Harnessing consumerism #1

It is possible to be socially aware while drinking a tall, frosty, Irish Amber. It’s true. Proceeds from Finnegan’s Irish Amber (brewed by Summit Brewing Co.) go to help the poor. Harnessing the power of consumerism for the working poor.

A plea for Christians to share

I’ve been looking into church management software lately. Being that I am dependant upon Outlook in order to function like most normal adults, I figured it would be good for our church (Missio Dei), which is made up of people who aren’t much better at being on top of things than I am, to invest in church management software. I found one in particular that is great–it is completely web-based. I was all excited until I looked at their pricing…nearly $500/year for their service. Most other church software costs into the hundreds as well.

Bible software isn’t any different. The good stuff, like Accordance or Logos, cost uber bucks. The sad truth is, these products, are expensive. I understand that people work for those companies that make this stuff…and that they need to make a profit in order to pay workers, but there simply must be a better way. As it is, the best products (which are created by Christians in order to benefit the church), are only available to the wealthy. Poor people and poor churches can’t afford this stuff. The system is inherently geared to bless the wealthy. The system is based upon consumerism. I say creative Christians everywhere THROW OFF the shackles of consumerist industry and figure out a new system. Open source. Creative Commons. Distributism. Going Non-profit. All these approaches have merit. Let’s develop a new way of doing things, so that the software and books and training manuals, etc., can be made more available to ALL of the Body of Christ, so that we can be more effective in our mission.

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