Some Proposals for a Christian Response to Poverty, Concluding Thoughts and New Questions

I wonder where we can go with these five proposals.  The purpose of the essay series was to explore the church’s response to poverty and uncover some of the information needed to make a decision about what proper responses could look like.  I hope that I painted poverty as a complex issue that is not simply about dollars and cents.  If I am correct about the complexity of poverty, the church’s response must be equally complex.  Serving the poor is not as simple as throwing money at poverty.  

Some Proposals for a Christian Response to Poverty, Part 6b

Yesterday’s proposition made me ask some “What If?” questions.  I decided to deal with these questions in a separate essay.  I’m hoping that splitting these remarks will allow my proposal that the church has an ordained role in society and that it should act within it to be considered purely as an idea to agree with or disagree with.  Once its validity as an idea is decided upon, we can discuss potential problems with implementing the idea and hopefully come to some solutions.  My questions are:

• What if the government does not listen to a prophecy that extols justice and the elimination of poverty? 
• What if someone is guilty of being unjust, but the state is not that someone? 
• What if the church and state become too closely linked?   

Some Proposals For a Christian Response to Poverty, Part 6a

My last essay proposed how the response to poverty fits into the church’s mission and identity.  I now want to propose where the church fits into the response to poverty.  This is an important idea to consider.  It would appear that the church has a diminished role because other groups – whether international governments or assorted NGO’s – address poverty effectively.  Does the church even have a role anymore?  I want to suggest that it does and will therefore define my fifth proposal as: 

When the church takes action to address poverty, it must act within its God-ordained role in society.   

For the sake of clarity, I will split this essay into two parts.  In 6a (which you are reading now), I will present the proposal.  In 6b (which you will undoubtedly return to this blog to read tomorrow), I will present some possible problems with the proposal and suggest potential solutions.

Some Proposals for a Christian Response to Poverty, Part 5

I would now like to consider the context within which the church should address poverty.  The next two essays will consider, first, where the church’s response to poverty should exist within its life as a worshipping and evangelizing people and, second, where the church should exist within the overall response to poverty.  I would now like to make my fourth proposal:

The church’s response to poverty is in the context of worship and evangelism.  This response is the whole of neither, however.

Some Proposals for a Christian Response to Poverty, Part 4

Note: It may be helpful to read this essay along side my previous essay What I Mean By "Justice".

Note # 2: This posting is quite late.  Some other commitments, unfortunately, had to take priority.  Apologies.  I hope to get back on track this Friday with Part 5 of this series.

To this point in the essay series Some Proposals for a Christian Response to Poverty, I have established why I believe that it is imperative for the church to have a response for poverty. In my last essay, I suggested that the church’s response should have two aspects and considered why almsgiving is one of these aspects.  I would now like to address the second aspect of the church’s response:

Development work by the church must be alongside the oppressed to create transformative justice.

Some Proposals for a Christian Response to Poverty, Part 3

Two weeks ago, I made my first proposal regarding a Christian response to poverty when I wrote that a Christian understanding of poverty acknowledges that the church must respond to poverty.

Over the next two essays, I will claim that the church’s response to poverty will have two aspects.  The first of these aspects will be my second proposal regarding a Christian response to poverty: 

A Christian response to poverty must include meeting immediate needs via almsgiving.

Some Proposals for a Christian Response to Poverty, Part 2

In my introductory essay to this series, I provided a definition of poverty and suggested a couple of factors that can lead to poverty.  I now want to make some proposals about what the church’s response to poverty should look like.  Each proposal will build off the last.

I took a big leap just now when I assumed that the church has a requirement to respond to poverty.  Someone may ask a good and reasonable question:  What does this have to do with the church?  Governments, secular NGOs, and everyday people already respond to poverty.  Is there any reason for the church to do so as well?[1]  I believe that there are several reasons.  I therefore want to propose that:   

A Christian understanding of poverty acknowledges that the church must respond to poverty.

Some Proposals for a Christian Response to Poverty, Part 1

Something is wrong.  Public service announcements show images of children in absolute destitution.  These announcements are sandwiched between advertisements promising to make you more popular, better looking, and happier.  It is commonplace for people on city streets ask passersby for change or food.  Such requests are framed by luxury storefronts that light up the night behind them.  Newscasts casually move from program cuts and poverty rates to million-dollar athletes, must have gadgets to replace last year’s must have gadgets, and columns delivering gossip about celebrities.  It is impossible to miss the contrast.  This series of essays will explore the issue of poverty in light of the Christian faith.  I will make five proposals to include in a Christian understanding of poverty, as outlined in yesterday’s post.

Bibliography - Some Proposals for a Christian Response to Poverty Essay Series

I am beginning a new series of seven essays tomorrow.  These essays will consider the church’s historical and theological response to poverty and intend to make five proposals to the church regarding its response to poverty.  The schedule for this series will be one essay every second Friday. 

November 18 – Introduction

December 2 – Proposal # 1: A Christian understanding to poverty acknowledges that the church must respond to poverty.

December 16 – Proposal # 2: A Christian response to poverty must include meeting immediate needs via almsgiving.

December 30 – Proposal # 3: Development work by the church must be alongside the oppressed to create transformative justice. 

January 13 – Proposal #4: The church’s response to poverty is in the context of worship and evangelism.  This response is the whole of neither, however.

January 27 – Proposal #5: When the church takes action to address poverty, it must act within its God-ordained in society.

February 10 – Concluding Thoughts