Redemptive Poverty Work Student Workbook

Redemptive Poverty Work Student Workbook

Redemptive Poverty Work Student Workbook

© 2023. The Urban Ministry Institute. All Rights Reserved.

Copying, redistribution, and/or sale of these materials, or any unauthorized transmission, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher is prohibited. Requests for permission should be addressed in writing to:

The Urban Ministry Institute 3701 East 13th Street North Suite 100 Wichita, KS 67208

ISBN: 978-1-62932-062-5

Published by TUMI Press A division of World Impact, Inc.

The Urban Ministry Institute is a ministry of World Impact, Inc.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bible. A division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All Rights Reserved.

REDEMPTIVE POVERTY WORK Alvin Sanders

TUMI Press 3701 East 13th Street North Suite 100 Wichita, Kansas 67208

Table of Contents

7

About the Instructor

9

Introduction to Redemptive Poverty Work

11

Course Requirements

Lesson 1 A Brief Theological Reflection

13

Lesson 2 Toxic Poverty Work

23

Lesson 3 Redemptive Poverty Work

33

Lesson 4 Rhythms of Life and Poverty Work

43

Appendix

57

Appendix 1: The Nicene Creed

59

Appendix 2: Assignment Checklist

60

Appendix 3: Reading Completion Sheet

61

Appendix 4: Scripture Memory Grading Form Sample

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About the Instructor

When people in under-resourced communities experience trauma, the local church can be a beacon of hope. Alvin Sanders learned this from firsthand experience. While serving as an urban leader in the second most violent neighborhood in the country, a tragedy took place. A police shooting with racial overtones rocked the neighborhood. As a response, Alvin planted an innovative church that continues to care for, serve, and encourage people from all walks of life. Through this experience he discovered his personal mission: to follow hard after God, to love his family, and to invest in those who invest in the poor. Alvin is a churchman at heart. After church planting and pastoring, he served as a denominational leader with the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA) for seven years. While there he directed the EFCA All People Initiative. Under his leadership the EFCA went from 13% of their congregations classified as urban, ethnic, or multi-ethnic to 22%. He also authored the book Bridging the Diversity Gap . With his passion for church leaders, his move to World Impact in 2015 was a natural fit. His educational background includes a BS in Biblical Studies from Cincinnati Christian University and an MA in Religion & Urban Ministry from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He earned a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Miami University. Since 2004 he has served as an adjunct professor at a variety of seminaries across the nation. In his free time, Alvin is an avid reader and loves to follow his favorite sports teams. He is grateful for his amazing wife, Caroline, who maintains a counseling practice in their hometown of Cincinnati. They have been blessed with two wonderful daughters. In November 2017, Alvin was named the President and CEO of World Impact.

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Introduction to Redemptive Poverty Work

Welcome to Dr. Alvin Sanders’s training on the concept of Redemptive Poverty Work. Whether you volunteer or serve in full time ministry, this teaching offers a fresh perspective on how to empower those living in the condition of poverty. This learning path will enable you to examine your ideas concerning those who live in the condition of poverty and how to do effective work among them. This perspective offers a fresh and revolutionary way to engage and interact with those who live in underserved communities, here in the United States and around the world. Watch the video, An Opportunity to Live Redemptive Poverty , by Dr. Don Davis, on how we need a clear, biblical, and compelling perspective on what it means to conduct life-affirming care in communities of poverty. Course Description The goal of this course is to help you do the type of work among the poor that honors God and helps you fulfill your desire to make the world a better place. • Our first lesson, A Brief Theological Reflection , provides a simple, practical theology for poverty work. We’ll talk about three themes that undergird why we do what we do. • Lesson two, Toxic Poverty Work , outlines the type of poverty work that naturally arises from our sinful nature. We’ll talk about what our work will produce if we do not practice self-awareness. • Lesson three, Redemptive Poverty Work , defines the goal of our activity. We’ll explore the three types of poverty work available to us and how our response to the work that Christ has done on the cross should aspire us towards redemption of lives and neighborhoods. • Lesson four, Rhythms of Life and Poverty Work , lays out the spirituality of The Great Tradition of the Church. World Impact invites you to implement these practices in your life to act as a countermeasure to toxic poverty work, as well as a catalyst to grow in your faith.

