Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Have you heard of Time Banking?

Last night at our weekly missional learning community, we listened to Ron talk about a concept known as time banking. I recommend that you browse their website and see what they're about.

I was captivated because it dovetales amazingly with part of the vision for CovenantClusters, but it also expands the possibilities. I also downloaded a special edition pdf by the founder (for a modest donation) Priceless Money: Banking Time for Changing Times. It outlines their five foundational principles and gives you a quick grasp on what these folks are about.

And this is right on the heels of my current experience with what I'm now thinking about calling Yoke Buddies: Helping Each other Share the Load.

You may remember, back in the throes of the horrible flu, that I had quite an epiphany about needing to ask for help in my quest for the 15 minute a day house transformation project. It was actually a paradigm shift for me to realize that I could not get things under control "my way" ... I needed a plan that was workable. I needed to "eat this elephant" the only way possible: one bite at a time. I just cannot tell you what a blessing my "house fairy" has been these past two weeks -- and what a lift it has been to the mood in our home.

Well, I have decided that I might need to start Yoke Buddies in my area as a way for folks to tangibly love one another ... because everyone has 15 minutes to help another!

And that might be a great lead-in to the whole Time Banking concept....

Yoked together with Jesus already.

2 comments:

brad/futuristguy said...

so far, have only had time to skim some of the basics at the time banking site. the concept is intriguing, and one place i've seen a similar idea/ideal is in the occasional hints of the bartering system in the series based on the utopian world of Dinotopia by James Gurney. there, an hour of labor in one trade or skill is valued the same as an hour in any other trade or skill. hmmm ... sort of sounds like the Body of Christ with gifts differing but all valued and all needed ...

looking forward to finding out more ...

AbiSomeone said...

Well...Robert is wondering why I haven't already ordered the Start-Up Kit, which is a good sign. ;^)

Yes, it is very much the Body of Christ thing...and it is a wonderful way to reach out missionally as well as incarnationally to one's neighborhood as a whole because it is not a "religious" thing!

Their value of each person, with their motto of "No more throw-away people", speaks a powerful challenge to the church to step up and get with the program.

I can feel a blog series coming on.... ;^)