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Bottom-up Approaches to Global Poverty: Appropriate Technology, Social Entrepreneurship, and the Church

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Bottom-up Approaches to Global Poverty: Appropriate Technology, Social Entrepreneurship, and the Church | Baylor Symposium on Faith and Culture

Baylor Symposium on Faith and Culture
Thursday, October 23-Saturday, October 25, 2008

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Program Description

The way that Christians respond to those most in need is a sign of God's presence. But the mission of the church does not move in one direction-from West to East, first to third world, or affluence to poverty. Nor is it controlled from a central location or organization. Located in every province of every country, the church is situated to react to the needs of the poor in an especially powerful way-from the bottom up.

Prompted by God's call to meet the needs of the poor, marginalized, and oppressed, Christians can respond sensitively and productively to poverty though faith-inspired practices of appropriate technology and social entrepreneurship. The former draws on a community's existing talents and resources to produce technology that is simple, inexpensive, easily maintained, culturally acceptable, and responsive to genuine human needs. The latter finds alternative approaches to corporate structures that provide opportunities to improve the physical and social conditions of the poor.

Instead of rivals at cross purposes, these three forces-local church, appropriate technology, and social entrepreneurship-hold enormous promise when they converge, for they have the potential to create genuine social change and express Christian faith and witness.

Featured Speakers

Bernard Amadei

Bernard Amadei

Bernard Amadei is professor of civil engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He earned his MaSc. degree in civil engineering from the University of Toronto and his Ph.D. degree in civil engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. His current interests include sustainability, green construction, and international development. At the University of Colorado at Boulder, he directs an innovative program for engineering students and professionals, Engineering for Developing Communities. He is also the founding president of Engineers Without Borders-USA and the co-founder of the Engineers Without Borders-International. He is currently working on a book titled Engineering with Soul.

Christopher Barrett

Christopher Barrett

Christopher Barrett is international professor of applied economics and management and co-director of the African Food Security and Natural Resources Management Program at Cornell University. He holds degrees from Princeton, Oxford, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison and worked as a staff economist with the Institute for International Finance in Washington, DC in the 1980s. He has written ten books and more than 170 journal articles and book chapters. He serves as editor of the American Journal of Agricultural Economics and is past president of the Association of Christian Economists.

Ruth Padilla DeBorst

Ruth Padilla DeBorst

The eldest daughter of eminent theologian and missiologist René Padilla, Ruth Padilla DeBorst is a theologian and church leader in her own right. For many years, Padilla DeBorst worked with the growing Christian student movements of Latin America under the umbrella of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES); now she is president of the Latin American Theological Fellowship, director of IFES's Spanish-speaking publishing house Ediciones Certeza Unida, and team leader of Christian Reformed World Mission's work in El Salvador. Educated at Wheaton College's graduate school, she is pursuing a doctoral degree at Boston University School of Theology.

Ken Eldred

Ken Eldred

Ken Eldred is CEO of Living Stones Foundation Charitable Trust and chairman of the board of advisors of Parakletos @ Ventures. A pioneer in the kingdom business movement, he is the author of the acclaimed God Is at Work (2005) and the co-editor of On Kingdom Business: Transforming Missions Through Entrepreneurial Strategies (2003). Named Silicon Valley "Entrepreneur of the Year" in 1988, he also serves on the board of advisors for Crosspoint Venture Partners, named by Forbes as the most successful venture firm three years in a row. He holds an MBA from Stanford University and was a visiting fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution.

J. Andrew Kirk

J. Andrew Kirk

J. Andrew Kirk has spent his life in theological education in South America and the United Kingdom. Recently retired from a teaching position at the University of Birmingham, England, he is the former Dean and Head of the School of Mission and World Christianity at Selly Oak Colleges. With degrees from the University of London and Cambridge, he is the author of thirteen books, including The Mission of Theology and Theology as Mission (1997), What is Mission?: Theological Explorations (1999), and Mission under Scrutiny: Confronting Current Challenges (2006).

