by David Docusen | January 30, 2017 | Uncategorized
A great ill of the current contextual state of ministry today is what seems to be an insatiable desire for recognition. More and more, churches are drawing from best practices from the business field to implement strategies that will draw the most attention to their specific vision for the expansion of their own kingdom. I’m not against that, but there’s got to be limits to borrowing from the business world when trying to carry out ministries that reflect the character of Jesus.
However, the kingdom of God has no church logo.
There is not one ministry that has the market on how to reach an entire culture that is decaying rapidly. Simply put, we need each other to accomplish the work of reaching our communities with the love and grace that is available in relationship with Jesus.
Matthew 23:5-7 speaks to leaders that love to be called by their titles in public. However, God longs to privately call his sons and daughters by name in a secret place of deep and intimate relationship. We don’t have to yell or scream for the attention of God. Additionally, all of this yelling and screaming is pushing away the very people that we claim to be trying to reach with the love of Jesus.
I hope that we learn to lower our voices and start talking to each other.
Dallas Willard gives a concise and powerful rebuke to Christians that feel the need to promote themselves under the cover of spiritual intent. He states, “One of the greatest fallacies of our faith, and actually one of greatest acts of unbelief, is the thought that our spiritual acts and virtues need to be advertised to be known.”[1] He continues, “The frantic efforts of religious personages and groups to advertise and certify themselves is a stunning revelation of their lack of substance and faith.”[2]
The discipline of secrecy is one of the more counterintuitive of all of the practices that result in life and health for ministers and ministries. The need to find affirmation in anyone other than the watchful and compassionate gaze of the Father will certainly end in disappointment and exhaustion. Richard Foster refers to acts of service that are directed to God instead of man in his book Celebration of Discipline. He posits that service to others allows us to say “no!” to the world’s games of promotion and authority.[3]
Willard notes that fundraising directors across the world are able to sell the opportunity for philanthropists to make a large donation to a capital campaign when they are promised the naming rights to a particular building. However, he points out that it would be difficult to find someone that has made a generous contribution to a fund that would go toward the cost of maintaining a building.[4]
One of the passages that has moved me so deeply recently is when Jesus instructs his followers to place themselves at the foot of the table when they are invited to dinner in someone’s home (Luke 14:10).
I have learned that elbowing my way to the front is exhausting and it leaves bruises, both on me and others around me. I’m learning to relax and trust that God has a plan for me and the church family he’s called me to shepherd.
God asks us to joyfully and passionately work toward the good of our communities. I have found that it is a lot more fun to do this when I am working with other ministries instead of competing against folks that have the same desire to see the love of Jesus expressed across our community.
Take a deep breath. Trust God. Enjoy the journey. God didn’t need Center City Church’s logo before we started in 2008, and he doesn’t need your church’s logo either.
[1] Willard, Dallas. The Spirit of the Disciplines. New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1991. 173.
[2] Ibid. 173.
[3] Foster, Richard J. Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1988. 126.
[4] Willard, Dallas. The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God. San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1998. 192.
by David Docusen | January 27, 2017 | Uncategorized
Author, professor, and poet Clint Smith was invited to give a presentation at a conference on the topic of engaging people across racial and socioeconomic lines. He gave a powerful four-minute talk titled, “The Danger of Silence.” He encouraged the audience to speak up against ignorance and injustice. He stated, “Explore the silence of your own life, fill those spaces, name them, and share them.”[1] This is a powerful challenge to individuals that are privileged to inhabit the middle and upper class.
The bottom line is that a unified effort to care for the poor and marginalized will disturb the current balance of power in the American economy. This could be the most important disturbance our nation has ever encountered.
The privileged classes in American society have an opportunity to use their power, influence, and position to advocate for the cause of the poor. However, they must first realize that there is a very real problem.
As the hearts of God’s children are turned back to God himself, the love that he demands for his disciples to have for others will naturally lead to caring for the poor. Instead of fearing missteps or division, it is time for followers of Jesus to rise up and follow where he is – and has been – leading his disciples.
It is time for the Church to stand with those that have been marginalized by a capitalistic society that has systematically oppressed men, women, and children that were created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27).
The book of Acts is a fascinating picture of the early church in her infancy. Wildly growing and awkwardly expanding like a wildfire that could not be contained, the message of freedom in Jesus rapidly spread across the city of Jerusalem and beyond.
