Holistic OutreachCompassion, Justice and the Christian Life

A Personal Pilgrimage

A Personal Pilgrimage

A Personal Pilgrimage

A Personal Pilgrimage

A Personal Pilgrimage

Holistic Ministry: What does this mean?

• “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. . . . God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening , and there was morning—the sixth day” (Genesis 1:27, 31).

• The starting point is a proper understanding of the nature of humankind.

Holistic Ministry

• Seeing things as an integrated whole.• Recognizes the interrelationship between all

aspects of an entity, problem, or topic.• The Hebrew (Biblical) worldview was “holistic”

Concept of Shalom• Later worldviews would tend to split the world

and humans into two: Body and Soul

God Cares for Us in Every Way

• Jesus when through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:35-36)

• He cares for their physical and their spiritual needs.

God Cares for Us in Every Way

• Consider the birds of the air. . . . Consider the lilies of the field. . . . They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, . . . will he not much more cloth you? So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” (Matthew 6)

When We Speak of our Mission, What do We Mean?

• What is the “great commission”?• “Go ye therefore and make disciples of all

nations, baptizing them and teaching them to observe all things, whatsoever I have commanded you.”

When We Speak of our Mission, What do We Mean?

• What is the “greatest commandment”?• Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all

your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and the greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor like yourself.” (Matthew 22:37)

• Jesus says the greatest duty toward fellow human beings is Love.

What is the Context of this Love?

• The Parable of the Good Samaritan is instructive – Luke 10:25-37

• Who was the neighbor?• Being a neighbor is the greatest

commandment!• How many classes do we have on that?!

“Being a Neighbor 101”• But we see how hard being a neighbor is.

Servants or Friends?• Christ turned everything upside down: • “The greatest among you will be your servant”

(Matthew 23:11)• “The last shall be first, and the first shall be

last” (Matthew 20:16)• “Your attitude should be the same as that of

Christ Jesus: Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant” (Phil. 2:5-6)

What does it mean to be a Servant?

The Monkey and the Fish

Servanthood Definitions• Openness: the ability to welcome people into

your presence and make them feel safe (Biblical concepts of hospitality and shalom)

• Acceptance: the ability to communicate value, regard, worth and esteem to the other person (Biblical concepts of acceptance and honoring one another)

• Trust: the ability to build confidence in the relationship so that both parties believe the other person will not intentionally injure or hurt them (Biblical concepts of community and communion)

Servanthood Definitions• Learning: the ability to glean relevant

information about and from the other person and culture (Biblical concepts of grace and the priesthood of all believers)

• Understanding: the ability to see patterns of behavior and underlying values that reveal the integrated wholeness and integrity of the people and their culture (Biblical concepts of creation and the imagio Dei) .

Servanthood Definitions

• Serving: the ability to relate to people in such a way that their dignity as human beings is affirmed in godly ways, and they are more empowered to live their lives (Biblical concepts of ministry—diakonia)

Servants or Friends?• “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant

does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father, I have made known to you” (John 15:15)

• What is more difficult, to be a servant, or to be a friend?

• Does not being a neighbor imply being a “friend”?

• What are the implications for our outreach to our “neighbors”?

How is this Possible?

• Only by the power of the Gospel• God’s unmerited love toward us is the

example• God’s unmerited love toward us is the power

To Sum Up

• An accurate understanding of the nature of human beings

• God cares for all of our needs of Body and Soul

• God gives us power to reach out to people in all their needs

• True servanthood is being a neighbor—a friend

The Benefits of Holistic Ministry

• A sense of satisfaction over helping someone in need

• It demonstrates the love of Christ in a tangible way

• It affords us an opportunity to exercise our discipleship imitating God’s greatest attribute—mercy

• We can see lives changed—and Christ’s kingdom expanded

Challenges to Holistic Ministry

• The question of root causes• The temptation to implement an “easy fix”• The feeling of being used• The risk of taking someone’s dignity away• The greater complication of “getting involved”

What about “Root Causes”?

• Who sinned here, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind? (John 9)

• How do we see the poor, the downtrodden, those who are suffering?

• Jesus’ answer: “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life!”

The temptation to implement an “easy fix”

• Some will assuage their conscience by dropping a dollar in a cup

• Food pantries and clothes closets• Donation of goods that don’t help because we

feel guilty throwing out.• These things often perpetuate a needy

person’s desperate situation rather than help it

The Risk of Being “Used”

• Often our desire to be helpful can lead to unintended consequences. (Ted)

• We find ourselves in an unexpected, unusual situation.

• We find ourselves in an adversarial relationship with those we want to “help.”

(Clothes closet control)

• “And you call yourself a Christian?”

The Risk of Taking Someone’s Dignity Away

• The relationship between the “haves” and the “have nots” tears away at people’s self-image

• E.g. Suburban families taking gifts to the homes of poorer urban families

• People begin to think of themselves as objects of someone else’s pity.

• They lose hope—become fatalistic

Ancient Hebrew Levels of Giving

• Lowest Level: Give a poor person a gift with his/her full knowledge that you are the donor.

• Third Level: Give an anonymous gift to meet an immediate need.

• Second Level: Provide work that the needy one knows that you provided.

• First Level: Provide a job for someone without his/her knowledge that you provided it.

The Greater Complication of “Getting Involved”

• Doing good holistic ministry is hard.• “Holistic ministry provides probably one of the

greatest satisfactions that one could imagine. At the same time, it is so very costly—emotionally, psychologically, physically, and financially. . . . Holistic ministry is giving and serving above your ability, beyond your ability. Doing holistic ministry is hard.” –Churches that Make a Difference

• Alternatives to “one-way charity” are complex to create!

Challenges to Holistic MinistryDiscussion

• The question of root causes• The temptation to implement an “easy fix”• The feeling of being used• The risk of taking someone’s dignity away• The greater complication of “getting involved”

Guidelines for Healthy Holistic Ministry

• Never do for someone else, what they can do for themselves (“Doing for” others what they can do for themselves is charity at its worst).

• Never do for a community what it can do for itself.

• Seek to preserve people’s dignity, no matter what you do.

• “Move from Simple Charity to Substantive Help” (Dr. Alyn Waller)

Las Pacayas

The Road to Las Pacayas

Agricultural Education

Agricultural Program

Cooking Over An Open Fire

Cooking Dinner

Brick Stove In Use

One Of The Latrines

Supplied By The Mission

The Congregation

Guidelines Healthy Holistic Ministry

• Use your Head as much as your Heart• Due Diligence• Know the community that you want to “serve”• Invest in organizations that can do it, if you

cannot get involved personally • The magic of Exchange• Network• Don’t be afraid to think big: Vision • Don’t expect change to come from within

From Betterment to DevelopmentBetterment

Does for others

Maintains status quo

Improves conditions

Gives things away

Alleviates an immediate community

need

Development

Does with others

Strengthens Capacity

Improves possibilities

Helps people produce for themselves

Provides for the long-term health of the community

Holistic OutreachCompassion, Justice and the Christian Life