Perla Manapol

Perla Manapol

Perla Manapol is a US citizen born in the Philippines and a graduate of the State University of New York and Harvard University. She specializes in international community development and renewable energy and has worked for the past six years as president of a multi-awarded Philippine NGO, Sustainable Rural Enterprise (SRE), which operates and manages a coconut coir processing enterprise that provides livelihood for more than 700 families of poor coconut farmers. The author of two books, she also does private consulting on renewable energy-based assignments including the productive, or livelihood-generating, uses of renewable energy and alternative fuels.

Caesar Molebatsi

Caesar Molebatsi

Caesar Molebatsi chairperson of Empowa Investments and pastor emeritus of Ebenezer Evangelical Church in Dobsonville, Soweto. A champion of social justice and empowerment in South Africa, he is familiar to many South Africans for his work on SABC TV's, "In Search for Common Ground" and "Two Way," and for the radio program "PM Live." In addition, he has led Youth Alive Ministries since 1976 and is currently the Director of Youth Alive Development Foundation, the resource arm of the Youth Alive organization. A graduate of Wheaton Graduate School, Molebatsi is the author of A Flame for Justice (1991).

Dwight Nordstrom

Dwight Nordstrom

Since 1990, Dwight Nordstrom has been the chairman of Pacific Resources International (PRI), a US manufacturing-holding company that does consulting and engineering for start-up and expansion of manufacturing in China. PRI is a "GCC" (Great Commission Company) that has strategic alliances and/or spiritual accountability relationships with missionary agencies. The co-author of a book on business as missions and the author of numerous articles in leading business and Christian periodicals, he holds degrees from Texas Christian University and the University of Houston.

Ray Norman

Ray Norman

Ray Norman is dean of the School of Mathematics, Engineering, and Business at Messiah College. Raised in rural West Africa, he earned an undergraduate degree at Auburn University and graduate degrees (M.A. and Ph.D.) at Cornell University, where he specialized in water resources management and international development. He was engaged for fifteen years in research and applied development work in Africa and the Middle East with various academic and international development organizations, including Winrock International Institute for Agricultural Development, the national university in the Sultanate of Oman, and the African Development Bank. In the late 1990s he joined World Vision International and served as national director in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania.

Bill O'Brien

Bill O'Brien

Bill O'Brien holds degrees from Hardin-Simmons University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. His missions career spans more than forty years years, including field service in Indonesia, as well as his service as executive vice president of the Foreign Mission Board (SBC) and founding director of the Global Center at Samford University. A past president of the American Society of Missiology, he is currently co-director of BellMitra Associates. He is the co-author of Choosing a Future for US Missions (1998) and the author of Challenges Confronting Baptist Missions (2003).

Paul Polak

Paul Polak

After practicing psychiatry for more than twenty years, Paul Polak founded International Development Enterprises (IDE), an international nonprofit poverty alleviation organization. Since 1981, IDE has pioneered the development and marketing of affordable income enhancing technologies within developing countries. In 2004, the Technology Museum of Innovation named IDE a laureate for its development of "Easy-Drip," an affordable micro-irrigation system. In 2003, Polak was named one of Scientific American's top fifty innovators for his work in market-based poverty alleviation. He also received Ernst & Young's "2004 Entrepreneur of the Year" award in the social responsibility category.

Glenn White

Glenn White

Glenn White is director of Businesstry Concepts, LLC, an organization dedicated to providing resources and training to bring economic, cultural, relational, and spiritual transformation to individuals in every nation. He also is involved with several for-profit and non-profit organizations focused on kingdom transformation through economic development. For more than twenty years, he has served in a variety of business and industry positions, including consulting with for-profit and non-profit organizations. As president of Businesstry Concepts, he has worked on developing projects in Central Africa, the South Pacific, Fiji, Russia, Mexico, and several other nations. He also serves as sales director for Pearl Technologies, LLC.

Schedule

Thursday, October 23

1:30-1:45 p.m.

