Intangible Currencies and Social Banking with DeAmon Harges, Locke Innovative Leader Award Winner

Co-hosts Lisa Greenwood and Casper ter Kuile talk with DeAmon Harges, 2021 Locke Innovative Leader Award Winner. DeAmon is the original “Roving Listener” who defined the role by his posture of curiosity and his passion for discovering the gifts and talents of the people in his community. He is also the founder of The Learning Tree, a non-profit that uses the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) approach with city governments and organizations to improve the quality of lives of people, communities, schools and businesses.

His approach has greatly influenced how congregations, non-profits, and local governments view their work. Instead of seeing people and communities as lacking in resources, DeAmon sees their wealth of “intangible currencies'' such as imagination, relationships, and stories that bring people together in a fellowship of “mutual delight.” This conversation may well inspire you to be a “Social Banker” like DeAmon, who extends the metaphor: when you invest in the intangible currencies in your neighborhood, you will find the riches of love, hope, and joy in abundance!

 

QUOTES

• “Having a team to work through to have other gifts besides yourself is super important. If you don’t ever feel like you need people, then you’re way too tired. When you need people, you can guarantee you’re going to get some rest.” -DeAmon Harges [27:38]
• “I think the fact that we’ve been schooled in scarcity so much that we need proof of God’s abundance. And yet, we are God’s abundance.” -DeAmon Harges [30:46]

 

TIMESTAMPS

• [00:00] Intro
• [01:08] Meet DeAmon Harges
• [04:46] Significant events in DeAmon’s life
• [06:09] How we got to here
• [09:17] The Learning Tree
• [13:58] Working with the state and governor’s office
• [16:21] What it means to become a roving listener
• [22:20] Being a social banker
• [25:48] Navigating the challenges of being a social banker
• [28:03] A mixed spiritual ecology
• [31:04] Three rapid fire questions
• [32:20] A blessing
• [33:27] Outro

 

RESOURCES & RELEVANT LINKS

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts / iTunes?

For information about our co-host Casper ter Kuile, visit his website: caspertk.com and check out the work of Sacred Design Lab at sacred.design.

Find and follow DeAmon on Twitter @rovinglistener

For information about The Learning Tree, visit: thelearningtrees.com

This season features Wesleyan Investive’s 2021 Tom Locke Innovative Award winners. The award honors spiritual entrepreneurs who have envisioned a broader mission field and have taken risks to make their God-sized dreams a reality. For more information about the award and the recipients, visit award.wesleyaninvestive.org.

“God Has Work for Us To Do” music and lyrics by Mark Miller. Visit Mark’s website at markamillermusic.com or find him on YouTube at youtube.com/c/markismusic67.

This podcast is brought to you by the Leadership Ministry team at TMF and Wesleyan Investive. Leadership Ministry connects diverse, high capacity leaders in conversations and environments that create a network of courage, learning, and innovation in order to help the church lean into its God-appointed mission. For more information and to support Leadership Ministry, visit tmf-fdn.org/leadership-ministry.