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Course Objectives After completing Redemptive Poverty Work , you will have the tools to: • Articulate a brief biblical theology for poverty work. • Analyze poverty work for toxic practices and attitudes. • Reflect critically on poverty work to align it with God’s redemptive work in Christ. • Enact a commitment to root poverty work in effective spiritual practices that represent the Great Tradition of the Church.

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Course Requirements

To complete this Redemptive Poverty Work training you will need the following materials: • A Bible • A copy of the book Uncommon Church: Community Transformation for the Common Good , by Dr. Alvin Sanders • A copy of the handbook Redemptive Poverty Work , by Dr. Alvin Sanders • Course schedule (Your Mentor will provide this.) • Assignment Checklist (See appendix. Your Mentor will provide this.) • Reading Completion Sheet (See appendix. Your Mentor will provide this.) • Scripture Memory Grading Form (See appendix. Your Mentor will provide this.) Attendance and Class Participation . . . . . . 30% 60 pts Memory Verses . . . . . . . . . . . 10% 20 pts Quizzes . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15% 30 pts Discussion Questions . . . . . . . . . . 10% 20 pts Readings and Homework Assignments . . . . . 15% 30 pts Final Exam . . . . . . . . . . . . 20% 40 pts Total: 100% 200 pts Grade Requirements Attendance at each class session is a course requirement. Absences will affect your grade. If an absence cannot be avoided, please let your Mentor know in advance. If you miss a class it is your responsibility to find out the assignments you missed, and to talk with your Mentor about turning in late work. Much of the learning associated with this course takes place through discussions with your classmates. Therefore, your active involvement will be sought and expected in every class session. Summary of Grade Categories andWeights

Course Requirements

Attendance and Class Participation

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The memorized Word is a central priority for your life and ministry as a believer and leader in the Church of Jesus Christ. There are relatively few verses, but they are significant in their content. Each class session you will be expected to recite (orally or in writing) the assigned verses to your Mentor. (See the Appendix for a sample Scripture Memory Grading Form. Your Mentor will provide this form for you.)* After each lesson there will be five discussion questions that your mentor will provide. If you are meeting online, you will discuss these questions in the forum with your classmates in WIU. If your class is in person, your Mentor will decide how/when the discussion will happen in your class. Classwork and homework of various types may be given during class by your Mentor or be written in your Student Workbook. If you have any questions about what is required by these or when they are due, please ask your Mentor. It is important that the student read the assigned readings from the text and from the Scriptures in order to be prepared for class discussion. Please turn in the “Reading Completion Sheet” on a weekly basis. There will be an option to receive extra credit for extended readings. (See the Appendix for an example of the Reading Completion Sheet. Your Mentor will provide this form for you.)* At the end of each unit, your Mentor will give you a unit exam (closed book) to be completed at home. You will be asked a question that helps you reflect on what you have learned in the unit and how it affects the way you think about or practice ministry. Your Mentor will give you due dates and other information when the Unit Exam is handed out. Grading Redemptive Poverty Work course is Pass/Fail, where passing is 70%. Unexcused late work or failure to turn in assignments will affect your grade, so please plan ahead and communicate conflicts with your instructor.

Memory Verses

Discussion Questions

Class and Homework Assignments

Readings

Final Exam

* Mentors may download the Assignment Checklist, Scripture Memory Grading Form, and the Reading Completion Sheet from the WIU Redemptive Poverty Work Dashboard.

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A Brief Theological Reflection