In these early days of the formation of the local church, a uniquely beautiful narrative began to form of genuine love, care, and concern for each other. Acts 2:44 gives a brief glimpse of the way that these disciples looked out for the good of each person in their community, regardless of race, class, or social standing. It states, “And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need.”
This is a beautiful picture for the American church in the twenty-first century. Sharing does not simply mean that we care for those within our church community or social circles. This charge extends to those who are poor, marginalized, and feeling a unique sense of hopelessness that only can be understood living under the bondage of poverty.
Tavis Smiley and Cornel West give a compelling picture of a preferred future. They state, “If Americans cultivated a surplus of compassion, our children would not be without food, shelter, and quality health care.” They continue, “With a surplus of love, the untapped potential of our youth would not rot away in our nation’s prisons.”[2]
There must be an awakening for Christians to care about the very things that Jesus himself cared about and advocated for so fiercely in his time living among mankind on the earth. He walked with poor, talked with the poor, and shared his life with theirs. He laid down his life for the rich and the poor alike, and rose again to be the living Savior of all mankind, not just the Savior for a privileged few.
If the American church is going to continue to lift up the name of Jesus, it is time for them to begin lifting the arms of the poor.
The answers will not come easily, and mistakes will be made. However, the mistakes of people that are willing to engage across uncomfortable and awkward lines of racial and socioeconomic division are much more palatable than willfully ignoring the plight of our neighbors that are living in poverty.
Ronald Sider gives a challenging equation for the Church to explore as it relates to our engagement with the poor. He asks, “Is there the same balance and emphasis on justice for the poor and oppressed in our programs as there is in Scripture?”[3] The answer to this question could change the world. More importantly, the answer to this question could change the life of a person that is created in the image of God.
If you are interested in getting involved in addressing this in extremely practical ways, contact us ([email protected]). All of us have a part to play, and none of us are without the gifts necessary to show love and care to kids that are born into poverty.
[1] “The Danger of Silence.” Clint Smith: The Danger of Silence | TED Talk | TED.com. Accessed December 12, 2016. https://www.ted.com/talks/clint_smith_the_danger_of_silence.
[2] Tavis Smiley and Cornel West. The Rich and the Rest of Us. 119.
[3] Ronald J. Sider. Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger. 68.
by David Docusen | January 27, 2017 | Uncategorized
During the fall of 2016, I started a doctor of ministry program at Southeastern University in which I am focusing on the implications facing kids that are born into poverty. This was inspired by the heartbreaking statistic that was released recently that children that are born into poverty in Charlotte have a 4% chance of ever coming out of poverty. I can’t sit by idly and not do my part.
This is much longer than a normal blog post. It is a portion of the first research project that I completed on the topic of generational poverty. If you’re interested, I will continue to post what I’m learning on this blog.
I can’t un-learn what I’ve learned. I can’t un-see what I’ve seen. And I’m hoping that you’ll be moved by extensive research and choose to not look away. This is not easy, and it’s not quick. However, it is very much worth the effort.
Thanks for reading, and thanks for caring.
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A joint effort between Harvard University and the University of California Berkely was conducted over the course of the past several years. Their findings came out in 2014, and the results sent shockwaves through the city of Charlotte, North Carolina.
Charlotte is a city that has traditionally enjoyed the status as a “top ten city to live in America” from multiple media outlets, including Forbes Magazine.[1] Charlotte has enjoyed the reputation as the number two banking capital in the nation,[2] the home to multiple professional sports teams, and a vibrant entrepreneurial community. Additionally, Charlotte boasts a bustling corporate city center, along with a vibrant nightlife. However, this university research project uncovered some uncomfortable truths about this glistening city in the New South.
Charlotte ranked fiftieth out of fifty large cities studied in America in relation to a person’s ability to achieve upward mobility if they are born into poverty.[3] To highlight this point, their research showed that a child that is born into poverty in Charlotte has a 4% chance of escaping poverty.[4]
This led researchers to begin referring to the narrative of Charlotte as “The Tale of Two Cities.” On one hand, there are seemingly endless opportunities for those that are from the middle and upper class. On the other hand, those that are born into poverty are stricken with a curse of generational poverty that is yet to be broken.
