Repaso: Guatemalan Protestantism, capitalism and the poor, book review rules, and more

1. The migration of Guatemalan Protestantism
The Chattanooga Times Free Press has an article focusing on Guatemalan Protestants, both in that city and in Guatemala. It’s a bit scattered, to me anyway, but interesting nonetheless. Some good background on spiritual and religious trends among Guatemalans:

What makes Guatemala different from the rest of Latin America? Guatemala has a long history of Protestant missionaries coming from the United States, one that begins in the late 1800s and early 1900s, said Timothy Steigenga, chairman of social science and humanities at the Wilkes Honors College of Florida Atlantic University. He studies Guatemalan religion and politics. The missionaries planted “the seed,” Chattanooga’s García said. “Now the majority of Hispanic pastors here are from Guatemala. What the United States sowed, the harvest is now coming here."

2. Capitalizing with the poor
The Q blog has a post spotlighting three companies/organizations experimenting with multiple bottom lines in order to better serve the poor. Nothing too groundbreaking here for those who have followed the emergence of CSR (corporate social responsibility) and social entrepreneurship, but some encouraging examples anyway. The conclusion:

There certainly are tensions caused by profit seeking enterprises operating in poor areas of the world. Good intentions are not enough. Careful attention must be paid to sound ethics and definitions of “development” that transcend economic gains alone. No single sector can end poverty on its own, including business. Many governments and NGO’s are already playing critical roles. Given the influence of business and the need to reclaim its legitimacy, however, this is an opportune time for business to act as a key player in alleviating poverty. The world needs the wealth creation, knowledge transfer, and ability to scale that businesses excel at.

3. Rules for reviewing books
Alissa Wilkinson at the Cardus blog has some great pointers for those of us who review books. Three of the pointers are tried and true hand-me-downs, three are her own, all six are solid. I especially like the final one:

6. Remember: It’s usually better to start a conversation than close it down.

4. Books on why poor countries remain poor
Christine Jeske, a fellow alumnus of Eastern University who’s now teaching some classes there, has a good recommended list of books on poverty and development on her blog. I made one suggested addition to the list.

5. Stephan Bauman’s blog
World Relief’s new president has started a blog, and I think it’ll be a good one. From his introductory post:

We’re close to a tipping point on poverty. Perhaps we’ve reached it. When more people in the middle think about the 2 or 3 billion people on the edge, it’s a good thing. Still we need to do our best to make sense of it all. What help is good help? What kind of change lasts? How do we best sort through the choices that confront us everyday? If, in fact, we are called to change the world, how do we go about it in the best way possible?