Called to CARE with SCOTT SABIN, ceo, Plant With Purpose. Learning from "the Poor." Redefining inclusion, poverty and work. Choosing to grow a future, together, we can all love. That's what this podcast is about. Hope you enjoy!
In this interview world-changing, Christian leader, Scott Sabin, shares some insights after 30 years of leading the breakthrough sustainable development organization, Plant With Purpose. He is joined by noted author, legendary bass player, and innovative pastor, Rev. Jimi Calhoun and the co-founder/executive editor of AllCreation.org, Chris Searles.
Plant With Purpose is a nonprofit organization utilizing globally-strategic reforestation, regenerative agriculture, community-savings groups, purpose groups, and open-hearted, Christian-based, spiritual engagement, communities and support to lift roughly one million of the world's most isolated and under-resourced people out of poverty today. When Scott started with the organization as executive director, 30 years ago, they had one program with 80 participants.
"Right now we are directly serving about 500,000 people and having a measurable impact on just over 1,000,000 people." - SCOTT
Learn More
- ScottSabin.com
- PlantWithPurpose.org
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"CARE": Curious. Appropriate. Responsive. Empathetic.
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Rev. Jimi Calhoun is lead pastor at BridgingAustin.org, a TRUELY legendary and important musician, and a noted author (JimiCalhoun.com) who's just published his fifth book.
Chris Searles is a founder/director at BioIntegrity Partnerships (biointegrity.net), which produces AllCreation.org, and co-founder/exec. editor at AllCreation.org.
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PROGRAM
0:00 Welcome
5:45 SCOTT
13:10 INCLUSION
30:30 REDEEMING “WORK”
39:25 “POVERTY”
46:40 THE FUTURE WE CHOOSE
59:55 WHAT IS A #1 PRIORITY?
WELCOME
0:00 Chris Searles, co-host/producer
0:45 Intro' Rev. Jimi Calhoun, co-host
2:15 Intro' Scott Sabin, co-host
5:45 Scott: “We stand on the shoulders of giants... Literally, everything we’re doing now, we learned from our local partners... They're planting the trees, not us, almost 62 million trees now... Managing over $12 million of their own money... making about an 18 to 20% return on their investments..."
INCLUSION
13:10 Jimi, story on Landi the landscaper and being a Christian missionary in Belize (Central America). "The first thing I learned (as a missionary) was to value people as you find them... When you're inserted into a different culture you have two choices, try and convert them to what you're bringing, or allow yourself to be stretched a little bit... Sensitivity and humility, those are our bywords."
20:30 Scott, on the prejudices against subsistence farmers, “The people we work with are our Partners not our projects... We have as much to learn from them -- or more, than we have to offer and it’s in working together that anything’s accomplished.”
22:25 Jimi, story on Castillo the part-maker, "Ingenuity doesn't come from regurgitating what came in, it comes from your observation and what you're able to do with what you see!"
24:50 Scott, "Most of us couldn't survive in these environments, so people we might look at as uneducated, or who might be discriminated against by their own governments, are incredibly resourceful and managing to survive in conditions that would kill us. They've got a lot to teach us."
26:00 Jimi, "I have a responsibility to love you as you are, to serve you when I can, and to love you whatever it is that you need. That's what I mean when I say the word, Christian."
27:20 Scott, "I've become convinced that part of our purpose is to serve others..." Scott talks about one of his first visits to the Congo and the freedom fighter turned peace-maker, “I realized I had gifts to offer...”
REDEEMING "WORK"
30:30 Chris, "We should take pride in our potential..."
31:30 Jimi, “In work and worship you find God." ... "You have to define work... I never think of any call I make or any conversation I have as work... It’s all geared towards improving the life of someone else in whatever way they need it..."
33:50 Scott, "I don't want to romanticize things… There’s a lot of places and a lot of people where work is drudgery or slavery, or serves no purpose, or is abusive, so I don’t want to romanticize that. But I do think that, at its best, in the Kingdom of God there’s an alignment between purpose and what we do, and that we were made to be co-creators… But again, I don't want to romanticize: being a subsistence farmer on a barren hillside somewhere in East Africa is HARD."
35:25 Jimi stories on the banana lady; Indentured-Irish "slaves" and African slaves
38:30 Scott, "Some of Plant With Purpose's work is to bring good news of Redemption and offer opportunities to redeem work."
"POVERTY"
39:40, Chris, "How do you define Poverty and relate it to caring for "the least of these"?"
Scott - “Poverty: “A state of hopelessness.” Western definitions tend to be a lot about a lack of material things. Those of the global south, talking about poverty, it tends to be much more: hopelessness, discouragement, embarrassment… My definition, a lack of agency or perceived agency and opportunity — which can be closely connected to hopelessness. If you’re hopeless you don’t exercise what agency you might have.”
Jimi - “What does poverty mean to you when you hear that word? … Poverty has more components to it than economics. . .” … It took men a long time to realize that they were acting exactly as they should. You know, I thought I could come down and offer some pointers… And that’s NOT what they needed. They needed somebody to come along and say, I understand your attitude. I get why you see the world the way you do... there’s not a lot of good options on your horizon, you don’t see a way out of this.”
Scott: Economically wealthy, but spiritually-impoverished. “We come in many ways impoverished as well.”
FUTURE WE CHOOSE
Biospherically, the system is designed to renew; we’re just sitting on top of potential all the time
__Scott, “First we saw a vicious cycle between environmental degradation and the impoverishment of their farms…” we had a vicious cycle, what I learned from theim is there si a possibility in that of actual creating a virtuous cycle… We often look at human need and environmental issues as a zero sum game, and I think there’s tremendous potential if we: 1) seek the win win, 2) approach everything from a spirit of abundance rather than scarcity, 3) partner with those we serve, “Probably the greatest untapped resource in the world (is subsistence farmers), they have so much to offer, so much creativity, THEY’RE THE OINES who planted those 61 million trees!!!!”
__ Chris, How to utilize and implement PWP’s ideas locally?
__ Scott, Looking for the win win; Being good news for Creation, “Are we in our communities of Faith life-giving or death-dealing? We can be a living witness to the Kingdom of God, bringing good news to ALL of God’s creation... You...
