1. Philanthropists and the Reformation
Andrew Jones, who blogs at Tall Skinny Kiwi, has a fascinating brief history lesson from Prague about the connections between the Reformation and businesspeople:

Normally, when theologians tell the story, they focus on the doctrinal changes of the Reformation and honor the theologians like Wyclif, Hus, Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, etc. But the story would not be the same without the businessmen and philanthropists who made it happen.

2. A woman who’s using the media to expose corruption In Guatemala
Fast Company has a profile of Sylvia Gereda, who is taking significant risks to uncover stories about drug trafficking, femicide and corruption. It’s a great reminder of what journalism can be when it isn’t reduced to entertainment or big business:

Journalism is perhaps the best tool for exposing corruption; once corrupt institutions are shoved into the spotlight, they tend to shrink back. But while some of us in the U.S. take quality investigative journalism for granted, real reporting isn’t easy to come by in other countries. Enter Sylvia Gereda, one of the founders of Guatemala’s first independent newspaper.

3. Malnutrition and GHI in Guatemala
GlobalPost takes a look at Obama’s Global Health Initiative (GHI), and the impact it is — or isn’t — having in the western highlands of Guatemala, the region where I lived as a kid:

Slow in its implementation and hampered by little new money, GHI is targeting Mayan women and children in the mostly indigenous Western Highlands, a mountainous area with a single maize harvest per year. The strategy’s cornerstone is reducing one of the highest rates of chronic malnutrition in the world. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, only Afghanistan and Yemen fare worse. Half of all Guatemalan children under five are stunted and in the Western Highlands, it’s seven out of 10.

4. Five questions for Josh Garrels
Noisetrade has an interview with Josh Garrels, one of my new favorite artists. You may recall I featured two of his music videos a couple weeks ago. Here’s an excerpt from the interview:

I’ve always known that choosing to explore the intricacies of my faith in Christ would be a potential disconnection for many listeners. Yet, I’ve been compelled to do so, not out of a sense of obligation or to proselytize, but because when I’m honest with myself … I can’t escape how interesting, mysterious, and life-changing the whole thing is. I turn these things over in my mind and heart a lot, and the songs become a sort of tool or vehicle for me to flesh out what’s happening within. I do this as much for me as for the listener.