country of all.
2011 USA wealth = $58.1 trillion
Source: Global Wealth Report 2011, Credit Suisse Research Institute, October 2011

11. Most of the wealth in the USA is owned by a
tiny group of people.
“The United States has by far
the greatest number
(12,584 people)
of members of the top 1%
global wealth group,
accounting for 41% of those
with wealth exceeding $10 million
and
32% of the world’s billionaires.”
Source: Global Wealth Report 2011, Credit Suisse Research Institute, October 2011

12. US economy is
China’s economy is catching up, but the
still 2-1/2 times bigger…
China: 2010 GDP = $5.9 trillion
USA: 2010 GDP =
$14.6 trillion
Source: Global Wealth Report 2011, Credit Suisse Research Institute, October 2011

13. the USA has WAY more
…and
super-rich folks than China.
(It’s GREAT to be an American!)
The number of Ultra High Net
Worth individuals in the USA
with wealth above
$50 million
is six times that of China, the
country with the second
highest number.
Source: Global Wealth Report 2011, Credit Suisse Research Institute, October 2011

14. some
But as good as it is in the USA,
things just don’t make sense…
Exactly how do you
LOSE
$2 billion in 3 months?
MAY 10, 2012, 10:11 PMINVESTMENT BANKING

15. “Jamie Dimon, the chief
executive of JPMorgan, blamed
“errors, sloppiness and
bad judgment” for the
$2B loss, which stemmed from
a hedging strategy that
backfired.”
MAY 10, 2012, 10:11 PMINVESTMENT BANKING

16. REALLY?
MAY 10, 2012, 10:11 PMINVESTMENT BANKING

17. “For a bank that earned nearly $19 billion
last year, the trading loss, which could go higher, will
not cripple it in any way.”

18. Oil company profits have been at
record heights for two years.

19. So why do oil companies need our tax
dollars to help them make a profit ?
In the United
States, credible
estimates of annual
fossil fuel subsidies
range from $10
billion to $52 billion
annually…
Source: http://priceofoil.org/fossil-fuel-subsidies/

20. Wealth is GOOD!
But as good as we
have become at Number of hungry people, 1969-2010
creating
wealth, why are we
awful at
so
the
business of
producing and
distributing
food?
“Oh the world is hungry….”
Almost 1 in 7 people (1 billion) are hungry today.
Source: 2012 World Hunger & Poverty Statistics United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization

21. in the richest country in
And why is it that
the world most people work and still
don’t make enough to live on?
According to the latest Census Bureau
data, nearly 50
percent of
Americans are either low-
income or living in poverty
in the wake of the Great
Recession….
Source: http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/03/06/438907/extreme-poverty-doubled-15-years/?mobile=nc

22. While wealth in the USA has been growing
astronomically, so has poverty.
The number of U.S. households
living on less than $2 per person
per day — which the study terms
“extreme poverty” — more than
doubled between 1996 and
2011, from 636,000 to 1.46
million…
Source: http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/03/06/438907/extreme-poverty-doubled-15-years/?mobile=nc

23. The USA is in the middle of its
second decade of increasing poverty.
And it’s not because people don’t want to work. Most poor people
work. Their children still don’t eat sufficiently.
The number of children
in extremely poor
households also
doubled, from 1.4 million
to 2.8 million.
Source: http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/03/06/438907/extreme-poverty-doubled-15-years/?mobile=nc

24. Capitalism at its best focuses on business
solutions to the great problems of society. Today, capitalism
seems to be singularly focused on generating wealth; to hell with
the rest of the world.
Source: Visual Thesaurus

25. Leftunchecked, running amok
eventually leads to chaos..

26. Christians believe that people and
the planet will be redeemed from
enter into a
chaos and
whole new era of
abundance.
a new heaven and a
“Then I saw
new earth, for the first heaven and the
first earth had passed away, and there was no
longer any sea.”
Revelation 21:1

27. Though chaos may seem inevitable, Christians believe that through it
all, a new model, a new thing, a new paradigm is
emerging.

28. Christians know the mission…
“Therefore, go and make disciples of all
the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and
the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to
obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of
this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20

29. … but too often, we lose sight of the final destination…
So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation:
everything old has passed away; see, everything
has become new!
2 Corinthians 5:17

30. …and we get caught up in
debates, distractions, and battles with each other…
We don’t do THAT in THIS church!

31. ..we major in the minors….
We don’t do THAT in THIS church!
Why do they have to wear tatoos?

32. …while we devour each other, the whole world
watches…
exist?
April 14?
Will the world end on
March 3rd? June 11th?
We don’t do THAT in THIS church!
Why do they have to wear tatoos?

33. ..andinstead of the mission, the Christian
agenda becomes filled with other things.
exist?
Should LGBT people marry?
be ordained?
October 26th? April 14?
Will the world end on
March 3rd? June 11th?
Did you hear Rev. Blankety-Blank preach?
We don’t do THAT in THIS church!
Why do they have to wear tatoos?

34. …we add to the chaos.
Is God
pleased
with that?

35. We need to remember who the enemy is…
“For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood
enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the
unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and
against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”
Ephesians 6:12

36. ..and perhaps instead of fighting each
other, or rich people, or opposing political
parties, allChristians
together, should take a stand.
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so
that you may be able to
withstand on that evil day, and
having done everything, to stand firm.
Ephesians 6:13

37. the church should mind its own
Perhaps
business and focus its economic strength on
mission. Perhaps the church should stand firm,
and with laser-like focus, use 100% of its human and financial
resources to create good.
On Purpose Conference “BIG” Question:
In addition to helping people to cope with economic
distress, how does the church lead in the creation of a new
economic paradigm?

38. stewardship must expand
The church vocabulary of
beyond charitable giving and disaster relief. Let’s
explore three strategies that have already begun to
yield results around the country.
“Little” Questions that support the “BIG” Question
1. How does the church use its economic strength as ministry?
2. How can the Church move towards energy independence?
3. How does the Church become a change agent around food access?

39. www.actogether.net
presents
A Conference for 21st Century Pastors & Church Leaders
Wednesday May 23rd, 2012
8:30am – 2:30pm
The Congregational Church of South Hempstead
United Church of Christ
www.theccsh.org