When Helping Hurts

When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor…and Yourself by Steve Corbett & Brian Fikkert is an in your (our) face critique of the way individuals and churches often approach missions — the wrong way.  Both men serve in the economics department at Covenant College in Chattanooga, TN (a PCA school for those unfamiliar with Covenant). They have also served extensively in missions, both in going and in training.  So their observations are worth noting both didactically and practically.

One of the main concerns the book points out is what is called the “god complex” that many in America have when it comes to the work of missions around the globe, particularly  in alleviating poverty in poor nations. This “god-complex” is defined by one author as something “the economically rich often have… a subtle and unconscious sense of superiority in which they believe that they have achieved their wealth through their own efforts and that they have been anointed to decide what is best fo low-income people, whom they view as inferior to themselves.”  As the authors note, few are conscious of having a god-complex, which presents a major problem in missions in poverty: One of the biggest problems in many poverty-alleviation efforts is that their design and implementation exacerbates the poverty of being economically rich–their god-complexes–and the poverty of being of the economically poor–their feelings of inferiority (p. 65).

This “poverty of being” is a reminder that we all suffer from poverty, we all have broken relationships that need to be restored.  This is the essence of poverty: Poverty is the result of relationships that do not work, that are not just, that are not for life, that are not harmonious or enjoyable (p. 62).  Poverty then is rooted in these broken relationships with (1) God, (2) self, (3) others, and (4) the rest of creation.  Obviously, then, all suffer from poverty as an effect of the Fall.  Every human being is poor in the sense of lacking in these four areas of relationship.

So how do we work to alleviate poverty?  We need a paradigm shift in our approach to missions that begins by recognizing our poverty (“god-complexes”) and the brokenness experienced by all mankind.  The key to alleviation is to reconcile these relationships so that others can live in right relation to God, self, others, and His creation.  Then we can move forward — but how?  We must then discern what is needed to alleviate the poverty: Relief, rehabilitation, or development. “Relief” is an urgent and temporary provision of emergency aid to reduce immediate suffering from a natural or man-made crisis.  “Rehabilitation” begins as soon as the bleeding stops and seeks to restore people and their communities to the positive elements of their precrisis conditions.  “Development” is a process of ongoing change that moves all the people involved–both the “helpers” and the “helped”–closer to being in relationship with God, self, others, and the rest of creation.  Development is not done to people or for people but with people.  One of the biggest mistakes that North American churches make–by far–is in applying relief in situations in which rehabilitation or development is the appropriate intervention (pp.103-105).

The book then offers ways in which individuals and churches can design and implement practices that are helpful in alleviating poverty. I strongly recommend this book to all who have a heart for missions, whether it be at home urban and suburban or internationally.  It is possible that while our hearts might be right, our methods can be disastrous.

Words of Wisdom about Facebook

Doug Phillips wrote a brief yet excellent post for Kevin DeYoung concerning the good and the bad about Facebook using Ephesians 4:29 as a biblical basis.  I think you will find this edifying.

Keller to Young Pastors

Tim Keller has an excellent post concerning early ministry, “The Country Parson.“  Here is his introduction to the post:

Young pastors or seminarians often ask me for advice on what kind of early ministry experience to seek in order to best grow in skill and wisdom as a pastor. They often are surprised when I tell them to consider being a ‘country parson’ — namely, the solo pastor of a small church, many or most of which are in non-urban settings. Let me quickly emphasize the word ‘consider.’ I would never insist that everyone must follow this path. Nevertheless, it is worth thinking about. It was great for me.

His insight in this matter is much needed today. This is “where the rubber meets the road.”

Passion in You?

Kevin DeYoung has a post that looks like the beginning of a series on “Reaching the Next Generation.”  It is a good read and one that should challenge pastors and workers.  One word of caution — I preached on unity yesterday and I think it important to consider what it is we are passionate about.  DeYoung does mention this in a rather cursory way (in fairness to him – it is a blog).  Passion should not (must not) disrupt the unity of the body — unless of course we are passionate about the right things.  We must examine ourselves and pray that the Spirit of God inform us if we are in fact being passionate for Jesus or simply passionate for our own passions or the devil’s substitute (remember, deception is his most fiery dart).

Of course, a second word of caution that I know DeYoung would also agree with — we must not become so absorbed in reaching the next generation that we lose the present one.  I am thankful at what I see taking place in the lives of young people today.  I do believe there is a real spirit of revival happening.  They have caused the evangelical church to take a long and candid look at the work of the ministry.  But we need the older, mature generation to help guard against an overzealousness that sometimes comes with passion (that is not to say that the older can’t be overzealous as well).  You certainly cannot be overzealous about Jesus, but you can have a misguided passion the moment you take your eyes off of Christ and His body, the Church.

