UPTHINKING FINANCE

• How Chris got involved working in the prison system [4:35]
• God is in the resurrection business—not the disposal business [8:44] 
• Balancing the administrative side of a non-profit with the mission [13:38]
• How to approach charitable giving with a different lens [16:53] 
• The challenges of Underground Ministries’ One Parish || One Prisoner [23:13] 
• Overcoming the fear of working with the incarcerated [27:52] 
• Jesus had a mission and never backed down from it—why can’t we? [37:24]
• Invest in what you want to see heal the world [41:04] 
• Where to learn more about Underground Ministries [44:07] 

Chris grew up in a home where he was in church three times a week. The only story that made sense to him was doing the “Jesus stuff.” Chris wound up in the PNW working with theologians among undocumented migrant workers picking cucumbers and strawberries in fields. He found himself engaging in theological study in a small jail. 

There were young men Chris’s age who were funny, open about their anger, and asked brilliant questions. They just happened to be in prison. He’d talk until late into the night, interacting with men he’d never been exposed to in church. These men had lived through incredible abuse and unspeakable traumas. 

But when they were released from prison, they’d end up in the streets, lost in homelessness, addiction, and gang violence. Or, they’d end up back in prison. That’s where Chris’s work began. He became their pastor. He knew that needed to find a way to help these men (and women) transition back into society. 

America has a problem with mass incarceration, 8x as much as the second or third place incarceration per capita in the developed world. America embraces a culture of disposability. We don’t fix broken things, we throw them away. Chris points out that we treat humans like garbage. It's easier to throw away a broken person into the landfill system. Prisons are a human dumpster.

He shares that there are amazing human beings in prisons. “[Prison] is an incredible waste of humanity yet it's an incredible discovery of new friends and the magic of healing and the discovery that God is in the healing business.” 

Chris often finds himself surprised when he speaks with people in churches or at conferences and they share their “giving philosophy” with him. It’s usually something like “We don’t like to create dependence so we only give in cycles once every few years.” Chris finds this appalling. It’s not how relationships work. It’s certainly not how good investing works. 

If everyone gave based on that philosophy, every non-profit would have to double their overhead to constantly try and develop new relationships and donors versus building on existing relationships. Giving every few years only serves the giver. It does not build a real partnership. It is not real giving. Chris wishes that more people would find places they want to invest and be in it for the long haul—like a mutual fund. 

Giving has to be viewed as a relationship and a commitment. Take the time to find organizations that reflect who you are and the difference that you want to make in the world. 

People always ask Chris what they can do other than reading a book or sending a check. So Chris pondered their questions—What if people from churches wrote back and forth with prisoners? What if they became part of their release plan and helped them plan reentry into the world? 

That’s when Underground Ministries placed all of their hope into their “One Parish One Prisoner” program. So Chris created a pairing and training system. They just paired their 33rd Church and released individuals in Washington. They are rolling away the stones from the tombs of these prisoners. People are saying “yes.” 

What’s the problem? Figuring out how to sustain this program. How do they scale from 33 churches to enough to reach the 2.4 million people who are incarcerated? How do you mobilize churches across an entire state? Those are the questions Chris is working hard to answer. 

How does he balance the administrative side of his non-profit with the mission? How does Chris help people overcome a fear of working with the incarcerated? This is an episode that shares a powerful message of hope, healing, and giving. Don’t miss it. 

• Read Chris’s book, “Wanted: A Spiritual Pursuit Through Jail, Among Outlaws, and Across Borders”
• Learn more about the One Parish One Prisoner program
• Check out Chris’s Underground Ministries 
• Follow Chris on Twitter