After millions of dollars and countless hours of research, five determining factors rose to the surface as to why a child that is born into poverty would have such a difficult time ever escaping this reality. They include: segregation, inequality, education, social capital, and family structure.
Segregation
One of the problems that have surfaced over the years has been the lack of acknowledgement that America is still a deeply divided country. It is impossible to fix things that people refuse to admit are broken. This is true of the segregation that is occurring in school systems across our country. Segregation can come in various forms, but racial and socioeconomic segregation is something that this research project has focused on specifically. Drew Hart addresses issues of segregation in his book Trouble I’ve Seen. He states, “When we can be honest about how our entire society is deeply racialized, we will be ready to move forward.”[5]
Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools has been on the forefront of national news for many years for their efforts toward desegregating (and subsequently re-segregating) their schools. Few school reforms have been as fully implemented and successful as the desegregation plan that was implemented by CMS.[6]
President Ronald Reagan drew incredible criticism for a speech that he gave in Charlotte denouncing the desegregation of the public schools as “a social experiment that nobody wants.”[7] The local newspaper strongly denounced the president. They published a scathing article titled “You Were Wrong Mr. President.” In this article, they stated, “CMS’s greatest achievement of the past twenty years is not the city’s impressive new skyline or its strong, growing economy. It’s proudest achievement is its fully integrated school system.”[8 Within 2 years of the president’s visit, CMS began a slow drift toward resegregation that continued until the end of the last century and rapidly accelerated in the first decade of the twenty-first century.[9]
Another ambitious effort has been spearheaded by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. Project LIFT was launched by involving local foundations that raised $55 million over a five-year period to improve educational outcomes in CMS’s lowest performing high school and its feeder schools, all of which are hyper segregated racially and socioeconomically. Ashley Park PreK-8 School has been a recipient of this generous partnership between individuals and the state. Even with all of the resources flowing toward this school, it still remains one of the highest segregated schools in our state.
Studies have found that as the student populations in CMS schools became more black, the most highly qualified teachers transferred out, leaving the desegregated schools with less qualified teachers.[10] This is a sad reality for many schools like Ashley Park that are trying to bring excellence to the classrooms of high poverty schools. If there are not qualified teachers in place, the cycle of poverty will continue for these students that are growing up in segregated schools. Additionally, research has also shown that students from integrated schools demonstrate lower levels of racial fears and stereotypes, and experience less intergenerational perpetuation of racism and stereotypes across multiple institutional settings.[11]
Inequality
In the form of a gripping letter from his father, Ta-Henisi Coates released a book that highlighted the realities of raising a black child in the deeply segregated culture of America. He implores his son to look at the realities around him and to vigilantly defend himself against the inequities that are present toward black families. He states,
“I would not have you descend into your own dream. I would have you be a conscious citizen of this terrible and beautiful world.”[13]
He is asking his son to be aware of the systematic inequities present in our society and to rise above them.
The United States is often hailed as the “land of opportunity,” a society in which a child’s chances of success depend little on his or her family background. Is this reputation warranted? Tavis Smiley and Cornel West refer to this as “poverty of opportunity.” They state, “The myth of American exceptionalism, of being the best of the best, overshadows an inconvenient truth. We are a nation where poverty of opportunity is dangerously close to becoming a permanent reality.”[14]
Being in poverty is rarely about a lack of intelligence or ability.[15] Many people today are poor and hungry largely because a few people with enormous power neglect and/or mistreat the powerless. Using their unequal power, they create structures that benefit themselves and benefit others.[16] Inequitable systems that are present in our society today continue to widen the gap between the rich and the poor. Poor countries are poor because those that have been placed in positions of influence make choices that create poverty.[17]
Schools
Education is something that should carry a sense of equity and innocence for America’s youth. However, the imbalance of resources given to public schools that are located in the affluent areas as opposed to high poverty communities is nothing short of staggering. “There is something warped about a society that has invested $300 billion for the expansion of the prison industrial complex’s jails, prisons, and juvenile justice institutions while claiming it has no money for schools.”[18]
Dr. Payne makes the straightforward statement, “An education is the key to getting out of, and staying out of, generational poverty.”[19]
One of the underlying issues of the education system is non-verbal communication that is referred to by Dr. Payne as the “hidden rules” that are present for those that are living in poverty. She states that schools and business operate from a set of rules that are present in the middle class. These are assumptions about life, access to technology, support in the family structure, etc.[20] Dr. Payne makes the observation that a public school can be one of the only places that a child born into poverty can learn the hidden rules due to their exposure to people that are growing up in a different reality than themselves.[21]
Jonathan Kozol spent time with students in a high poverty community of St. Louis, Missouri. During his time with this community he made an incredible observation about the unfairness of children growing up in the unequal system of school systems in poor communities. He states,
“Almost anyone who visits in the schools of East St. Louis, even for a short time, comes away profoundly shaken. These are innocent children, after all. They have done nothing wrong. They have committed no crime. They are too young to have offended us in any way at all.”[22]
All too often, children are paying the price of inequities that have been dictated by those that sit in the seats of power. Their innocence and brilliance is at stake as communities across America blindly continue marching forward to the beat of capitalism.