Opening Remarks -Blume Banquet Room

Darin Davis, Baylor University

2:00-3:00 p.m.

Featured Presentations

Technology for the Poor: Re-Thinking the Process of Development and Transfer -Blume Banquet Room
Ray Norman
Dean, School of Mathematics, Engineering, and Business, Messiah College

The Kingdom Opportunity Assessment - A Holistic Feasibility Tool for Transformation! -Kayser Auditorium
Glenn White
President, Businesstry Concepts

The Church, the Mission of God, and the "Bottom Billion" -Miller Chapel
Bill O'Brien
Former Executive Vice President, Foreign Mission Board (SBC) and Founding Director, Global Center, Samford University

3:00-3:30 p.m.

Break

3:30-5:15 p.m.

Contributed Presentations

Sociological and Theological Reflections on Poverty -Cashion 305

  • Jason Hall (University of Oklahoma): From Colonizers to Co-laborers: Changing the Mindset of the American Church as It Engages the Needs of the Developing World [Abstract]
  • Meredith Minister (Southern Methodist University): Dancing as Equals: A Trinitarian Model for Social Entrepreneurship [Abstract]
  • Joshua Sweeden (Boston University): Offering a Way of Life: The Witness of Local Christian Community and a Contextual Economic Order [Abstract]
  • Jozef Zalot (College of Mount St. Joseph): SODEPAX: An Ecumenical Approach to Global Poverty [Abstract]
  • Barry Harvey (Baylor University): session chair

Global Poverty and Economic Development -Kayser Auditorium

  • Kenn Coil (Lazarian World Homes), Rob Gailey (Point Loma Nazarene University) and George Fermanian (Point Loma Nazarene University): The Lazarian World Homes Project [Abstract]
  • Walter L. Bradley and Stanton Greer (Baylor University): Using Coconuts as Natural Resources for Economic Development in Under-Developed Countries [Abstract]
  • Steve Bradley (Baylor University): Comparative Advantage and Sustainable Economic Development: The Coconut Case
  • Elisa Guzman (Baylor University): Cooking Stoves for Developing Countries: Saving Lives, Time, Wood and the Environment [Abstract]
  • Gayle Avant (Baylor University): session chair

Teaching, Learning, and Service: Responses to Poverty through Education -Cashion 307

  • Timothy Ewest (Wartburg College): Mission on Purpose: A Story of Wartburg College's Creative Struggle to Develop a Holistic Program Addressing the College's Mission and Society's Need [Abstract]
  • Tom Herskowitz and Nancy S. Rizkalla (Morningstar Institute, Southern Nazarene University): A New Microlending Paradigm: Incorporating Vocational Training and Microcredit [Abstract]
  • Kevin Prine (William Jewell College): One College, One Village, One World: Moving People Out of Poverty by Actively Engaging the Spirit and Intellect of Higher Education [Abstract]
  • Jerold Waltman (Baylor University): session chair

Poverty Initiatives in Africa -Cashion 309

  • Mike Blondino (LEAD International): The Invisible Barriers to Economic Development: Addressing Mindsets to Improve Poverty Reduction [Abstract]
  • Dale Dawson (Bridge2Rwanda): Building a Bridge to Rwanda [Abstract]
  • John Mulford (Regent University): Comprehensive Business Development Centers: A Potential Solution to Deep Underdevelopment [Abstract]
  • Earl Grinols (Baylor University): session chair

5:15-5:30 p.m.

Break

5:30-6:00 p.m.

Vespers Service, Foyer of Meditation, Armstrong Browning Library

6:15-7:30 p.m.

President's Welcome
David Garland, Baylor University

Dinner - Blume Banquet Room

7:30-9:00 p.m.

Plenary Presentation -Blume Banquet Room

Combating Global Poverty through Entrepreneurship [video]
Caesar Molebatsi
Chairperson, Empowa Investments and Pastor Emeritus, Ebenezer Evangelical Church, Dobsonville, Soweto

Friday, October 24

9:00-10:00 a.m.