The Pastor as Missionary

Conrad Mbewe preached this message at SBFYC two summers ago. I was once again encouraged by it as I read it this morning.

Philippians 1:1-6
Pastor Conrad Mbewe
SBFYC 2007 Session 1 – Tuesday AM

We make choices in life – our place of education, our life partner, where to attend church, whether to come to this camp, etc. What makes us decide one thing over another? Surely, it is because we put weight upon the importance of certain things that inform our choice. Why have you decided that to be here this week is the best for you? Why was it a better choice for me to cross the globe to be here rather than be with my family at home? What makes this week so important? It is in answering this question that we see the importance of being “partners in the gospel.” It is because of this that we will shed any number of perceived responsibilities. It is because of this that Paul wrote this epistle, this letter written from prison. Yet, we do not get the impression that Paul thought his imprisonment unfair. In fact, it is a joyful letter, so joyful that we forget that he was in prison. Why the joy? Because of his joy in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is what excited him. But on this occasion he was further excited by the partnership he had with the Philippians in the gospel (v. 5).

Why should Paul be excited about it?

1. Because of the fact of the Fall. We need to realize as we live our lives that human beings are not as they were when God first created Adam and Eve. Something terrible happened sometime. The historic event of the Fall is found in Genesis 3:1-7. Eve, making her way around the Garden, was engaged in conversation with a serpent used by Satan. They took and they ate of the fruit.

The result can be described as being blinded. That is true today. We will blindly accept any teaching today just so that we can explain away the reality that God is and that He holds us accountable.

The Fall can also be described by the term totally depraved. We are polluted, always going in the opposite direction rather than the way that God wants us to go. Because of this, we deserve His wrath and His anger. Because He is a just and holy God, He must, He must, He must punish sin.

Evidence of the Fall is all around us. We read it in the papers and see it on the news daily. Why is this? Because some people are better than others? No, that is not it at all. It is because we are fallen creatures. The darkness and death that surrounds us in our communities lies within our hearts. We still want to passionately pursue that which is destructive. Why? Because we are born a fallen creature. God cannot accept us into heaven with that kind of heart because we would immediately want to dethrone Him. That describes our fallenness.

2. God’s rescue mission. Thankfully, God has dealt with it! He has come into the situation with good news – the gospel. Genesis 3 does not end without God bringing in this good news (Gen. 3:15). In the midst of cursing the serpent, He announces the Messiah. At the time this came, they could not appreciate fully what God was saying. But by the time of the New Testament it is clear. God said that He was going to send His Son to destroy the serpent. He would do whatever it takes, including the Cross. Satan would fight against Him, but Satan would be crushed. This is the good news, the gospel, of John 3:16. Stand back for a moment and recognize this. In this dark and hopeless world, God has not sat back but He has acted with the gospel. He brought this news. He has given us the Bible. He has spoken in the Bible. If He had not spoken, we could worship the birds in the sky or beautiful flowers but we could never have known and understood His forgiveness. But when we read His Word we understand the truth and the way of His forgiveness. He has given us His Son, His Word, and also His Spirit to enlighten our darkened minds. Any time a person turns from sin in true repentance to Christ by faith it is an act of God Himself. Thus, we abandon sin and cling to the Cross.

3. The need to get this good news to the world. Paul was excited about this partnership with the Philippians because of the need to get the gospel to every human being. He was imprisoned and persecuted for doing this very thing, for proclaiming that in the midst of this darkness, God has sent His Son to rescue you from the darkness. Some did not want to hear this and threw him into prison.

Our greatest joy is to get this good news to every human being. You cannot do it by yourself. You cannot go it alone. That is why God has called His Church to partner together in this endeavor. This is accomplished primarily through the preaching of the gospel. Paul did not simply volunteer for this. Paul in his spiritual being sensed God’s call to go and tell others of the good news, to go and rescue them from darkness and deliver them to light. And the apostle Paul said, “Send me.”

This is the way that God has always worked. In the Old Testament, He called and sent His prophets. He told them to go and proclaim His message to the people. In the New Testament, He called and sent His apostles to proclaim His Son to the nations. Today, others know this calling and with both hands they hold the plow and throw all of their weight into the work of the gospel. Some stay home, some go abroad, but all follow God’s calling to proclaim His message of saving sinners through His Son Jesus Christ.

Has God been speaking to you about being His primary spokesman to let others hear and know this good news? Then do not let the pull of the world lead you to be a disobedient Christian. Cry out, “Here I am, Send me.” Make this conference the decisive moment when you say like Paul, “Lord, what would you have me to do?”