Transcript When Helping Hurts

When Helping Hurts
On the Ground
When Helping Hurts – Welcome!
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Text – When Helping Hurts – Corbett & Fikkert
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Goal #1 – Understanding the Poor
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Goal #2 – Better how to help effectively
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Goal #3 – Compassionate Realism
Why Understand?
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People of means can sometimes despise people
less fortunate
People of means can sometimes indulge people
less fortunate
People of means often simply cannot understand
how anyone could be poor in America
There are lots of misconceptions out there.
Why Learn to Help?
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People of means don’t always know what
people really need.
People of means can hurt more than help
and not know it
People of means can be used by the less
fortunate in pursuit of wrong goals
Intended Audience
Evangelical Christians who are people of
means:
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Who live in communities of means
Who attend churches of means
For whom poverty just does not make sense.
But who want to make a difference in a way that
really helps and not hurts like so many poverty
alleviation approaches & programs
Compassion with Realism?
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Blind Side
Helped – Michael Oher
Helpers – The Tuohy’s
(Leigh Anne)
Place – Home and
Briarcrest Christian
School
Action – adoption, tutors,
advocacy
Results – graduation,
college & pro football
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Blind Sided
Helped – Michael Burrell
Helpers – The
O’Connors, Jones,
Groffs, Mortons
Place – Home, WPC,
WSM, McCaskey,
Oregon Dairy
Action – temp adoption,
academic support, job,
counseling
Results - Released
Plight of the Poor
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Poor people typically talk in terms of shame,
inferiority, powerlessness, humiliation, fear,
hopelessness, depression, social isolation
and voicelessness.
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Middle and upper class North Americans tend
to emphasize food, money, clean water,
medicine, housing, jobs, etc.
pg 53
Plight of the Poor
“In addition, the seeming intractability of their
situation, caused in large part by the lack of wellpaying jobs and the persistence of racial
discrimination, has engendered deep-seated
bitterness and anger in many of the most
desperate and poorest blacks, especially the
young people.”
(Elijah Anderson Code of the Street pg 46)
Plight of the Poor
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However the underlying diseases behind those symptoms
are not always very apparent and can differ from person to
person. A trial and error process may be necessary before a
proper diagnosis can be reached. Like all of us, poor people
are not fully aware of all that is affecting their lives and like all
of us, poor people are not always completely honest with
themselves or with others. And even after a sound diagnosis
is made, it may take years to help people overcome their
problems. Pg 56
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It may require spending yourself. “and if you spend
yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of
the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and
your night will become like the noonday.” – Isa 58:10
Four Foundational Relationships
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Relationship with God – Glorify God and
enjoy Him forever.
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Relationship with Self – Created in the image
of God giving worth and dignity
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Relationship to Others – Created to dwell in
loving relationships, fulfill callings
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Relationship with Rest of Creation – Cultural
Mandate (subdue and steward)
God
Self
Others
Religious System
Rest of
Creation
Social System
Political System
Economic System
God
Poverty of Spiritual
Intimacy
Self
Others
Poverty of
Being
Poverty of Community
Religious System
Rest of
Creation
Poverty of
Stewardship
Social System
Political System
Economic System
Immediate Causation in the Book?
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Society crams historically oppressed, uneducated,
unemployed, and relatively young human beings into
high-rise buildings , takes away their leaders,
provides them with inferior education, health care
and employment systems that pays them not to work?
(92)
Is it surprising that we see out of wedlock births,
broken families, violent crimes, drugs and end up
with nihilism? Broken systems do serious damage to
people’s worldviews. (92)
Trying to help individualists see systemic causation.
Alisa Collins Before (75) – Missing?
Context (or culture) – Chicago Projects
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Widespread drug abuse
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Failing schools
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High unemployment
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Rampant violence
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Teenage pregnancy
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Role models absent
Personal Set-up
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Pregnant – 16 years old
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Drop out of high school – by 16
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Welfare Checks
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By book time – 5 children by 3 different
men, no support
Obstacles (made your bed sleep in it or victim
in need of social redemption?)
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Few Skills
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No Husband
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Limited social network
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Can’t find or keep regular work
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Lack of decent paying jobs for Drop outs
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Welfare system deducts any funds
earned (penalized)
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Jobs/Vocational program bureaucrats
(condescending)
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Inadequate child care
Emotions
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Feelings of inferiority and inadequacy
(rather than shame)
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Lacks confidence in job hunting or votech training
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Feels trapped in the ghetto.
