Ways (and privileged ways) of thinking about the poor and marginal among us

There are those in our country whose heritage is linked to ancestry who voluntarily came to American and whose lives reflect that line of heritage; there are those whose heritage is marked by ancestry who did not voluntarily come to America and whose lives, now, reflect that line of heritage [a CMA paraphrase, quote from “13th” (2016) a Documentary on the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution and mass incarceration].

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“‘Andrew Davey, in his book Urban Christianity and Global Order, insists that a church concerned about “its own sustainability must have strategies other than the growth paradigm’ (p. 112). Contemporary church growth models are multimillion-dollar business ventures with huge marketing campaigns and an elite celebrity leadership of its own that promote costly expectations for a local church. There should be consideration whether such growth expectations divert resources and human capital away from a church’s responsibilities regarding the poor. While a church’s sustainability should be directed outward and toward the future, it should also have positive, redemptive consequences for the community, with special consideration for its vulnerable populations” (Wasted Blog Post, “Our ways of doing church are not neutral,” 8/13/15 ).

“We often fall into the trap of thinking that the solution to injustice is to gain power, hoping that once the roles of power have been reversed, the coercion will stop. But every bloody revolution in the history of the world shows that this does not work. David inevitably becomes Goliath. The oppressed persons who seize control simply become the oppressors” (Craig Greenfield, Subversive Jesus).

​“. . . affluence that’s not balanced and informed by daily, meaningful interaction with people on the margins is poisonous to the Christian faith” (Judy Wu Dominick, “Why the affluent need the poor”).

“You might properly say in your own case, ‘To beg I am ashamed’; but never be ashamed to beg for the poor; yea, in this case, be an importunate beggar; do not easily take a denial. Use all the address, all the understanding, all the influence you have; at the same time trusting in Him that has the hearts of all men in his hands” (John Wesley, Sermon 98 “On Visiting the Sick”). ​

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*This is the fourth instalment of quotes from my presentation on "Church (local), the poor and their neighborhood," which are somewhat random, but still focused on the church and the poor.  ​For all the posted "Church (local) quotes >>