Another factor in the school systems is the retention of top-level teachers in poor communities. All too often, high poverty schools battle a large percentage of turnovers among their faculty. The reasons vary, but the inequitable distribution of funds makes teaching in poor communities less attractive for teachers whose performance is based largely on the standardized testing scores of their students. Robert Putnam advocates for better hiring practices for teachers in high poverty communities in his book Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis. He states, “Hiring more and better teachers at higher salaries to teach in high poverty schools would be a very good way to narrow class disparities.”[23]
Social Capital
Raj Chetty and a team of researchers from Harvard University conducted a study on the effect that relationships have on individuals and families in high poverty communities. The overwhelming results showed that exposure to relationships with people that are not living in poverty greatly increase the likelihood of those individuals to come out of poverty themselves. In a summary of their research, he states, “Our findings suggest that efforts to integrate disadvantaged families into mixed-income communities are likely to reduce the persistence of poverty across generations.”[24]
This research clearly shows that the environment of an individual is directly related to their likelihood to escape poverty.
The power of mentoring is not to be underestimated for children that are born into poverty. U.S. News and World Report explores the topic of relationships for kids in poor neighborhoods, and they found that mentorship from someone that is not living in poverty is one of the most important elements involved in upward mobility. They state, “Locate a resilient kid and you will also find a caring adult – or several – who has guided them.”[25]
On a different side of this equation, it is also important for individuals that are not living in poverty to listen and learn long enough to even understand there is a problem with a lack of social capital for individuals in poor communities. The Washington Post exposed a shocking statistic in 2014 and published it in their newspaper.
They state that three quarters of white people do not have any close friends
that are non-white.[26]
The implication here is that racial division leads to a lack of relationship between whites and minorities. Until this chasm is bridged, there will continue to be a lack of social capital for minorities living in poverty.
Another factor leading to a lack of social capital is the criminalization of African-Americans in our criminal justice system. It is almost impossible to build relationships that will lead to equitable employment opportunities while incarcerated, and Michelle Alexander exposed an alarming disparity in the amount of African Americans in prison as related to other races. Furthermore, once a person has been convicted of a felony, their chances of even getting in front of someone to interview for a job greatly decreases. Alexander states, that these offenses and blemishes on their records often make it virtually impossible for ex-offenders to integrate into the mainstream society and economy upon release.[27]
Family Structure
The faculty, staff, and administration of Ashley Park encourages the students to think critically, engage problems with creativity, and to become scholars that uniquely solve problems. Each day, the team at Ashley Park is working toward raising up the future leaders of Charlotte, North Carolina. However, this support is all-too-often not present in the form of parental engagement. This includes helping their children with homework, forming a healthy parent-teacher association (which is run by a grandmother in the school), and asking about their friendships at school. All of these elements of a healthy family structure are associated with higher academic performance, better socioemotional skills, and other facets of student behavior such as less use of drugs and alcohol.[28] Educational researchers Anne Henderson and Nancy Berla state, “When parents are involved at school, their children go further in school, and the schools they go to are better.”[29]
The alarming rate of single-parent households breeds instability in the family structure that deeply impacts children. Putnam states, “Children who grow up without their biological father perform worse on standardized tests, earn lower grades, and stay in school for fewer years, regardless of race and class.”[30] This shows the importance of having a holistic view of education that extends to educating parents on the importance of engaging with their children about what is happening at school each day. As family specialist Isabel Sawhill says, “Generalizations are dangerous; many single parents are doing a terrific job under difficult circumstances. But on average, children from single parent families do worse in school and in life.”[31]
The National Academy of Sciences came out with a landmark study on the way the brain works and how it affects human behavior. In their findings, they state that the environments and experiences that are encountered from before a child is born into their early childhood years affect virtually every aspect of early human development. Stated more simply, early life experiences impact a person’s life in a most powerful way. [32]
This research project was incredibly helpful, painful, eye-opening, convicting, and encouraging. I’m realizing that even though there’s incredible inequities that I’ve never even considered, I’ve also seen that there are great people doing great work, like the teachers and administrators at Ashley Park PreK-8 School. I refuse to accept that the narrative of the past several generations is the narrative of the future for these kids that are born into high poverty communities.
