Poverty - part 1

Last year we featured a few blogs discussing more in-depthly what our actual ministry is here in Bolivia on a day-to-day basis. Many times when you mention you are doing church strengthening it comes with a respond like, “great, so what exactly are you doing?” A legitimate question to say the least. As explained last year John has spent the last 2 years training Bolivian pastors in a variety of biblical principles such as worldview, ethics, and holistic ministries values. This training is part of a three phase process that John and his co-worker Luis have initiated and been walking with pastors through for the past few years. Over the months we have been greatly encouraged by the results of this work and the impact it has had on many Bolivian families living in extreme poverty. 


As expected, changing worldviews and alleviating poverty is a very long process. That is part of the reason the whole project that John is apart of is focused on training Bolivian pastors to catch the values and principles being taught. The goal would then be that these pastors replicate the ideas in their own churches as well as with trainings to other colleagues and leaders in the ministry. Raising up new leaders who grasp the biblical perspectives of the role of the church is the key to transforming families, communities, and a nation. In order to explain this idea of poverty alleviation and its connection to the local church, we would like to post an article written by John on this idea. We will separate the article into a variety of different blog posts, in order to keep it manageable. We hope this explains even more about what we do in Bolivia and why our focus is on the local church. 


Poverty Alleviation from the Roots 
A buzz phrase among many evangelicals and within the Christian Church today is the expression “poverty alleviation”.  For many Christians this topic elicits a plethora of thoughts, ideas and actions that are often associated with the command to reach out and care for the “least of these” (Mat. 25:40). Many Christians are well aware of the over 400 verses in the Bible that identify God’s concern for the poor.  Christians understand that God is a Father to the Fatherless (Psalm 68:5), a deliverer of the needy and the afflicted (Psalm 72:12), and a God who secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy (Psalm 140:12).  The God of the Bible is an active, protective, fatherly God who sees the poor as precious in his sight (Psalm 72:14).  So how do Christians live out these commands and help the poor to embrace God’s plan for their life?  What actions can Christians take to combat poverty and empower the poor to change and reach their potential?   


In the February 2012 issue of Christianity Today, an informative article entitled “Cost-Effective Compassion: The 10 Most Popular Strategies for Helping the Poor” points out some very succinct ways to be cost effective in outreach and service to the poor.  Not only does this article help enlighten Christians on how to be well-informed when giving money to poverty alleviation efforts, but it also re-enforces the very important and biblical concept of stewardship.   With that said, I would like to take a moment to dive deeper into this concept from a little different angle.  Not only should Christians seek to care and serve the poor in their immediate circumstances, but there should also be an emphasis on creating a long-term sustainable answer that will change the poor for generations to come.  


PRODUCTS OF OUR CULTURE
As citizens of the United States and a product of a very secularist culture, many U.S. Christians struggle with a materialistic worldview.  Materialism rests on the presumption that the universe is comprised of one substance and one substance only – physical matter. Thus, a materialistic worldview perspective focuses on the physical world and brings a heightened emphasis towards material resources such as money, technology and natural resources.  Such a paradigm puts great emphasis on development strategies that garner the transfer of material resources as the answer to poverty alleviation.   This perspective often leads to such ideas as “the most effective way to eliminate poverty is to give the poor enough money or material resources so they won’t be poor anymore.”  Simply stated, poverty alleviation or development efforts with a materialistic worldview focus on the transfer of wealth, resources, technology and know how from the more well-off to the less well-off.  This philosophy in many ways has become the unconscious focal point of current day poverty efforts.  Accompany this culturally bred concept with the need for emotional gratification (another weakness of the U.S. culture) and the result is millions of dollars being given yearly, by well-intentioned Christians, towards poverty efforts that exclusively deal with the consequences and not the roots of poverty.   The reality is there are millions of hungry, sick, and abandoned people in the world and Christians have a responsibility to reach them.  The challenge for current day churches, organizations and individuals is how to do this in the most effective manner that utilizes a biblical worldview to create long-term transformation.  


The next post will continue this idea and narrow in on the roots of poverty and poverty alleviation.