BUILDING MUSCLE FROM WITHIN

This morning, I met with a priest from a parish in the Olney section of North Philadelphia, who was interested in promoting business incubation in his neighborhood. What is a priest doing talking shop with an incubator practitioner, you might ask. I found him to be very far-sighting and strategic in his thinking.

As you may know, churches across most denominations have been bleeding members for the past three decades in older northeastern cities. White flight, crumbling communities, and decreased interest in organized religion have all contributed to the exodus. As a result, church leaders entrusted with providing spiritual nurture to their flocks are scratching their heads trying to figure out how to make sure their flocks don't dwindle to zero.

In many regards, churches are analogous to business incubators. Both believe in the importance of place, as a hub for human contact, information, and nurture; but at the same time, place is subordinated to something greater that unifies that congregate in that place. Both seek to be resource providers and resource connectors. And both seek to strengthen the muscle of a community from within.

In this sense, both offer an alternate approach to community development than the flashier projects that make the headlines. Marquee developers sign on to do huge retail developments, politicians gather around a new housing development to cut a ribbon, and community leaders celebrate the successful wooing of a GE fulfillment center to their neighborhood and the hundreds of jobs such a facility will bring its residents.

And none of those headline-makers does much to strengthen the muscle of the very residents all that development is supposed to benefit. Instead, I'm finding out, many residents are upset by all the hubbub, disenfranchised and neglected as they are from such processes and activities. When a community improves itself in this way, it is telling to ask, "Who has the community improved for?"

Sure, nurturing businesses in an incubator and loving souls in a church don't make for good copy, and the results may take years and even generations to see the light of day. And thus I was glad to share a moment with a kindred spirit, who saw as I saw; with a long-term perspective, and with an eye for strengthening a community's muscle from within.