God has perfectly wired the body of Christ to make a difference. However, we’ve got to take the time to listen, learn, repent, and eventually allow our hearts to break. However, we don’t stay in a place of despair. We will seek to act on what we’ve learned, realizing that we can make a difference.
If you want to be a part of engaging in this work, contact us. We have a variety of opportunities for you to practically get involved. ([email protected])
We all have a part to play, and we can all make a difference.
[1] Karsten Strauss. “10 Cities Americans Are Moving To Right Now (And 10 They Are Leaving).” Forbes Magazine. June 7, 2016. Accessed December 12, 2016. http://www.forbes.com/sites/karstenstrauss/2016/06/07/10-cities-americans-are-moving-to-right-now-and-10-they-are-leaving/#4b68bbd23e91.
[2] “Charlotte, NC.” Forbes. Accessed December 12, 2016. http://www.forbes.com/places/nc/charlotte/.
[3] Lisa Rab. “The Conversation Issue: 50. Our Lowest Low.” The Conversation Issue: 50. Our Lowest Low. February 5, 2016. Accessed December 12, 2016. http://www.charlottemagazine.com/Charlotte-Magazine/February-2016/The-Conversation-Issue-50-Our-Lowest-Low/.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Drew G. I. Hart. Trouble I’ve Seen: Changing the Way the Church Views Racism. Harrisonburg: Herald Press, 2016. Location 712. Kindle.
[6] Roslyn Arlin Mickelson, Stephen Samuel Smith, and Amy Hawn Nelson. Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow: School Desegregation and Resegregation in Charlotte. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press, 2015. 3.
[7] Ibid., 2.
[8] Ibid., 3.
[9] Ibid., 3.
[10] C.K. Jackson. (2009). Student demographics, teacher sorting and teacher quality: Evidence from the end of school desegregation. Retrieved December 12, 2016, from Cornell University, School of Industrial and Labor Relations site: http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/workingpapers/78/
[11] Roslyn Arlin Mickelson, Stephen Samuel Smith, and Amy Hawn Nelson. Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow: School Desegregation and Resegregation in Charlotte. 12.
[12] Thomas W. Hanchett Sorting out the New South City: Charlotte and Its Neighborhoods. Charlotte, NC. The University of North Carolina Press. 1998.
[13] Ta-Nehisi Coates. Between the World and Me. New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2015. 107.
[14] Tavis Smiley and Cornel West. The Rich and the Rest of Us. 45.
[15] Ruby Payne. A Framework for Understanding Poverty. 62.
[16] Ronald J. Sider. Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger. 133.
[17] Acemoglu, Daron, and James A. Robinson. Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty. New York: Crown Publishers, 2012. 68.
[18] Michelle Alexander. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. New York: New Press, 2010. 127.
[19] Ruby Payne. A Framework for Understanding Poverty. 63.
[20] Ibid., 3.
[21] Ibid., 62.
[22] Jonathan Kozol. Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s Schools. New York: Crown Pub., 1991. 49.
[23] Putnam, Robert D. Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2015. 166.
[24] Raj Chetty. “The Effects of Exposure to Better Neighborhoods on Children.” The Effects of Exposure to Better Neighborhoods on Children:, May 2015. Accessed December 12, 2016. http://www.equality-of opportunity.org/assets/documents/mto_exec_summary.pdf
[25] J. Shapiro, Friedman, D., Meyer, M., & Loftus, M. (1996, November, 11). Invincible Kids. U.S. News and World Report, pp. 62-71.
