rich young ruler

poverty is so hard to see
when it’s only on your tv and twenty miles across town
where we’re all living so good
that we moved out of Jesus’ neighborhood
where he’s hungry and not feeling so good
from going through our trash
he says, more than just your cash and coin
i want your time, i want your voice
i want the things you just can’t give me

so what must we do
here in the west we want to follow you
we speak the language and we keep all the rules
even a few we made up
come on and follow me
but sell your house, sell your suv
sell your stocks, sell your security
and give it to the poor
what is this, hey what’s the deal
i don’t sleep around and i don’t steal
i want the things you just can’t give me

because what you do to the least of these
my brother’s, you have done it to me
because i want the things you just can’t give me

-Derek Webb

attacking poverty - a perspective from Dr. Schaffner

I mentioned previously that I had written a number of the contributing authors of the book Attacking Poverty. Dr. Schaffner from the Fletcher School at Tufts University was kind enough to respond to some of my questions. Her e-mail is posted below.

Dear Josh,

Thanks for your email.

I'm glad you found something useful in the book. I wish I could answer your queries from the perspective of someone who is intimately involved with lots of development organizations, and who is also engaged with lots of current business practices.

Unfortunately, I can only answer from the perspective of an academic economist, who has indirect exposure to a number of development organizations through my work with lots of interesting masters students in the Fletcher school (many of whom have experience in development organizations and undertake research related to what those organizations are doing under my supervision), and who very much wants to see more collaboration happen, both among development organizations and between practitioners and academics.

If I understand correctly, your questions have to do with:

What might productive federation look like among Christian development organizations?
What could such federation hope to accomplish?
How likely is it that individual organizations would buy into this kind of federation?
What contemporary business practices might be useful for helping bring such federations about?

Here's a first pass at my answers:

I suspect there is a lot to gain from federation in the areas of: (1) learning from each others' experiences, (2) reduction in the duplication of efforts of various sort; and (3) increased potential for action in larger arenas (such as lobbying for a world facility for financing and disseminating the results of impact assessments by NGOs).

I suspect that it is difficult to bring this about, because it is hard even for Christians to ignore concerns about turf. This makes it hard to reveal negative lessons, hard to move from independent control to a collaborative approach, etc. But if Christians can't take a sufficiently altruistic perspective and make this happen, then who will?

Perhaps there are target types of people (such as those with training or inclinations in the evaluation direction) within Christian development organizations who are most likely to be sympathetic.

Understanding better how to target individuals within organizations to most effectively promote collaboration would be useful. I don't have enough knowledge about these organizations to make strong suggestions.

It might be a good question to investigate:

Who is sympathetic and who isn't?

I think there are ways to make evaluation and sharing of information more appealing to organizations. I've tried to get at that in my chapter in the book you read. For example, while organizations that want to communicate with a broad range of development actors should probably evaluate the impacts of programs on traditional indicators of development success, they should also feel free to articulate and construct measures for additional features of process and outcomes that they hold to be important.

This can be an important way of enriching discussions, etc.

I'm just guessing that an iterative approach of finding some sympathetic individuals at a range of organizations, hammering out a first model of what collaboration might look like that meets perceived needs, and then floating a proposal for feedback on a larger scale will be required.

Perhaps part of the model would be a document providing a sort of evaluation (or "lessons from experience") template, which organizations could use to share information with each other, and which (when a number of these are accumulated) would facilitate comparative study and the drawing of broader lessons.

I don't know if any of these quick reactions are useful.

If there are any more specific issues you would like to pursue, please let me know.

Best regards, Julie

my enemy

I am called to love my enemy. Who is he? Is it Bin Ladin or Kim Jong? Is it some impoverished and brainwashed young soul who seeks the gardens of paradise in exchange for death of themselves and my child? It is far too easy for me to love an aggressor. My enemy lives in gutters and refuse. My enemy corrupts my senses with filth and stench. He is uneducated and crude. It is these things that I cannot stand - that I chose to avoid. It is this that is my failing. It is he that I am called to love.

together in song

I often hear holistic ministry within the context of relief work in conjunction with spiritual development. However, God created us to be creatures like Him - woven of multiple dimensions including the spiritual, physical, and social. What does it mean to be a Christian in the context in which we live?

