Drink Coffee. Do Good.

Creation care can't be separated from people care--they are intimately connected. This year at Flourish Conference we were able to profile an organization that does both well: Land of a Thousand Hills (LOATH) coffee company. LOATH primarily works in the country of Rwanda, where citizens are poor and jobless in the wake of devastating genocide. By sustaining coffee farms in Rwanda, LOATH provides jobs for these workers and cultivates the land for good use. To boot, they pay the workers higher than fair wage for their labor and produce an excellent cup of coffee.

We so believe in what this company is doing that we allowed them to share their vision with our participants from the stage and by way of free coffee. If you have never purchased LOATH coffee, you should definitely give it a try. I love their Rwandan Medium and you will never taste a better cup of decaf than their water-processed Peruvian Blend. If you don't drink coffee, consider buying a Rwandan farmer a bike. Depending on your financial situation, LOATH even allows you to just donate a set of tires or purchase a frame for this much needed farming tool.

Everything about this company compels me to live by their slogan: Drink Coffee. Do Good. Check them out and I bet you'll say the same.

New Urbanism

One of the most striking presentations at Flourish Conference this year a video on new urbanism called "Built to Last." It was produced by Chris Elisara of Creation Care Study Program and John Paget of Paget Films and was winner of the Congress for New Urbanism's video contest. The artistic quality of this video is through the roof and the message is powerful.

Check out the 3-minute video out and let me know your thoughts.

Floresta: Purposeful Planting

Floresta is the coolest organization you've never heard of and their program Plant with Purpose may be the neatest creation care initiative around today. Through Plant with Purpose, Floresta is working to reverse poverty and deforestation by planting trees internationally. They currently have programs in Mexico, Tanzania, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic.

We showcased Plant with Purpose at Flourish this year, and Scott Sabin, Floresta's Director, did a bang up job speaking to our attendees. Are you looking for an easy creation care organization to partner with that is making a difference? Donate to Plant with Purpose and "help grow a village." For every dollar you donate, a tree will be planted that can provide food, work, and profit in a poverty-stricken community. A simple offering taken up in your small group could revolutionize lives and make a tangible improvement to God's glorious creation. Take a look at the video above and check out their website.

Flourish: The Connector for the Creation Care Movement?

This week, Cross Pointe Church hosted the first annual Flourish Conference. As a small part of the Flourish staff, I can tell you that the conference exceeded our expectations in many ways. First, our speaker list was amazing: Joel Hunter, Margaret Feinberg, Gabe Lyons, Matthew Sleeth, and Andy Crouch to name a few. Second, the community being built was unprecedented. People were connecting with others to share ideas and partner on projects. Individuals who have felt alone on these issues were comforted that there are others like them out there. Finally, the coverage of the event was great. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Associated Baptist Press, and others had great things to say. My favorite post was from Christianity Today who called Flourish "Creation Care Without the Baggage." I couldn't agree more.

Flourish seems to be becoming what Malcolm Gladwell calls a "connector." This movement is in desperate need of a connector--an organization that can bring together like-minded people from various social, cultural, professional, and economic circles who might not otherwise meet. This facilitates conversations and partnerships that might not otherwise occur and can push a movement into the mainstream. Our hope is that we can do this for the creation care community. Our goal is not to promote Flourish, but to promote great people and organizations who are living out creation care principles all across the country.

We had several organizations at Flourish that we showcased during the conference. This week, I will be profiling one each day. Look for the first post tomorrow.

Review of Disneynature's Earth

Recently, I had the opportunity to screen Disneynature's debut film, Earth. I was so impressed by the movie that I wrote a review for Relevant. The movie is narrated by James Earl Jones and follows the lives of three animal families as they overcome amazing circumstances. The film is replete with life lessons and redemptive elements that uncover the grandeur of God's creation. In fact, Flourish's Rusty Pritchard has produced an Earth discussion guide in cooperation with Disneynature that is incredible tool that could be used by pastors, small groups and families as they engage this movie.

If you see this movie and especially if you utilized the discussion guide, I would love to know what you thought of both.

Pastor Sees Care of Earth as Duty

An interesting article in today's AJC: "Pastor Sees Care of Earth as Duty"

At the end of it, I mention Flourish Conference 2009 by saying "I think [this conference] is going to be the primary touch point for the church to get involved in the 21st century."

Check out the article and the conference.

Update: ABP Article on Flourish

Catalyst Podcast: Creation Care Roundtable

The Catalyst Conference is one of the largest and most exciting gathering of Christian leaders annually. In between conferences, the Catalyst staff provides a whole ton of products and services at their online home, CatalystSpace. One of their best products is the Catalyst Podcast, which features some of the most interesting and influential personalities around today. This week, I was honored to be a part of Catalyst Podcast Episode 66: Creation Care Roundtable. It was amazing to be a part of a fantastic organization like Catalyst, but it was more amazing to join together with two heroes of mine for discussion: Matthew Sleeth, author of Serve God, Save the Planet and Rusty Pritchard, Co-Founder and President of Flourish.

Feel free to download this podcast via iTunes or by clicking here and let me know your thoughts.

Flourish: Special Offer for My Blog Readers

If you are in church leadership of any kind, you don't want to miss Flourish Conference 2009. This event will feature some of the most popular speakers and authors in the United States including Chris Seay, Albert Mohler, Rick McKinley, Ed Stetzer, Margaret Feinberg, Joel Hunter, James Merritt, Matthew Sleeth, Gabe Lyons and others. Not only that, it is extremely affordable and will be held in an intimate setting where you will be able to personally interact with many of the speakers and other leaders like yourself.

I want to offer an additional incentive for my blog readers. I want to give you 25% off your registration fee. If you are a reader of this blog, simply go to FlourishConference.com and click "register." After giving your personal information, you will be asked if you have a discount code. If you are interested in attending, simply email me at jonathan@jonathanmerritt.com  with "Flourish Discount" in the subject line and I will reply with a discount code to place in this slot that will take 25% off the registration fee. 

Register NOW! Don't miss this.