[26] Christopher Ingraham. “Three Quarters of Whites Don’t Have Any Non-white Friends.” August 25, 2014. Accessed December 12, 2016. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/08/25/three-quarters-of-whites-dont-have-any-non-white-friends/?utm_term=.9dcbddb5ef64.
[27] Michelle Alexander. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. 143.
[28] Robert Putnam. Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis. 167.
[29] Ibid., 167.
[30] Ibid., 78.
[31] Isabel V. Sawhill. Generation Unbound: Drifting into Sex and Parenthood without Marriage. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 2014. 6.
[32] Robert Putnam. Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis. 109.
by David Docusen | January 27, 2017 | Uncategorized
Dr. Ruby Payne wrote her seminal work on poverty in a book called A Framework for Understanding Poverty. In this classic work, she gives a working definition that brings clarity to two different types of poverty: generational and situational. She states, “Generational poverty and situational poverty are different. Generational poverty is defined as being in poverty for two generations or longer. Situational poverty is a shorter time and is caused by circumstance (i.e., death, illness, divorce, etc.).”[1]
It is important to remember that poverty is relative. Dr. Payne says, “ If everyone around a person has similar circumstances, the notion of poverty and wealth is vague. Poverty or wealth only exists in relationship to known quantities or expectations.”[2]
This is important to note because some families in poverty do not even acknowledge that there is a problem, making it hard for others to understand that are coming from another socioeconomic class that may be trying to help.
In order to truly help, it is imperative that the reasons a person would ever leave this cyclical pattern. Dr. Payne states, “Four reasons one leaves poverty are: It’s too painful to stay, a vision or a goal, a key relationship, or a special talent or skill.”[3] In these scenarios, something or someone helps individuals see that there is another path that can be chosen. Christians must not underestimate the importance of their role in the lives of families in poverty. Their presence alone can be one of the factors that help others break this suffocating pattern. Tavis Smiley and Cornel West challenge Christians living in America to consider what greatness truly means in their book The Rich and the Rest of Us. They state,
“How can America be first if the least among us are our last collective concern?”[4]
Along with definitions of the types of poverty, it is also important to understand the role of money for individuals in poverty. Where a middle or upper class family would predominantly view money as a source of security, families in poverty have a much different perspective. Dr. Payne states, “Money is seen in poverty as an expression of personality and is used for entertainment and relationships.” She continues, “The notion of using money for security is truly grounded in the middle and wealthy classes.”
This is yet another example of how important it is to listen and learn long enough to understand the mindset of people in poverty in order to be able to have constructive conversations that lead to understanding, mutuality, and growth for all involved.[5]
[1] Ruby K. Payne. A Framework for Understanding Poverty. Highlands, TX: Aha! Process, 2005. 3.
[2] Ibid., 2.
[3] Ibid., 3.
[4] Tavis Smiley, and Cornel West. The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto. New York: SmileyBooks, 2012. 55
[5] Ruby K. Payne. A Framework for Understanding Poverty. 44.
by David Docusen | January 23, 2017 | Uncategorized
Since I started studying the topic of generational poverty, and the implication on kids that are born into poverty, there have been several books that have really helped me explore on a deeper level. This isn’t an endorsement of every part of every book, but I have found something helpful about each book.
For a good starting point, check out “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates, “Trouble I’ve Seen” by Drew Hart, and “A Framework for Understanding Poverty” by Ruby Payne.
**For Charlotte folks, there’s some great ones here that will help you gain a greater understanding of the history of our city. When we understand our past, we can address the present and future with grace.
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Carter, J. Kameron. Race: A Theological Account. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.
Coates, Ta-Nehisi. Between the World and Me. New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2015.
Emdin, Christopher. For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood– and the Rest of Y’all Too: Reality Pedagogy and Urban Education. Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 2016.
Hart, Drew G. I. Trouble I’ve Seen: Changing the Way the Church Views Racism. Harrisonburg: Herald Press, 2016.
Keller, Timothy J. Generous Justice: How God’s Grace Makes Us Just. New York, NY: Dutton, Penguin Group USA, 2010.
