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ARTICLES:
A Call to Gotham Mentors

Entreprenuership Forum (photo)

Third Annual Entrepreneurship Forum

Redemptive Advertising? Why Not? (photo)

Arts Month Kicks off  Biennial Tour

RedeemerWrites Magazine (on sale now)

Why Work? Business, Professions, and the Common Good

A Call to Gotham Mentors
On Sunday, April 20 at 12pm at Hunter College Room 509B, West Building, The Gotham Fellowship, Redeemer's new fellows program for young professionals, will have an information reception for those interested in being a mentor. Mentors are an indispensable component in the Gotham Fellowship. We are looking for 24 mentors over the age of 35, with solid professional and spiritual credentials, who are willing to invest at least two hours a month to meet with a fellow.

Gotham Mentors will be welcome participants in various parts of the fellows program and their involvement will enrich this committed cohort of young professionals seeking to develop vocational paths that have gospel impact in the culture. For more information please click here or contact gotham@redeemer.com.

Entrepreneurship Forum

The third annual Entrepreneurship Forum held Saturday, April 5 at the University Club.This year the focus was on "a more excellent way."

 
Third Annual Entrepreneurship Forum
On April 5th, the Entrepreneurship Initiative (EI) held its third annual Entrepreneurship Forum. This year’s theme - “a more excellent way” is based on 1 Corinthians 12:32 where Paul points to love as a more excellent way. The Forum’s goal is to envision a movement of entrepreneurs whose ventures will bring about cultural renewal in the New York area by meeting the holistic needs of its residents. This event is invitation-only and its participants come primarily from the Redeemer Community, although this year we expanded to include some entrepreneurs in other cities. It is exciting to see how the EI’s momentum is attracting interest beyond our community.

The morning rain and clouds did not dampen spirits of the 130 participants who gathered early at the University Club to enjoy a time of breakfast and networking. Katherine Leary, the executive director of CFW, opened the Forum with an invitation to be inspired by the guest speakers, educated through the theology presented, and connected with fellow investors in the EI. A new short video presented the history and vision of the EI. Then Katherine introduced Calvin Chin, new director of the EI, who served as the Forum’s master of ceremonies.

The morning featured entrepreneurs who are making a difference and seeking excellence. The first speaker, David Kansas, current president of FiLife.com, shared some notable trends in culture with the audience. An entrepreneur – David co-founded TheStreet.com, an Internet pioneer, with Jim Cramer during the dot.com days in the early 90’s -- he spoke of the growth in entrepreneurial pursuits being greater than even the Internet boom, and how this young generation is circumventing traditional career paths. Don Flow, our Forum’s keynote speaker and the CEO of Flow Automotive Companies, discussed the theological concept of shalom – or God’s wholeness - behind best practices in his group of car dealerships. His company, with sales of about $650 million, is a wonderful example of integration of the Gospel and corporate behavior!

Our morning session continued with a panel of three entrepreneurs speaking on the topic of “seeking excellence.” Sang Ahn, one of our steering committee members, moderated this panel of entrepreneurs representing arts, for-profit, and not-for-profit ventures. Nick Purdy, founding publisher of Paste magazine, Michael Bontrager, founder of Chatham Financial, and Scott Harrison, photojournalist and founder of Charity:Water, provided wonderful insights about their respective organizations and their potential gospel impact. The audience was particularly moved by Scott Harrison’s photographic presentation of Africans who suffer from unclean drinking water. All the three panelists’ stories of seeking to work according to the gospel, innovate to meet needs, and serve justice were inspiring.

The afternoon featured two parts – Tim Keller’s message on the theme of “a more excellent way” and a panel of experienced investors who seek to be good stewards of God’s resources. Tim Keller’s presence and spiritual teachings has been a mainstay of each Forum. His message focused on the images of human flourishing, referencing St. Augustine’s concepts of “the City of Man” and “the City of God.” To simplify, the City of Man is a culture based on human pride and power while the City of God is a culture based on love. St. Augustine’s work was in response to the tension between the pagans and the Christians in Rome. Tim reminded us to stay close to God and do what we do for “the love of people”. This love and our grounding in it, is the more excellent way.

