"Any religion that professes to be concerned about the souls of men and is not concerned about the slums that damn them, the economic conditions that strangle them and the social conditions that cripple them is a spiritually moribund religion awaiting burial." - MLK Jr.
In my limited observation I have noticed that many in the Evangelical church have focused energy on either saving somebody’s soul or giving them food to eat. While spiritual salvation is important and meals are essential, neither aspect works to break the cycle of injustice and poverty. If missions in the United States are going to be effective the church is going to have to deeply identify with hurting people and work towards salvation in heaven and on earth. We are going to need to learn lessons of empowering the poor from organizations like Habitat for Humanity. We are going to have to treat people with more dignity and respect. We are going to have to learn how to listen. Our love must be solely based upon another person being a child of God and not upon what they can do for us or whether or not they will become a Christian.
2 comments:
Right on, Coby. I'm reading a book with a lot of these themes I think you'd like: When Helping Hurts, by Brian Fikkert and Steve Corbett. Really sums up my philosophy of development and ministry.
Hey guys! I met with Garth Bolinder the other day and he recommended that I read that book. So great to hear from you!
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