Featured Presentations

Engineering with Soul [video] -Blume Banquet Room
Bernard Amadei
Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulder

Border-Bending Mission: Re-imagining Belonging in God's World -Cashion 203
Ruth Padilla DeBorst
President, Latin American Theological Fellowship

10:00-10:30 a.m.

Break

10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

Contributed Presentations

Global Connections and Local Initiative in African Christian Community Development (sponsored by Nagel Institute for the Study of World Christianity, Calvin College) -Blume Seminar Room [Abstract]

  • Martin Niboh (College of the Ozarks): A Bottom Up Approach to Development: The Torchbearer Foundation Model [Paper]
  • Tibebe Eshete (Calvin College): The Role of Christian NGOs in Community Transformations: The Case of Antsokia of Ethiopia [Abstract]
  • Mwenda Ntarangwi (Calvin College): session chair

Business as Mission I -Cashion 303

  • Mark Russell (Hope International): Intentionally and Effectively Integrating Faith in Microfinance Institutions: Moving from Theory to Reality [Abstract]
  • Larry Ruddell (Houston Baptist University): Business Ethics-Entryway to the Nations [Abstract]
  • Steve Bradley (Baylor University): session chair

Water and Appropriate Technology -Cashion 407

  • Pedro Bernal (Rollins College): Appropriate Water Purification Technology for Rural Communities in the Dominican Republic [Abstract]
  • Terry A. Wolfer (University of South Carolina): No Free Water: Appropriate Technology, Social Entrepreneurship, and the Church [Slides]
  • Kennell J. Touryan (National Renewable Energy Laboratories): Fresh Water-The Impending Crisis of the Developing World [Abstract]
  • Brian Garner (Baylor University): session chair

Case Studies: Approaches to Poverty in the United States -Cashion 302

  • Jeff Nichols (Community Service Alliance, Cleveland, OH): Community Service Alliance: A Faith-based Approach to the Homelessness Crisis in Cleveland [Abstract]
  • Linda Carleton and Joanne Roberts (Hardin Simmons University): Building Relationships: The Foundation of Community Renewal [Abstract]
  • Rosemary Townsend (Baylor University): session chair

The Potential of Christian Practices to Alleviate Poverty -Cashion 406

  • Van Hoang Pham (Baylor University): Poverty Alleviation Responses to Globalization in Vietnam [Abstract]
  • Ruth Dykstra (Eastern University and Deep Springs International): Entrepreneurship and Youth: The Critical Role of the Christian Community in Development [Paper]
  • Amy Jacober (Baylor University): session chair

12:00-1:30 p.m.

Lunch - Cashion Banquet Room

1:30-3:00 p.m.

Contributed Presentations

The Role of Economic Systems in Understanding and Alleviating Poverty -Cashion 303

  • K. Brad Stamm (Cornerstone University): Poverty-What Is It?: Techniques and Perspectives on Measuring Economic Need [Abstract]
  • Tracy C. Miller (Grove City College): The Role of Property Rights in Economic Development that Benefits the Poor [Paper]
  • John Gorlorwulu (George Fox University) and Jonathan Warner (Dordt College and Quest University): The Nature and Consequences of Weak Financial Markets in Post-conflict Countries: A Preliminary Report on a Case Study of Liberia [Abstract]
  • Charles North (Baylor University): session chair

Agriculture and Appropriate Technology -Cashion 109

  • Matt Hess (World Hunger Relief, Inc.): Sustainable Agriculture Training for the Developing World [Abstract]
  • Job S. Ebenezer (Technology for the Poor): Technologies for Sustainability [Abstract]
  • Beth Doerr (ECHO): Using Sustainable Appropriate Technologies to Help Subsistence Farmers in Developing Countries and How ECHO Can Help [Abstract]
  • Ken Van Treuren (Baylor University): session chair

