These social justice posts are unfortunately about injustice, but maybe that will spur us on.
Kenosha, Wisconsin (pop.100,164, about 150,000 with suburbs)) is our nearest city at about 10 minutes away. We are there several times a week. It was a manufacturing city that has successfully re-invented itself as a distribution center and tourist destination. It’s growing. The downtown is rapidly redeveloping and the Lake… Continue reading
This post is part of a synchroblog on Social Justice. There is a link list for the other contributions at the end of this post. Different Starting Places The pursuit of social justice is more than a feel good motivation for well-meaning people. It is a reflection of the fact… Continue reading
This post is part of a synchroblog entitled, What’s in Your Knapsack? Links to other participants are listed at the end of this post. Here is some more explanation from the Synchroblog site… Whether it is white privilege, heterosexual privilege, male privilege, Christian privilege, able-bodied privilege or any other privilege… Continue reading
A report released in May of 2011 by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development found that the gap between the rich and poor in O.E.C.D. countries has reached its highest level in over 30 years. Here is my response about how to shrink that gap in the United States. What’s your perspective?… Continue reading
I have just completed a marathon of an effort to get health insurance for my disabled brother for whom I am legal guardian. It began in March and was finally accomplished in August. I must have invested days or weeks worth of hours in what began as a simple question to… Continue reading
What would you do if you suddenly lost your job? How would you pay your bills? Your success in weathering such a storm would depend upon your ability and discipline in developing assets, i.e., to somehow save money. Financial assets enable you to obtain real assets like a home, an education,… Continue reading
It’s an old saying, “The rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer.” And it’s true! From 1983 to 1998, the top 10% wealthiest households came to own 90% of financial assets and 75% of real estate investments. Between 1983 and 2004 the number of households with zero… Continue reading
There is a lot of talk about the unemployment rate these days and how to generate jobs and get people back to work. Yet, it is obvious that the efforts to address these needs are falling short. Even though many churches have become aware that they need to demonstrate the… Continue reading
Something was amiss. I couldn’t put my finger on it. I should have felt great, but I didn’t. After all, “needy” people were getting free groceries and I was helping them, so, why so glum? I felt like a mixture of grocery clerk and policeman, with a tiny bit of Jesus mixed in. Herein,… Continue reading
Through my studies and experience of the last few years, I am beginning to formulate some principles for helping people in material poverty. No doubt, there are future revisions and additions to be made to these thoughts, but this is where I am for now. Dignity. People deserve to be treated… Continue reading
Two groups recently approached me asking about a “missions project” that they could do. It leaves me at a bit of a loss since what I am working on is long term and arduous work. Ministry and mission is always about the people and never just about the project. People in poverty describe their… Continue reading
I recently learned of a large food pantry in our area closing while meeting with some social service providers as a community volunteer. Through personal experience in working at a food pantry, study, and personal conviction, I have come to see food pantries as a band-aid approaches to a much… Continue reading
Community organizing has gotten a bad rap because of the recent ACORN scandals. There are those community organizing groups that try to garner support to further their interests, rather than that which is in the best interest of the community. Building Powerful Community Organizations by Michael Jacoby Brown provides a healthy… Continue reading
Silos are those tall, round structures that you see on road trips through the Midwest. Each large grain farm will have one or more of them to protect the grain from the elements and store it until the market is right for selling. In the course of doing church work,… Continue reading
I want to close this series of posts with a summary of what I am learning about poverty alleviation. What is the need? (Diagnosis) Is it relief, rehabilitation or development? Are we trying to help alleviate suffering through emergency aid (relief)? Or trying get things back to their previous… Continue reading
Truly helping the poor is so much different from I first imagined. Certainly, it is more demanding, more long-term, and more relational that I ever thought. Part 2 (of 3) of Corbett and Fikkert’s book, When Helping Hurts entitled, “General Principles for Helping Without Hurting,” begins with differentiating between relief, rehabilitation, and… Continue reading
Poverty-alleviation and truly serving the poor is a lot more involved than I once thought. When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert, brings together the necessary pieces of the puzzle to get a comprehensive perspective on the topic. Last week, I introduced the book. This week, I want… Continue reading
I have long held the conviction that the Gospel is more about action than it is about words and that it is more about going to people (or encountering them in relationships) than trying to get them to come to some kind of church service. Several years ago we had a… Continue reading