L E S S O N 1

page 11 & 1

Welcome in the strong name of Jesus Christ! After your reading, study, discussion, and application of the materials in this lesson, you will be able to: • Renew your thinking concerning people who live in poverty. • Reflect on how your preconceived ideas about those in poverty measure up to key biblical themes. • Provide a brief practical theology for your poverty work. Pray the following prayer: Jesus, you are the King of Glory and the King of Creation. Teach us to recognize the ways of your kingdom that we might participate as faithful and devout residents in the space between a broken world and the coming kingdom of God. Amen. Read Matthew 25.31-46 . Reflect and journal on potential life application. Close this section by listening to “The Sovereign Love of God” and meditate on the Scripture you just read. If I could wave a magic wand, I would do so to give every Christian a passion to study their Bible. In several decades of ministry, I have come to believe the number one problem we face is biblical illiteracy. I know when I began to read the Bible for all its worth, it changed the trajectory of my faith. I hope every Christian will have this testimony at some point in their life. The condition of poverty is a huge theme we find throughout Scripture. One thing concerning this theme commonly overlooked is the fact that most biblical characters lived out their faith while in poverty. The whole book of Exodus is about how God delivered an impoverished nation of slaves, showing generosity by giving them a land of their own. Jesus was born into poverty, lived while working among the poor, and condemned the abuse of wealth. One of the reasons why I think this theme is not recognized is the stigma that is often attached to those in poverty. This stigma is the common ~ Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals.

Lesson Objectives

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Devotion

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(but not biblical) belief that those in poverty deserve to be there. We have all been influenced by the strong notion of the protestant work ethic. This is the belief that if we are prepared, attentive, and thrifty enough poverty will not come our way. Yet that is not the picture the Bible paints. Certainly, one of the causes of poverty is unwise moral choices. Yet it is not the only cause. For example, Luke 16.19-31 points out a person could be poor because of neglect. It’s not hard to find examples where the citizens work hard, but the people are exploited by corrupt leaders of industry and/or government. Among other poverty causes we find in Scripture are the weather, sickness, being old, unexpected loss of a spouse – the list is lengthy. We all are affected by the fall described in Genesis 3, and poverty is one of the results. The first step in empowering the poor is to realize the Bible positions poverty as a condition, not an identity. Viewing poverty this way is essential because it is foundational to redemptive poverty work. We can work among the poor without toxicity because the Kingdom of God is here. Let this brief overview launch you into deeper study, renewing the ideas you may have about the poor and their neighborhoods.

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Recite and/or sing the Nicene Creed (located in the Appendix).

Nicene Creed

Memorize Matthew 25.45 in a standard Bible translation (not a paraphrase version, e.g. The Message ) and grade yourself using the scripture-memory-form.doc.

Scripture Memory

To prepare for class, refer to the schedule for this course to see what assignments are due before your next class meeting and complete the

Assignments

assignments below: Read the following:

• Redemptive Poverty Work – “Introduction” and “A Brief Theological Reflection” (pages 11-22)

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• Uncommon Church: Community Transformation for the Common Good – Foreword by Efrem Smith – Chapter 3: Jesus Did, Not Jesus Would: Jesus and the Condition of Poverty – Chapter 6: Faith and Works: Eliminating the Tension Between Evangelism and Justice Summarize each book reading with no more than a paragraph or two per summary. In this summary, please give your best understanding of what you think was the main point in the reading. Do not be overly concerned about giving detail; simply write out what you consider to be the main point discussed in that chapter of the book. Use the Reading Completion form. Submit a Reading Completion Sheet for readings for each book (if you are completing this course in World Impact U, use the “Submit Assignments” green bar at the top of any page in your Redemptive Poverty Work course in WIU). Case Study A young urban minister who oversees training volunteers for a tutoring program for a school in an impoverished neighborhood has come to you for advice. Her job is to give an orientation before the volunteers are assigned kids to work with. She has found that she consistently runs into a problem. In every orientation a debate breaks out among the new volunteers concerning the causes of poverty. One group argues that people are poor because they made bad choices in their lives. The others argue that people are poor because of economic injustice. Rarely does either group cite Scripture to back up their arguments. What is your advice to her?

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CONTACT

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A Brief Theological Reflection

Dr. Alvin Sanders

CONTENT

This lesson provides a simple practical theology for poverty work. We’ll talk about three themes that undergird why we do what we do. Our objectives for this lesson, A Brief Theological Reflection , is to enable you to: • Renew your thinking concerning people who live in poverty. • Reflect on how your preconceived ideas about those in poverty measure up to key biblical themes. • Provide a brief practical theology for your poverty work. Christians are much more likely than non-Christians to view poverty as the result of personal failure. This mentality leads to the poverty-stricken being treated as “projects” instead of people to serve, which is not what God intended. The Bible gives significant instruction concerning how we are to treat those in poverty. We will survey Old Testament principles of empowerment and then point out two things we know about Jesus: he favored the poor, and he warned against riches.