Carter Hinckley, a member of our steering committee, moderated the investor panel. Bill Hwang, founding and Managing Partner of Tiger Asia Management, Emmanuel A. Kampouris, founder of Kairos Journal and former Chairman and CEO of American Standard Companies, Inc., and Chuck Stetson, founder of PEI Funds and President of the Bible Literacy Project, shared some of their business and investment perspectives. This esteemed panel has invested in for-profit ventures, investment funds, churches, and people. All three panelists shared a range of projects that were important to them.

The Forum moved at a brisk pace and ended with sunshine coming through the curtains. Initial feedback from our participants has been spectacularly positive. Participants were excited by the content, inspired and moved by the speakers, and had fun trying to make new helpful connections. All in all, our third Entrepreneurship Forum re-engaged our “investors” - the investors of money, time, and talent, the entrepreneurs, and pastors and church leaders – in this church-based pioneering movement to nurture innovation and entrepreneurship to the service of the gospel.

Redemptive Advertising? Why Not?

Guest speaker Quentin Shultze discusses redemptive advertising on Friday, March 28 at Redeemer offices.

 Arts Month Kicks Off with Biennial Tour
On Saturday, April 5, twenty Redeemerites toured the world-famous Biennial exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art on the Upper East Side. The first event of Redeemer’s month-long arts emphasis, it was a great example of the way experiencing world-class art in community can increase our enjoyment and understanding of it.

Participants got a unique perspective by having artists guide the trip. The tour was coordinated by Redeemer artist Esther Lee, who was joined by artist/educator Jim Daichendt. Before the group entered the museum, Esther and Jim gave an overview of the exhibition. While touring through it, they also talked about different pieces.

The Whitney Biennial is the exhibition that “everyone loves to hate,” according to Daichendt. It began? in 1932, and has become the premiere event to “take the temperature” of the American art scene. The participating artists are invited by each Biennial exhibition’s curators, whose own perspectives and tastes influence the type of artists (and work) chosen.

Of course, critics and art patrons frequently object that the artists who are chosen are not “representative” of what is happening within American contemporary art. Still, it is the exhibition that the world looks to every other year to get a glimpse into what American artists are thinking about and working on. This year, most of the artwork was created especially for the Biennial, and some of it was created specifically for its location within the museum.

We encourage you to visit the Biennial, on display through June 1. Adult tickets are $15, and the museum is open until 6pm Wednesday through Sunday, except for Fridays, when it is open until 9pm. Click here for more information on the Biennial, the artists, and the works included.

This was the first of many “April is Arts Month” events, including weekly group outings to arts events on Saturdays. All Saturday events will include background information and discussions led by Redeemer artists. Many other April events have space available and are free of charge.

Tickets are still available for our April 12 visit to the Morgan Museum’s exhibition of photographs by celebrity portraitist Irving Penn, to our April 26 trip to the Joyce Theatre to see world-famous Scapino Ballet Rotterdam, and to upcoming “Movie Mondays” and “Theater Tuesdays.” Visit www.faithandwork.org/april for more information.

RedeemerWrites Magazine
ON SALE! Purchases can be made online or after worship services from March 16 through the end of April. Click here to purchase online. If you are a writer or someone who loves reading and wants to support Redeemer artists, please click here for submission guidelines or purchases.

Why Work? Business, Professions, the Common Good
Katherine Leary, director of the Center for Faith and Work, joined David Brooks and other national leading spokespersons at Wake Forest University to look at the integration of faith and work in a pluralistic society. The conference was March 27-28. For more information on the guest speakers and topics, please click here.

Contact:
cfw@redeemer.com