Reflections on Technology, Business, and Social Change -Cashion 304

  • Charles McDaniel (Baylor University): Development and 'Technics': A Niebuhrian Assessment of Technology's Contribution to Social Progress [Abstract]
  • Christopher Peet and Marie Bullock (The King's University College): Critical Reflections on "Appropriate Technology": Between Autonomy and Immanence [Abstract]
  • Jonathan Tran (Baylor University): session chair

The Church's Role in Missions -Cashion 110

  • Roger B. Conover (Azusa Pacific University): Rural Poverty, Environmental Degradation and the Role of the Church [Abstract]
  • Charles H. Hegberg (Triune International): Mission: Re-GenesisTM - Shifting Our Paradigm Beyond Environmental Sustainability [Abstract]
  • Jimmy Seibert (Antioch Ministries International): The Local Church as a Major Player in Dealing with Short- and Long-term Crisis and Poverty [Abstract]
  • Suzanne R. Holsomback (Baylor University): session chair

Business as Mission II -Cashion 403

  • Mike Barnett (Columbia International University): Tentmakers in the Mission of God [Abstract]
  • Christopher M. Brown (Eastern University): BAM: Current Reality and Practice [Abstract]
  • Hans Hamoen (World Partners Foundation): Business with a Mission [Abstract]
  • Steve Gardner (Baylor University): session chair

Poverty Initiatives in India and Latin America -Cashion 407

  • Dorothy Deasy (Marylhurst University): "Let Justice Roll Down Like Waters": A Holistic Approach to Addressing Poverty in Rural India [Paper]
  • Don O'Neal (HELPS International): Reducing Poverty through Integrated Systems [Abstract]
  • Jeff Raines (First Baptist Church, Amarillo): session chair

3:00-3:30 p.m.

Break

3:30-5:00 p.m.

Plenary Presentation -Kayser Auditorium

Out of Poverty: What Works When Traditional Approaches Fail [video]
Paul Polak
Founder, International Development Enterprises

5:00-6:00 p.m.

Poster Presentations and Exhibits -Blume Seminar Room

  • Christopher Peet and Marie Bullock (The King's University College): Michael Polanyi's Theory of Tacit Knowing: Appropriating Technological Means toward Appropriate Technological Ends
  • Lori Spies (Baylor University School of Nursing): Learn. Lead. Serve.
  • The Aqua Clara Foundation
  • Gaynor Yancey (Baylor University): The Open Table
  • Rosemary Townsend (Baylor University): Campus Kitchen Project
  • Alex Schmidt and Catalina Murillo (Baylor University): 1 John 3 Campaign
  • Katia Palza, Anam Whyne and Ayesha Mahmood (Baylor University): Fighting Poverty through Student Advocacy

6:00-7:30 p.m.

Provost's Welcome
Elizabeth Davis, Baylor University

Dinner - Blume Banquet Room

7:30-9:00 p.m.

Plenary Presentation -Blume Banquet Room

Spiritual Capital: The Power to Transform Spiritual and Economic Life [video]
Ken Eldred
CEO, Living Stones Foundation Charitable Trust

Saturday, October 25

8:30-10:00 a.m.

Contributed Presentations

Caring for the Poor and Vulnerable through Community -Cashion 306

  • Mary Ann Faucher (Baylor University): Faith-based Community Health Partnerships for Low-income Mexican Women [Abstract]
  • Jon Singletary (Baylor Center for Family and Community Ministries): Hope for Orphans: Models of Community Care as an Expression of Social Entrepreneurship for Vulnerable Children in an African Context [Abstract]
  • Diana Garland (Baylor University): session chair

Energy and Appropriate Technology -Cashion 308

  • Jim Barlow (Novo Energy): Packaged Solid Fuel Based Energy Production and Water Purification System [Paper]
  • James Kierulff (University of Southern Mississippi): Christian-based Economic Relief Efforts and the New Biofuels Industry: An Unbeatable Combination for Crushing Generational Poverty [Abstract]
  • Brian Thomas, Bill Jordan, and Ryan McGhee (Baylor University): Pico-Hydropower Franchising: a Test Bed in Rural Honduras [Abstract]
  • Brian Thomas (Baylor University): session chair

