Cornerstone Curriculum, Official Certification Edition

LESSON 2 | TOXIC POVERTY WORK / 47

Conclusion Toxic Poverty Work outlines the type of poverty work that naturally arises from our sinful nature. In order to become more self-aware of our biases, we must renew our thinking concerning our own past-practice of poverty work, freely admit where we have participated in doing toxic poverty work, and carefully identify the marks of toxic poverty work as a safeguard against further participation in it. The following questions were designed to help you reflect on the material in Uncommon Church , Redemptive Poverty Work , and the video Toxic Poverty Work . Be clear and concise in your answers (reflect on these questions and answer them in the Forum and be prepared to discuss them in our face-to-face meeting). 1. Have you ever lived in poverty? How does your experience (or lack of it) affect your understanding of the work you do with people who do live in this condition? 2. How easy or hard is it for you to accept that if you have participated in poverty work, at some point, you have practiced toxic poverty work? 3. What has caught your attention about this topic? Why? 4. On a scale of one to ten with one being “not much” and ten being “very much,” assign a number that reflects where you are concerning toxic poverty work. Reflect on how you determined the number. 5. What issues do you need to personally engage because of reading this content? This lesson provides a practical theology for the practice of toxic poverty work. • Healthy poverty work begins when we grapple with the foundational weakness built into our work – the idealistic belief that we can rescue people from their circumstances called savior syndrome. • The marks of toxic poverty work are savior syndrome, paternalism, burnout, and cynicism.

page 34 & 6

Student Questions and Response page 34 & 7

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R edemp t i v e P ov e rt y W ork

CONNECTION

Summary of Key Concepts