My family and I lived in India in 2003. I clearly remember my first walk through the streets of Pune on a November Sunday morning. Everything in the little neighborhood near my hotel was a ragged brown and made of materials in various stages of decay. I remember looking up at a wall surrounding the railway station and seeing a splash of vibrant color in sharp contrast with its frame. The movie poster held the promise of another world - one filled with songs that seemed absent from the street on which I was standing. I learned very quickly that the colors of the heart of the children of India are reflected in hues of music and dancing.

Some dear friends are seeking to reach the people of India through art. Jose and Sarah serve with the University of Nations in leadership with the School of Performing Arts - or Arts with a Mission. They are raising up servants of God whose love of Christ is manifest in music that is shared with the Hindu who knows nothing of Jesus, but who understands the power of song. Jose recently shared a story with me about a trip they made to participate in a movement called "Transforming the World". They are working with national church leaders to bring music - Indian style - to the church and to those yet to hear. They've held bhajans with musicians like aradhna (we had the opportunity to hear them while in India - not an experience I will forget) and are reaching into the hearts of India. While I'm sure that economic stimulus can impact the financial well being of the poor in India - her heart is colored with song.

Perhaps some combination of relief, evangelism and song will prove more effective than any one element on its own. Holism. One Church. One Body. In service.

attacking poverty

A series of papers written by academics and practitioners was recently published under the title Attacking Poverty in the Developing World. These papers are the result of a need expressed by the Association of Christian Economists to more effectively engage those who are actively working in the field. The papers all point to a central theme – the poor can be best served if Christian practitioners and academics work more cooperatively to assess and implement programs. It highlights the need for the federation of Christian based organizations with the intent of leveraging what is now proprietary information, field experiences, lessons learned, economic models, and data more effectively – while deepening the collaboration between organizations with like interests for the purpose of serving the poor in Jesus name.

I sent e-mails to a number of the authors and other development relief leaders that asked about their experience in implementing programs that federate and standardize in such a way that is mutually beneficial. I also asked about competing motives and whether it naïve to think that cross disciplinary best practices in use within the business community can be effectively applied to this community. I received some interesting responses. I’ll post some of them in future posts.

together

I will post some examples of collaboration and interesting stories within the community of those who are working together in to meet the spiritual and physical needs of others. I would certainly appreciate your stories as well. Please e-mail them to me.

these rags

We are a broken people. We attempt to cover our nakedness with robes of ego, learning, conformity and perception. God, remove these heavy rags and clothe us in Your burden.

Let me begin by stating that my knowledge of the realities of the global service to the poor is woefully inadequate. If I speak of platitudes or make incorrect assumptions, it is only because I may be ignorant of all of the facts.

What I know to be true is that Jesus came to all of us who are sick, that He brought healing to the whole of the person, and that He expects that we who have been entrusted with some will serve ‘the least of these’.

Through time, the investment of a number of individuals in my life, a year spent living in India, and courses like Perspectives, I am beginning to gain some understanding of what organizations around the world are doing in holistic service to the poor. What I have been surprised to learn is that most organizations operate very independently with little collaboration being done between academics, other NGOs (both Christian-based and secular), business people, and national churches. Arguably we are missing out on the potential for what could be accomplished if we worked hand-in-hand – leveraging the collective body of knowledge to gain insight into program effectiveness, raising visibility for the purpose of mobilizing resources, and joint development efforts that leverage collective strengths.

My objective in creating this blog is to share stories, ideas, and plans of people and organizations with likeminded ambitions or interests who are successfully working together to eliminate global poverty. I also hope to create a federation of people committed to unification of the body of Christ to better serve the needs of the poor in order that we might overcome current hurdles.

I have been told that the task is too difficult given the economic and political realities of competing interests, resource constraints, theological differences, fears, differing perspectives on approach, and the egos of all of us well meaning but broken people. However, I believe that our God desires unity, not fragmentation. I believe that our God is at work. And I believe that we are on the crest of a new and deeply impactful movement that will unite people across organization, occupation, nationality, and denomination to collectively serve the poor in Jesus name.

What do you believe?

Are you ready?

humble beginings

May Your name receive praise. All is Yours. Nothing is mine.