Summary page 11 & 2

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I. Poverty Is a Theme in Both the Old and NewTestaments.

Video Outline page 12 & 3

A. Old Testament principles of empowerment

page 12 & 4

1. Definition: To empower someone is to provide pathways of opportunity to improve their situation.

2. In the Old Testament we see that:

a. Extraordinary attention was to be given towards making sure that justice was done regarding those who were poor (Exod. 23.6; Amos 5.12; Ps. 10.2, 9).

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b. At all times, some fruit and vegetables were to be left in the fields for the poor to gather (Lev. 19.9-10).

c. No interest was to be charged on loans to those in poverty (Exod. 22.25).

d. Every three years a tithe was to be made to orphans and widows (Deut. 14.28-29).

e. Every seven years farm fields were to rest and not to be used for profit but rather for those less fortunate to gather what grew naturally for themselves (Exod. 23.10-11; Lev. 25.3-6).

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f. Slaves were to be freed after six years of service (Exod. 21.2).

g. Every fiftieth year (Year of Jubilee) lands were to revert to their original owners (Lev. 25.8-17).

B. Jesus favored the poor.

page 13 & 5

1. We see Christ’s special concern for the poor in his earthly ministry (Luke 4.18-20).

a. Jesus did his ministry as an everyday, common person (Mark 2.15-17)

b. His hometown of Nazareth was not looked upon favorably (John 1.44-45).

c. His birth in a stable was characteristic of people in poverty (Luke 2.7).

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d. Jesus entered and lived in the world in the humblest, most ordinary way imaginable (2 Cor. 8.9).

2. At his return, we will give an account to our Lord of how we treated the poor during our lifetimes (Matt. 25.31-46).

a. We will have to provide evidence of what we did to create pathways of opportunity for those who live in the condition of poverty (Matt 25.35-36, 42-43).

b. Jesus equated taking care of people who are hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, sick, and in prison as taking care of him (Matt 25.40, 45).

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c. This is not done to earn salvation, but rather to live considering the grace we have been extended by Christ (Eph 2.8-10).

C. Jesus warned against riches.

1. Jesus emphatically taught against the common mentality that being wealthy guaranteed salvation (Matt. 19.23-30).

2. He taught that money is the primary thing we need to guard against becoming an idol (Matt. 6.24).

3. He taught that money has no owners, just spenders and that we should not put our identity in wealth (Luke 12.13-21).

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Conclusion Redemptive Poverty Work is anchored on a simple, practical theology that includes renewing your thinking concerning people living in poverty, identifying your own preconceived ideas on poverty against key biblical themes, and affirming basic truths related to doing poverty work. The following questions were designed to help you reflect on the material in Uncommon Church , Redemptive Poverty Work , and the video A Brief Theological Reflection . 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. Do you believe biblical illiteracy concerning the poor is a problem that can be solved? More importantly, how firmly do you believe it is a problem worth solving? 2. Many people feel uncomfortable when the topic of poverty comes up, especially if they have never experienced it. Other than the protestant work ethic mentioned, why do you think this is the case? 3. Besides it being a kingdom priority, what are your top three reasons for pursuing poverty work from a biblical perspective? Are there legitimate reasons to not pursue it? How do you plan on reconciling these to move forward? 4. How you spend your time, talent, and treasure towards those in poverty shows that you have a passion for loving your neighbor. Provide life evidence to support where you presently are concerning this. 5. What do you suggest is the most important thing you can do to apply the things you’ve learned to your life?

Student Questions and Response page 14 & 6

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CONNECTION

This lesson provides a practical theology for the practice of redemptive poverty work. • Too often we let our societal ideas overshadow biblical ideas concerning those in poverty. • Most of the characters of the Bible were people who lived in working poverty.

Summary of Key Concepts

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• The Old Testament stresses the principle of creating pathways of opportunity for the poor. • Jesus was not wealthy when he lived on earth and his ministry occurred mainly among the common people. • Jesus showed special concern for those in poverty. • Jesus warned against riches and condemned economic injustice.