Kotlowitz, Alex. There Are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing up in the Other America. New York: Doubleday, 1991.
Kozol, Jonathan. Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s Schools. New York: Crown Pub., 1991.
Lischer, Richard. The Preacher King: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Word That Moved America. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995.
Lunsford, Brandon. Charlotte Then & Now. San Diego, CA: Thunder Bay Press, 2008.
Mickelson, Roslyn Arlin, Stephen Samuel Smith, and Amy Hawn Nelson. Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow: School Desegregation and Resegregation in Charlotte. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press, 2015.
Oosthuizen, Leon, and Xola Skosana. Roads2Bridges: Uninterrupted Conversations: Stories of Friendship and Partnering across the Racial Divide. Paarl, South Africa: Emmaus Media, 2013.
Payne, Ruby K. A Framework for Understanding Poverty. Highlands, TX: Aha! Process, 2005.
Putnam, Robert D. Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2015.
Sider, Ronald J. Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger: Moving from Affluence to Generosity. Nashville: W Pub. Group, 1997.
Smiley, Tavis, and Cornel West. The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto. New York: SmileyBooks, 2012.
Tatum, Beverly Daniel. “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?”: And Other Conversations about Race. New York: Basic Books, 2003.
West, Cornel. Race Matters. Boston: Beacon Press, 1993.
Carter, J. Kameron. Race: A Theological Account. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.
by David Docusen | January 23, 2017 | Uncategorized
The Scriptures are full of stories about God’s heart for the poor. Does this mean, however, that God shows favoritism to those that are in poverty? Ronald Sider posits that while God has equal love for all people, he is not neutral in his passionate advocacy for those that are poor. He states, “God, however, is not neutral. His freedom from bias does not mean that he maintains neutrality in the struggle for justice. The Bible clearly and repeatedly teaches that God is at work in history exalting the poor and casting down the rich who got that way by oppressing or neglecting the poor. In that sense, God is on the side of the poor. He has a special concern for them because of their vulnerability.[1]”
It is imperative for Christians to have a robust framework in their understanding of poverty because the message of the Gospel reaches every part human life.
The book of Proverbs supports the cause of the poor by revealing God’s heart for those who have been marginalized and cast aside from the prevailing culture of excess and success. Proverbs 14:31 says, “Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker, but helping the poor honors him.” Furthermore, Proverbs 19:17 states, “If you help the Lord, you are lending to the Lord – and he will repay you!” The form of repayment is not always found in financial gain. Conversely, it is rare that helping someone in need would increase an individual’s net wealth. However, the implication of these verses is that the blessings of God (in various different ways) will be upon those who turn their attention to the poor, and work toward their benefit.
The Christian theologian N.T. Wright says, “In a world of systematic injustice, bullying, violence, arrogance, and oppression, the thought that there might come a day when the wicked are firmly put in their place and the poor and weak are given their due is the best news there can be.”[2] The overwhelming nature of the issues that are present with poverty can be paralyzing. However, the Christian response must be one of hope for the future.
Christians believe that God revealed himself in the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. In order to understand God’s work in the world, Christians must understand how the Incarnate One defined his mission.[3] The choice is given to the American church to either embody the work of Jesus, or to propagate a false doctrine that includes financial and physical prosperity at the heart of its message. When Jesus was asked what was most important to him in the expression of faith, he responded that he valued true love for God and others higher than anything else (Luke 10:27).
In light of this, it is important to remember that loving others was given equal weight to loving God in the opinion of Jesus. This should cause us to truly consider the holistic message of the Gospel in relation to the day-to-day realities of those living in poverty. Additionally, Jesus seemed to actually embody the plight of the poor as he told his disciples that any time they gave to the poor, they were actually giving to Jesus himself (Matthew 25:31-46).
This does not sound like the words of a distant deity that is aloof or disconnected to the cries of the poor. This sounds like God himself is present with the poor, and if Christians want to be present with their Creator, they can find him among those that have been marginalized.
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[1] Sider, Ronald J. Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger: Moving from Affluence to Generosity. Nashville: W Pub. Group, 1997. 67.
[2] N. T. Wright. Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church. New York: HarperOne, 2008. 137.
[3] Ronald J. Sider. Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger: Moving from Affluence to Generosity. 51.
