Book Review: Recovering Abundance by Andy Stanton-Henry
I’ve been reading up a storm in 2024 (both fiction and non-fiction reads.) Books are only as good as the company with which you can discuss them, so I wanted to give my followers an inside look to some of my reading this year. Many of the books I’m reading this year center around community building, strengthening smaller communities, and how to foster more community engagement (especially in the age of the internet.) My latest read is actually a book I bought somewhat by accident, Recovering Abundance: Twelve Practices for Small-Town Leaders by Andy Stanton-Henry.
When I say I bought a book “somewhat by accident”, what I mean is that I looked at the title and the cover and added it to my cart without reading the book jacket summary or any reviews. As a result, this book is more focused on community development through the lens of faith community leaders and brings a lot of Biblical context into that topic. If that’s not your thing, I totally get it. I had already paid for the book and it was outside the return window, so I gave it a read anyway and found some great nuggets within it.
The short version of the book
Author Andy Stanton-Henry weaves together twelve principals of community development based on biblical context, including: retreat, discernment, stability, inventory, imagination, organizing, hospitality, grounding, gratitude, generosity, solidarity, and memory. Much of the book focuses on the New Testament gospels. Again, if you aren’t into a religious lens of community development, I’d skip this read.
Stanton-Henry references well-known names, concepts, and titles in the community development space such as Richard Florida (The Rise of the Creative Class), the concept of “rural brain drain”, Robert Putnam (Bowling Alone), asset-based community development, and creative placemaking. I never expected to find such an intersection of placemaking and community development references in a text about faith-based communities! It was fascinating to see how strong, invested church communities embody many of the same characteristics and challenges of the communities which those churches are in.
Some of my favorite takeaways
The social mobility many of us are able to exercise now (moving on versus working and staying “invested” in one place) can be a direct contributor to harming our communities. We are quick to judge that folks who move on from a place are “disinvested”, but we must also ask the question “did we ensure those who left felt connected and that they had the social capital to choose to stay and fight for their community?” We need to take some ownership in WHY people left versus placing all blame on those who did not stay.
We all know that change is hard, but any of my friends in local government or community development who worked to change policy, frameworks, or to bring greater equity to a community know just how heels-dug-in-resistant even the most progressive places can be. Part of facilitating change in a community is allowing space to grieve the old, celebrate the gifts of the past, and lament the pain of moving onto something different. Community members do have to face reality that holding onto the past can spell a future death sentence, but should be given space and grace to approach change thoughtfully.
It is imperative to find a healthy balance between stagnation and loss of identity. Stanton-Henry notes that you can’t be hospitable as a community if you lack self confidence. Remaining secure in what your identity is as a community gives you the confidence to know where you to say “yes” and where to say “that’s not the right fit for us”.
Shifting from a mindest of charity to solidarity: Stanton-Henry talks about the top-to-bottom nature of charity. Charity highlights a disparity in resources and reinforces power and value differences. Solidarity is horizontal and is demonstrated by people coming together to create systems, relationships, and opportunities that benefit all. One of my favorite analogies in this book: Charity is a soup kitchen; Solidarity is a pot luck.
The cult of nostalgia is real. In the final chapter of the book, The Practice of Memory, Stanton-Henry shares the scientific concept from addiction studies of “euphoric recall”. in this concept, the brains of individuals who suffer from addiction are rewired to only remember the positives of the past and substance use. In reality, addiction, as well as the communities do have negative experiences and memories. We choose (or are wired) to think of all of our best days being in the past. The reality is that the good old days weren’t always so good, but there are good NEW days to come.
Some of my favorite quotes
“The memories of our ancestors nor the futures of our children are honored by allowing our town to die a slow, stubborn, and painful death.”
“Hospitality is the signature of not only an abundant community, but also a confident one.”
“A weed is a plant whose virtues are yet to be discovered.”
“We cannot shame people into the future.”
“Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present.”
