The Crisis of Christmas

One of our partner churches (Christ's Church of Fountain Hills) is doing a series this holiday season called, "The Crisis of Christmas." This series included three videos explaining the difference between Christmas in Fountain Hills, Arizona and the barrios of Puerto Peñasco, Sonora. Embedded below are the videos (if you can't see the videos, click for week 1, week 2, and week 3).

Relief vs Development

Expanding on this post a little bit we wanted to mention the difference between relief and development. There really is no easy way to define the difference.

This chart is a good start to help explain the differences. Also Jeff Carr puts it well in this article:

If we are going to move from charity to community development in our ministries, we must move from being servants to being friends. We must become immersed in the lives of people and in the life of our community, to the point where we no longer see a distinction between our well-being and theirs. All of our well-being is tied together through our bond of friendship and faith.

There is no more us and them. Its only us. Paul seems to think the same way.

CHE training - Day One

Our whole team is going through CHE training this week in Phoenix. Today was day one.

Biggest takeaway - relief, betterment, and development are all necessary, however, doing one where another is needed more is detrimental to a community.

Motivation for Missions

Handouts and relief work make us feel good, but don't actually accomplish much.

For the last 20 years or so missions and charity work has been mostly based on what makes us feel good as the giver. Unfortunately after years of this we've expended an absurd amount of energy, money, and thought without accomplishing much in the realm of moving communities beyond poverty... but we definitely feel good about it.

Maybe what feels good to us is actually causing apathy and disinterest among the people we are trying to help. It's holding them back from owning their own communities and being the change they want to see. What's the point? If I work hard I can save money and paint my own house. If I do nothing but sit around and wait and look poor enough some organization will come and paint my house for me.

Robert Lupton says it well in his book, Compassion, Justice, and the Christian Life,

"Doing for a community what it is capable of doing for itself is charity at its worst." (PG 31)

The focus has to be on community members seeing themselves as the solution, not some government program or outside group that is going to be their salvation.

The richest man in the world is a Mexican. He doesn't believe in charity for some of the same reasons.

Without teaching capability and responsibility all the money and good intentions in the world won't end poverty.