I am a community development major at Covenant College, this major is something that I love something that has shaped me to be what I am now...whatever that is. This major teaches that
The foundation to all community development principles starts with the gospel; it starts with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The implications of Jesus’ death and resurrection are vast and as “far as the curse is found”. One of the main principles of community development is that Jesus was not sent by God to die for one specific thing such as our souls. Jesus death and resurrection covers all spheres of life. It covers creation; it covers physical healing, injustice and poverty. Jesus came to heal our bodies and our souls! The saving blood of Christ covers all because of the fall, the curse of sin has affected all. This is why Jesus came to earth, to reveal the best kept secret of his redeeming love and power.
The Church’s part in this redemption is crucial. The church is filled with the image bearers of Christ. Genesis 1:27 says “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, man and woman he created them.” The church is also filled with sinful broken people. Just because we are image bearers does not mean we are not broken. The church is the representation of the body of Christ. Brian Fikkert describes this perfectly when he says “When people look at the church, they should see the One who declared—in word and in deed to the leper, the lame, and the poor—that His Kingdom is bringing healing to every speck of the universe” (Corbett and Fikkert, 2009, p. 41).
In the book, Walking with the Poor, Bryant Myers discusses the poverty trap originally designed by Robert Chambers. Myers’ poverty trap consists of six different kinds of poverty: Material, Physical weakness, Isolation, Vulnerability, Powerlessness, Spiritual poverty. Material poverty affects the household where there are few assets, clean water and sanitation is inadequate. There is not much in the household, no wealth in any form, like assets or liquid cash. Physical weakness is the lack of strength found in the poor because of the lack of nutritious food and poor health. Isolation is when the household lacks any networking or access to roads, clean water, markets, supplies and information. Vulnerability is the idea that the household is not safe from any kind of emergency or natural disaster and that the household has no voice or choice in anything. This is seen in cultural traditions like feasts and weddings that take most of the ability to save away from the poor. Powerlessness is when the household lacks the ability to impact any of its social networks, culture or life status. Spiritual poverty is when the household is affected by the fall and the curse of broken relationships with their creator, other members of the household, their social networks, even the creation surrounding them. It is when households find themselves without hope because of things like spiritual oppression or never having heard of the redeeming power of Christ.
Poverty is more than just lack of money; it encompasses all things that keep the poor in extreme poverty. Each one of these types of poverty feeds the next; each one helps the other thrive. The poor need this all encompassing healing that Jesus brought to earth with his death. There are many interventions that are practiced by organizations to help battle against this structure of circular poverty. Some of these interventions have to deal with the poor and their finances, which in turn battle all six kinds of poverty.
This post is going to set the foundation for the rest of whats to come...I'm tired, I need to go to bed. So, put this in your worldview pipe and smoke it, and while your working on this I will figure out what I want to tell you next.
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