The Wrong People

When investors look into a potential investment they are interested in making sure that they are investing in the right people. They also might hope that the right people have the right strategies, tactics, and expected outcomes. At the Well we invest in people all the time. While we don't deal with a lot of money it still wouldn't be wrong to refer to us as investors. We invest in people with hopes of returns. Our strategy and tactic however is that we invest in those whom your traditinal investors would probably consider the wrong people. We look for those who are having a hard time, those who struggle with mental health issus, those who are unemployed, those who are isolated, and we invest in them. We do this because we believe it is right and we believe it is also the right strategy. 

There is a passage from the bible that you may know, even if you don't know the bible well, thanks to Bob Marley: "The stone that the builders refused has become the head cornerstone." 

Have you ever worked on or visited a construction site? Do you know where you might find stones that the bulders refused? I have and I know exactly where you find them. You find the rejected stones in the trash pile. God, it seems, is a dumpster diver. Gathering stones, even the keystone itself, from the refuse pile and assembling them into a kingdom. 

This is why we believe that working with the folks that our society has rejected is exactly the way that God would have us invest in our city. It is with these stones that the builders refused that the kingdom of God will be made known. Just as life springs from the compost heap so glory rises from ashes. We stand with the despised and rejected and we invest every bit of our time and energy and resources in them because we know that these "wrong people" are exactly right for the work of redemption in Tampa.