Our guest is Donna Harris, Founder of Builders + Backers, a movement of community-focused entrepreneurs.
In this episode, Andy and Donna Harris discuss the biblical practice of lament as an essential step to deal faithfully and productively with the uncertainty and loss that all of us face in a worldwide pandemic.
Lament is an encounter with God that precedes redemptive action. In lament we approach God in a way that “enfolds complaint with trust” in his sovereignty and goodness. Donna discusses a six-part flow of lament:
Crying out to God
Affirming trust in God
Petitioning God to restore
Making additional arguments
Expressing rage against loss and injustice
Praising God in assurance of his promises to hear us
Donna’s main thesis is that lament is not only essential for processing our grief, but also for effective problem-solving and creative action in the face of crisis. She reveals how lament has fueled the Be a Neighbor Campaign, which mobilizes volunteers and entrepreneurs to serve needs and solve problems created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
About The Guest
Donna Harris is Founder of Builders + Backers, Co-Founder & Managing Partner of 1776 Ventures, and was previously Managing Director of the Startup America Partnership. As a board member of both the Global Entrepreneurship Network and the National Center for Entrepreneurship, an Advisor to the Economic Innovation Group, a Distinguished Fellow of the Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship at The Busch School, and an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Georgetown University, Donna works to inspire entrepreneurs to create companies of impact and to become leaders in their communities. She avidly believes in the power of entrepreneurial thinking to drive culture change and collective flourishing and she frequently gives keynote talks to inspire it at conferences and on college campuses around the world.
The Redemptive Edge is hosted by Andy Crouch and features active members of the Praxis community. Produced by Mary Elizabeth Goodell and Scott Kauffmann of Praxis, with Mike Cosper, Mark Owens, Scott Slucher, and the team at Narrativo. Music by Eric Kinny.