An Evangelical Christian Pastor Is Called to Support a Values-Aligned Bank

the challenge: meeting investor expectations

An Evangelical Christian Pastor Talks About His Role as a Member of the First Green Bank Board of Directors

Rev. Hunter has been criticized by his Christian conservative community for serving as a spiritual advisor to President Obama.

In March, Reverend Joel Hunter attended the Global Alliance for Banking on Values Annual Meeting in Paris in his role as a member of the board of directors of First Green Bank. Hunter is the long-time senior pastor of Northland, A Church Distributed, a 20,000 member Christian Evangelical church with three sites in Central Florida and many around the world.The author of A New Kind of Conservative, Rev. Hunter has been an often lone, but vocal advocate for economic and social justice causes in the conservative community and for the need for consensus building in our increasingly polarized body politic. He has been criticized by some in the Christian conservative movement for serving as a spiritual advisor to President Obama and delivering the benediction at the 2008 Democratic Convention. He served a short tenure as president of the Christian Coalition in 2006, resigning shortly after accepting the role because the Coalition was not ready to broaden its agenda to include the equity and justice issues that Rev. Hunter champions. Here he talks about why he joined the board of First Green Bank and the conciliatory role he hopes to play among those of the bank’s board members and investors who are uneasy with the bank’s stated values-driven mission.

How do you see alignment in your roles as director of a bank with regenerative values and as a leader of a conservative Christian community?
I didn’t agree to being on the Board of First Green Bank because of my banking expertise! I did it because I have been a long-time advocate nationally and internationally for what Christians call “creation care.” For a Christian the scripture is really clear on this. It was the first order in the Garden of Eden, Genesis 2 15: “And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and to keep it.” That order was never rescinded, it never expired. That wonderful gift we were given should continue to be a resource for everyone, especially the poor.

Advocacy for the sustainability of this planet is really advocacy for the poor and the vulnerable. We don’t want to just protect the earth because it is a nice place, but we want to protect it for those who are living on a thin line between survival and non-survival.

Part of my advocacy is to reduce pollution, especially the carbon footprint, because the most immediately harmed by the increasing poisoning of our atmosphere are those least able to cope with it. So advocacy for the sustainability of this planet is really advocacy for the poor and the vulnerable. We don’t want to just protect the earth because it is a nice place, but we want to protect it for those who are living on a thin line between survival and non-survival. They have no margin, no buffers between life and death. I am also on the leadership board of Momentus. Our goal is to add to the earth’s capability of production and cultivation. That coincides with the regenerative goal you are talking about. So when Ken broached the subject with me about creating a bank that was more inclined toward the value not only of sustainability but values in general rather than mere profit, I was interested. Here was a member of my congregation who was putting into practice what I believe. I felt that was something to be encouraged and supported.

You have been a leader in advocating for a new Evangelical Christian movement where the issues of the environment and of social justice take center stage. Has that been at times a difficult role to assume?
Our Evangelical section of the Christian family has been the last ones to the table on this. We have had some pretty faulty theology in that people rationalize that the Lord could come back at any moment and it will all be burned up anyhow so why harm the economy now for some long-term goal that may never be achieved? Several of us believe that is the wrong reading of scripture. It is also true that some in the conservative movement are a lot more hostile to the cause of environmental care because they have opted more for realizing the immediate profits that come from exploitation of the earth. Also given the current political environment it is now hard for some to advocate for what is traditionally the ground of the liberal and mainline denominations. Conservative evangelicals are usually on the other side of that aisle.

I am a spiritual advisor to the President and I have taken beatings because of that relationship. But ultimately what is good for us all will require some of us in the most resistant community to stand up and say, no, this is what we all need to do.

I am a spiritual advisor to the President and I have taken beatings because of that relationship. But ultimately what is good for us all will require some of us in the most resistant community to stand up and say, no, this is what we all need to do. It is not only about obedience to the God we say we love, it is in the long run not only good for the poor, but also for those better off too, for overall economic prosperity. It will be a longer process but it is not at all an impossible subject to broach with conservatives. It will take a few earlier adopters to stand up.

As a spiritual leader who has dealt with attempting to bring your congregation into alignment with what you believe are fundamental Christian values, what do you think you can contribute to the board of First Green Bank?

There is an inclination in many of us to maximize profits and a disinclination to follow our deeper values.

Some board members and investors came on because Ken is a tremendously gifted entrepreneurial leader and they accepted the First Green Bank mission because they knew they were getting Ken’s expertise at making money along with it. But as the bank becomes more and more prosperous, it is a funny thing what money does. You would think it would make people more open to do the right thing but for some it makes them more intrigued with how much more money they can make. There is an inclination in many of us to maximize profits and a disinclination to follow our deeper values. So some are now feeling they care less about the values mission and just want to make the maximum amount of profits from their investment in the bank. There has also been a certain amount of conflict on the board of directors and I see myself in a peacemaker role there.

In order to raise sufficient capital to accomplish your values mission you also take on large investors whose focus is making money. Then you have the task with those investors to continue to remind them that the bank exists because of its ethical values and not just for profits. It is a continuing conversation and dialog.

With a venture like this you always want investors who come in because of the values you are promoting, and, yes, there will be people with means who invest with that as their main concern. We have had several of those as board members and investors. But in order to raise sufficient capital to accomplish your values mission you also take on large investors whose focus is making money. Then you have the task with those investors to continue to remind them that the bank exists because of its ethical values and not just for profits. It is a continuing conversation and dialog and it has to be brought up again and again because it is very easy in any financial institution to be totally focused on finance. Ken is really good at this in his core and as long as we can keep him as our leader I think we will stay on course.I’ve had similar experiences with our congregation. We have had a few people who have left, a few leaders on the board of elders who were dissatisfied with the stands I have taken. But there are others again who have said, you have been faithful to us, have always done what you said you would do, I may disagree with your advocacy for____________ (fill in the blank) but overall I will trust you because you have been a consistent leader. If you are faithful and consistent maybe you don’t expect to be applauded every second, but ultimately your leadership will succeed.

You will be attending the Global Alliance for Banking on Values annual conference in Paris in March as a member of the First Green Bank Board. What are you hoping to take away from that experience?
I enjoyed attending the Global Alliance for Banking on Values annual conference in Paris in March as a member of the First Green Bank Board. I became acquainted with a network of bankers who put the well-being of people and community above simply being profitable. We discussed solutions to the horrible epidemic of predatory lending, where the most vulnerable are being exploited. I had my antenna up for anything that could be of use to the faith communities, such as credit unions, to help those who are disadvantaged. Faith communities have tremendous opportunities to help people in need, both by traditional banking systems and by more tailored ways of financing.

more on meeting investor expectations:

David Raab, President of Roseville Farms & FGB Investor
"Kenny has proven that values and banking are not mutually exclusive."
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Jim Gissy, VP, Westgate Resorts and FGB Investor
“I like the idea that their focus is thinking about sustainability of the environment. What good will it do if the environment is screwed up? It won’t matter how much money you have.”
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Marc and Terry Godt of Green Isle Gardens
...were not looking for short-term profit—but to make a long-term investment in their community and in a business they knew was aligned with their values—when they became shareholders in First Green Bank.
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