The evangelical church is waking up to the needs of the
poor, and this is a very promising change. Since the early 1900s, during what
church historians call the “Great Reversal,” mainline conservative churches
have been wary of substantial involvement with the poor, or “getting their
hands dirty.”
The Great Reversal was a pivotal point, when conservative
and liberal theology parted ways about church involvement in social action.
Liberals sought to bring the Kingdom of God on Earth through social action.
Conservatives recoiled at this new so-called “social gospel” and focused
primarily on the world as a fallen place, and getting everyone out of this mess
into heaven.
Until this point, the church had been very active in taking
care of the poor and vulnerable. In fact, as Rodney Stark writes in his book
“The Early Rise of Christianity,” this was the primary path as the early church
grew: Believers welcomed the poor and homeless into their churches. When
plagues would sweep through cities Christians were the ones who gave up their
lives to save those affected.
In the past few decades there has been resurgence within the
conservative evangelical Church ranks to care for the poor. Many have realized that the Gospel is
not just spiritual or physical. It is both.
Unfortunately the way many churches have responded causes
more damage than helping. One such expert on alleviating poverty, Phil Hissom,
commented that, in many ways, “The church is not a sleeping giant waking up,
but rather a bull in a china cabinet.” Churches are serving the poor, but are
doing so on their agenda. This breeds unintended consequences that separate the
affluent from the poor.
A verse Polis references often is Proverbs 19:2, “Passion
without knowledge is not good, how much more will hasty feet miss the way.”
We should applaud and affirm churches serving the needy. God
is at work in people’s hearts in taking care and getting to know people in
times of distress. But we need to do so in the best possible way.
Polis has a unique voice in this conversation, particularly
though Dignity Serves. We are learning as we go along, allowing the poor to
teach and mold us. We have discovered that the poor hold strong perceptions
about outside churches and their ministries coming into help. We have asked our
friends in distress what they think.
Too often, churches ministering to the needy are amazed at
what they see: the homeless who are starving for a meal, how many people show
up to eat, or their children running around in diapers. Some Christians will
actually invite others to see the poor people and how they live in order to get
a proper perspective on how much God has given them. This is a visit to the zoo
gone horribly wrong. No one likes to be objectified, so why do we think people
in poverty like to be?
So, let me repeat: Let’s affirm and applaud churches that
step up to help the poor. But let’s remind our brethren not to miss a
relationship built on giving and
receiving. As Bob Lupton writes in his book Toxic Charity, “To be a recipient
of charity is to sacrifice some of your human dignity.”
Let’s serve people in need but do so in the best possible
way. Let’s be involved in their lives but make it clear that we are not there
to “solve their issues” but to offer ourselves as friends. We cannot be for someone until we are with them.