Now is the time for you to discuss with your fellow students your questions about our lesson, A Brief Theological Reflection . What questions do you have, considering the material you have just studied?

Student Application and Implications

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CASE STUDY

Having completed this teaching, revisit the case study from earlier in the lesson. How might you respond differently, given the content of the teaching? A young urban minister who oversees training volunteers for a tutoring program for a school in an impoverished neighborhood has come to you for advice. Her job is to give an orientation before the volunteers are assigned kids to work with. She has found that she consistently runs into a problem. In every orientation a debate breaks out among the new volunteers concerning the causes of poverty. One group argues that people are poor because they made bad choices in their lives. The others argue that people are poor because of economic injustice. Rarely does either group cite Scripture to back up their arguments. What is your advice to her?

page 15 & 7

Redemptive Poverty Work is anchored on a simple, practical theology that includes renewing your thinking concerning people living in poverty, identifying your own preconceived ideas on poverty against key biblical themes, and affirming basic truths related to doing poverty work.

Restatement of the Lesson’s Thesis

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If you are interested in pursuing some of the ideas from this lesson, A Brief Theological Reflection , you might want to give these books a try: Davis, Don L. A Compelling Testimony: Maintaining a Disciplined Walk, Christlike Character, and Godly Relationships as God’s Servant , Foundations Course, Wichita: TUMI, 2006, 2012. Davis, Don L. Sacred Roots: A Primer on Retrieving the Great Tradition , 2nd Ed., Wichita: TUMI, 2010, 2017. Take some time to meditate on how the Holy Spirit is connecting the material from this lesson A Brief Theological Reflection to your life and ministry. How might you think, or act differently in a real situation based on this lesson? Does this lesson cause you to reconsider any of your past thoughts or actions? Pray that our Lord would show you examples from your own life where this lesson may apply.

Resources and Bibliographies

Ministry Connections

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Ask the Holy Spirit to illumine your heart concerning A Brief Theological Reflection . Offer yourself anew to our Lord’s service as a redemptive poverty worker. Pray that he would provide both the insight and the courage to apply what you are learning.

Counseling and Prayer

ASSIGNMENTS

Memorize Luke 4.18-19 from a standard translation.

Scripture Memory

To prepare for the next lesson, please read the following: • Redemptive Poverty Work – “Toxic Poverty Work” (pages 23-30) • Uncommon Church: Community Transformation for the Common Good – Chapter 2: What Would Jesus Do? Poverty Is a Condition, Not an Identity – Chapter 7: There Goes the Neighborhood: Understanding the Powers That Be

Reading Assignment

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Prepare for the Quiz. You will be quizzed on the content of this lesson after the Face-to face Meeting. Make sure that you spend time reviewing your chapter reading and covering your notes, especially focusing on the main ideas of the lesson.

Other Assignments

Lesson two, Toxic Poverty Work , outlines the type of poverty work that naturally arises from our sinful nature. We’ll talk about what our work will produce if we do not practice self-awareness.

Looking Forward to the Next Lesson

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Toxic Poverty Work

L E S S O N 2

page 17 & 1

Welcome in the strong name of Jesus Christ! After your reading, study, discussion, and application of the materials in this lesson, you will be able to: • Renew your thinking concerning the poverty work you practice. • Reflect on how you may have participated in doing toxic poverty work. • Identify the marks of toxic poverty work. Pray the following prayer: God of the lowly and the mighty, you know the ugliness of your people when we harm and destroy one another, yet you offer us forgiveness of our sins if we but turn to you. Expand our hearts to receive the mercy you give us, that, in turn, we may share your grace and mercy with others each moment of our lives. Amen. Read Luke 4.14-30 . Reflect and journal on potential life application. Close this section by listening to “We Speak to Nations” and meditate on the Scripture you just read. One summer day many years ago after dinner my youngest daughter Gabby asked me if she could go outside and play. We had just moved into the neighborhood, and I didn’t know which families were safe, and which ones were to be avoided. Therefore, I told her she could only play in our yard. After about ten minutes I went to the window to check on her. And I watched as my angel saw some kids down the street, scanned to see if anybody was looking, and marched herself to their yard to play with them. I immediately opened the door, and when our eyes met, she started crying. She walked slowly back to the house to face what her daddy had in store for her. I had three choices. I could give her justice. Justice would be to give her what she deserved for violating my command, a punishment of some sort. I could give her mercy, which is to not give her what she deserves,

Lesson Objectives

Devotion

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~ DailyLectio.