Practices of Business and Transformation -Cashion 307

  • Peter Heslam and Flint McGlaughlin (Cambridge University): Transformative Commerce: Enterprise, Ethics, and the Elimination of Poverty [Abstract]
  • Roland Hoksbergen (Calvin College): Transformational Development: The Role of Christian NGOs in SME Development [Abstract]
  • Steve Rundle (Biola University): Effective Church-Business Collaborations in the Developing World [Abstract]
  • Greg Leman (Baylor University): session chair

Seeking Clean Water: AquaClara Foundation, The Water SCH2OOL, and Deep Springs International -Cashion 305

  • Robin Klay (Hope College): Vision, Trust, and Good Business Models: The Essentials for Introducing Appropriate Technology [Paper]
  • Robert J. Dell and Myron Bradley Penner (The Water SCH2OOL): Church, Mission and Gospel: Sustainable Clean Water for the Developing World [Abstract]
  • Timothy Mech (Grove City College and Deep Springs International): Incubating Locally Owned Businesses That Make Safe Water Affordable [Abstract]
  • Susan Bratton (Baylor University): session chair

Mission Initiatives: Saddleback Church and Willow Creek Community Church -Cashion 303

  • Gil Odendaal (Saddleback Church)
  • Warren Beach and John Forbes (Willow Creek Community Church): Willow Creek Community Church's Strategy to Address Global Poverty [Abstract]
  • Brett Gibson (Baylor University): session chair

10:00-10:30 a.m.

Break

10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

Plenary Presentation -Kayser Auditorium

Bringing Good News to the Poor [video]
J. Andrew Kirk
Former Dean and Head, School of Mission and World Christianity, Selly Oak Colleges
[Paper]

12:00-1:30 p.m.

Lunch - Blume Banquet Room

1:30-2:30 p.m.

Featured Presentations

Appropriate Technology for the Poor: From the Philippines to Liberia -Cashion 303
Perla Manapol
President, Sustainable Rural Enterprise

Larger-Size BAM Models in Unreached Cities--A Powerful yet Underdeveloped Model [video] -Kayser Auditorium
Dwight Nordstrom
Chairman, Pacific Resources International

2:30-2:45 p.m.

Break

2:45-4:15 p.m.

Contributed Presentations

The Manner of Missions -Cashion 308

  • Jimmy Dorrell (Mission Waco): The Whole Gospel to the Whole Person in the Whole World [Abstract]
  • Jeff Raines (First Baptist Church, Amarillo): Short-term Mission from the Bottom-up
  • Ellen Robinson (Baylor University): session chair

Transportation and Appropriate Technology -Cashion 303

  • Matthew G. Green and Deron Weaver (LeTourneau University): Helping Stone-Age Tribes Fly: Empowering the Indigenous Church with Appropriate Flight Technology through a University--NGO Partnership [Abstract]
  • J.D. Buchholtz and Josh Terndrup (Baylor University): Pedestrian Bridges: A Key Infrastructural Element in Economic Development [Abstract]
  • Walter Bradley (Baylor University): session chair

Advances in Microfinancing -Cashion 305

  • Emily Kerr (Baylor University): Micro-credit and Household Productivity: Evidence from Bangladesh [Abstract]
  • Mike Mathambo Mtika (Eastern University): Community Entrepreneurship [Abstract]
  • Robert Gailey and Vanessa Pridmore (Point Loma Nazarene University): Microfinance, Social Capital, and Women's Political Empowerment [Abstract]
  • Van Pham (Baylor University): session chair

Teach, Reach, Feed, Lead: Developing a Campus Kitchen Project at Baylor University (Student Panel Discussion) -Cashion 307

  • Abby Williams (Baylor University)
  • Anna Imose (Baylor University)
  • Beth Kilpatrick (Baylor Un