Social Capital and Kingdom Business

Last week I attended a luncheon called "The Get Together." It was a monthly meeting of folks who get together specifically for the purpose of using their contacts to help provide for the needs of seven inner city ministries. Their goal is specifically to provide STUFF the ministries need, not money. Stuff might be almost anything, but at this meeting we talked about needs for 15 pounds of Freon, 150 pounds of meat a week, sinks, snack food for an after school program, etc.

Over the last 18 months, over $500,000 of "stuff" has been provided to these seven ministries through the contacts of this small group! I don't really know these people, but I doubt in their wildest dreams it would have been possible for them to pay money for a tenth of what they have been able to provide.

The power and value of a small social network and their social capital is astounding! As much as we hear about the value of networking, I don't think we really comprehend it. Wayne Baker, a prominent academic and researcher in the area of social capital, tells a story about challenging one of his classes to help him get two front row center tickets to a sold out Broadway show on his wife's upcoming birthday. He had tried to buy them, but couldn't. Within days his class provided the tickets. Someone in his class was within the six degrees of separation from someone else who could supply the tickets. But I think Baker's example is eclipsed by the Get Together.

Get Together is not a big group. There were only 51 people present at lunch, and at least half of those were first timers like me. It started as the brain child of only a few folks.

Now several are discussing starting up more similar groups to help other inner city ministries.

What's amazing to me is the power of this simple idea -- using their collective social capital for Kingdom Business rather than for their personal or corporate business. So, here are a few questions to think about:

1. How much social capital do you have in your account?

2. Are you regularly investing to build social capital?
• Through expressing interest and serving others?
• Through expanding your connections to others?

3. Is your social capital being invested in Kingdom Business – or worldly business?

4. How could you begin investing more of your social capital for Kingdom good?

Let me know if you would like me to forward a copy of the Get Together Newsletter.