? Cultural Values Taught or Caught
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Subsistence or Street Values
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Habits passed down from social network.
The Line?
Personal
Responsibility
Able
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Socially
Determined
Disable
Social Determinism – personal choices are causes by
some antecedent force such that a person is not free to
choose otherwise. Hence the choice is not right or wrong,
for they do not have the power to do otherwise. The choice
just is.
Poverty of Being 1 (Dignity/Pride)
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“A major premise of this book is that until we
embrace our mutual brokenness, our work with lowincome people is likely to do far more harm than
good.” - Pg 64-author Italics
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The poor suffer from a sense in inferiority because
the have failed materially. (inferiority complex) (64)
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The rich suffer from a sense of superiority because
they have succeeded materially (god-complex). (65)
Poverty of Being 1 (67)
God-complexes Feelings of Harm to Both
Material
Definition + of Materially + Inferiority of = Materially
Poor and
Non-Poor
of Poverty
Materially
Non-Poor
Poor
Poverty of Being 1 - Answers
1.
Mutual brokenness and respect
2.
Repent of health and wealth
gospel
Poverty of Being 1
The brother in humble circumstances ought to take
pride in his high position. But the one who is rich
should take pride in his low position, because he will
pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with
scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls
and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich
man will fade away even while he goes about his
business. James 1:9-11
Poverty of Being 2 (Guilt/Blame)
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Guilt – Subtle, unconscious sense of guilt
that makes people feel apologetic about
being civilized, educated, and productive
when others are barbaric, uneducated,
and parasitic. (Helpers)
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Blame – Subtle, unconscious sense of
resentment that makes people feel their
poverty is caused by society, particularly
the civilized, educated and non-poor.
(Helpees)
Poverty of Being 2 (Guilt/Blame)
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The real hurt is when the actions of the
survivor (subsistence) or the street (criminal)
poor person perpetuate choices, lifestyles
and habit patterns that are known to lead to
various levels of poverty as a consequence.
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Hence, while blaming others, we are less
likely to make the fundamental changes in
our own lives that could lift ourselves up from
poverty.
Again, Answer to Helpers
Serve as one Among not as one Above.
Jesus never apologized for his divinity or
his perfection or suggested that maybe
humanity is better than divinity (Avatar).
But he shed his glory so that He could
serve incarnationally.
Ministry
Avoid Dependency
Preserve Dignity
Helper
Helpee
Mutual Brokenness
See Beyond Faults
Trust God To
Hurts:
Inferiority
Enabling
Humility
Empowerment
Transparency
Vulnerability
Trust God Through
Helps:
Dignity
Empowerment
Participation (110)
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Ensure participation of affected person or
population from assessment to
implementation.
Conduct application process
Respond to need if needs cannot be meant
by local agents. (We are the local agents.)
Aid workers must be called and trained
(Deacons and Deaconesses)
Participation–International Scene
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For aid to be effective, it must be linked to broad
reforms aimed at building strong institutions, rule of law
and sound government free of corruption. In short an
“enabling environment” for entrepreneurship.
- (Eberly 64, 72)
Other factors include “good harbors, close contact with
the rich world, favorable climates, adequate energy
sources, and freedom from epidemic disease.”
– Jeffrey Sach. (Eberly-70)
The West must acknowledge their role in excluding the
poor from the world trading system through trade
barriers and national subsidies. - (Eberly 72)
Participation (115)
Avoid Paternalism – Do not do things for
people that they can do for themselves.
Types of Paternalism
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Resource Paternalism – We got the Funds
Spiritual Paternalism - We got the Word
Knowledge Paternalism - We got the Know-How
Labor Paternalism - We got the Muscle
Managerial Paternalism - We can git ‘er Done
Particularity of Resources
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Jesus Christ came to the world through the Jews.
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The Gospel came to the Gentiles through the Jews.
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Japan came into the modern world through the
West.
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Africa was re-evangelized through white
missionaries.
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Certain aspects of cultural capital came to black
folks through white folks.
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Cultural capital then comes to Shanana through
Condi
Particularity of Resources
Shanana asks:
Why I got to be like her?
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Why must we learn from them?
The issue is:
1. God uses some to pass on to others what they
need.
2. Takes what is commonly required to make life
(faith in OT & NT) but disregard what is
culturally peculiar (circumcision for OT only).
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Ministry
Ensure Participation
Accept Particularity
Helper
Helpee
Humility
Know much but not all
Know some, but needs more
Servant whose received.
Student to receive.
Increased Understanding Among All