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no punishment yet no reward. And the last option is I could give her grace, which is to give her what she does not deserve. Tearfully Gabby confessed unprompted that leaving the yard was wrong and that she was sorry. I didn’t show justice, probably because as my wife says I am wrapped around both of my daughters’ fingers. I did show some mercy, as in place of justice she got a stern talking to. She received grace, because after the stern discussion I took her out for ice cream. Ice cream for disobedience? Sounds like something Jesus would do. For that, we should be thankful. What does this have to do with poverty work? What Gabby illustrated is our natural sin nature that we first read about in Genesis 3, the story of the fall. Without self-awareness, we will automatically do poverty work based on our own motives, with very little consideration of the people we desire to help. It often is done under the guise of good intentions and leads to toxicity that in the end doesn’t benefit anyone. This lesson may be tough for you. Reality is I have yet to meet anyone who has attempted poverty work and does not have at least one toxic incident within her or his experience. Keep in mind the responses of God of justice, mercy, and grace. Try to give yourself mercy and grace, and let God decide if you deserve justice. Then remember that you’ve already received grace, and work to move away from toxic poverty work.

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Recite and/or sing the Nicene Creed (located in the Appendix).

Nicene Creed

Memorize Luke 4.18-19 in a standard Bible translation (not a paraphrase version, e.g. The Message ) and grade yourself using the scripture-memory-form.doc.

Scripture Memory

To prepare for class, refer to the schedule for this course to see what assignments are due before your next class meeting and complete the

Assignments

assignments below: Read the following:

• Redemptive Poverty Work – “Toxic Poverty Work” (pages 23-30)

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• Uncommon Church: Community Transformation for the Common Good – Chapter 2: What Would Jesus Do? Poverty Is a Condition, Not an Identity – Chapter 7: There Goes the Neighborhood: Understanding the Powers That Be Summarize each book reading with no more than a paragraph or two per summary. In this summary, please give your best understanding of what you think was the main point in the reading. Do not be overly concerned about giving detail; simply write out what you consider to be the main point discussed in that chapter of the book. Use the Reading Completion form. Submit a Reading Completion Sheet for readings for each book (if you are completing this course in World Impact U, use the “Submit Assignments” green bar at the top of any page in your Redemptive Poverty Work course in WIU). Discuss the Case Study: Some friends ask you to visit the Christian food pantry they volunteer at. As someone they trust, they want you to observe and give your opinion on its operations. The first thing you notice as you walk up are some shirtless guys gambling, smoking, and drinking right around the entrance. When you walk in, you are struck by how dark and dingy the interior is. Things seem chaotic and you cannot discern any rhyme or reason to how people receive their groceries. People are getting antsy waiting. Then a young preacher comes into the waiting area and gives a sermon. When he is done, everyone raises their hand to receive Christ. After about an hour, the first person goes forward to get a bag of groceries, which turns into a huge argument between the volunteer and the customer over food choices. The volunteer tells him that he gets whatever is given to him, and he should be happy about it. Afterwards, you go out to lunch with your friends to discuss your observations. What do you tell them?

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CONTACT

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Toxic PovertyWork

Dr. Alvin Sanders

CONTENT

Toxic Poverty Work outlines the type of poverty work that naturally arises from our sinful nature. We’ll talk about what our work will produce if we do not practice self-awareness. Our objectives for this lesson, Toxic Poverty Work , is to enable you to: • Renew your thinking concerning the poverty work you practice. • Reflect on how you may have participated in doing toxic poverty work. • Identify the marks 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.

Summary page 17 & 2

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I. Savior Syndrome: Taking on a Role God Never Intended Us to Have

Video Outline page 18 & 3

A. Through our good works, we attempt to rescue people or neighborhoods in poverty.

B. Our good deeds do not grant us superhuman powers to rescue people.

C. Consequences of savior syndrome:

1. Poverty work becomes our identity.

2. We can become relationally isolated.

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II. Paternalism: An Issue of Power Dynamics

page 18 & 4

A. Oxford Languages dictionary definition: “the policy or practice on the part of people in positions of authority of restricting the freedom and responsibilities of those subordinate to them in the subordinates’ supposed best interest.”

B. Are we a “guide on the side” or a “sage on the stage”?

C. The poor are gifted by God to lead their own lives. “You can do it. We can help.”

D. Example: people who are financially secure are in the best position to advise those who lack financial security.

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1. This places the poverty worker in the tempting position to use the power that comes with their resources to manipulate and control those they are trying to help.

2. Factors such as race, gender, and historical injustice, these power dynamics further cause good intentions to morph into a form of oppression.

III. Burnout and Cynicism: Suffering fromFatigue and Disillusionment

page 19 & 5

A. “Deconversion” is often a by-product of becoming weary of doing good work.

1. Doing poverty work is never ending, and yet the problem of poverty persists.

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2. Christians doing poverty work may come to believe that their faith cannot explain the injustices they confront daily.

B. Many Christians struggle to understand the value and role of the local church when it comes to poverty work.

1. The Two Structures of God’s Redemptive Mission , Dr. Ralph Winter (August, 1973)

a. He defined the two types of organizations (modality and sodality) that God uses in every human society to work towards redemption.

b. Organizations that have proven their worth and stood the test of time, such as churches and denominations, are considered a modality.

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c. A sodality is an organization more focused on a narrowly defined mission – a means of expression God uses within a historical moment, such as a Christian mission agency, nonprofit, or parachurch.

d. Dr. Winter’s conclusion was that the best pathway towards redemption was for modalities and sodalities to work in harmony. He suggests that God’s redemptive activity requires both types of organizations.

2. Advocacy should be viewed as your formal or informal way of living out the mission of your local church.

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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 20 & 6

Student Questions and Response page 20 & 7

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CONNECTION

Summary of Key Concepts

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• There is limited value in arguing over the causes of why people are poor. • The number one reason people in the U.S. are in poverty is because they have an employment situation that does not pay well enough. • God is bigger than the condition of poverty.

Now is the time for you to discuss with your fellow students your questions about our lesson, Toxic Poverty Work . What questions do you have, considering the material you have just studied?

Student Application and Implications

CASE STUDY

Having completed this teaching, revisit the case study from earlier in the lesson. How might you respond differently, given the content of the teaching? Some friends ask you to visit the Christian food pantry they volunteer at. As someone they trust, they want you to observe and give your opinion on its operations. The first thing you notice as you walk up are some shirtless guys gambling, smoking, and drinking right around the entrance. When you walk in, you are struck by how dark and dingy the interior is. Things seem chaotic and you cannot discern any rhyme or reason to how people receive their groceries. People are getting antsy waiting. Then a young preacher comes into the waiting area and gives a sermon. When he is done, everyone raises their hand to receive Christ. After about an hour, the first person goes forward to get a bag of groceries, which turns into a huge argument between the volunteer and the customer over food choices. The volunteer tells him that he gets whatever is given to him, and he should be happy about it. Afterwards, you go out to lunch with your friends to discuss your observations. What do you tell them?

page 21 & 8

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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 poverty work, admit where we have participated in doing toxic poverty work, and identify the marks of toxic poverty work. If you are interested in pursuing some of the ideas from this lesson, Toxic Poverty Work , you might want to give these books a try: Sanders, Alvin. Bridging the Diversity Gap . Indianapolis: Wesleyan Publishing House, 2013. Davis, Don L. Winning the World: Facilitating Urban Church Planting Movements , Foundations Course, Wichita: TUMI, 2007, 2012. Davis, Don L. Get Your Pretense On! Wichita: TUMI, 2018. Take some time to meditate on how the Holy Spirit is connecting the material from this lesson Toxic Poverty Work to your life and ministry. How might you think, or act differently in a real situation based on this lesson? Does this lesson cause you to reconsider any of your past thoughts or actions? Pray that our Lord would show you examples from your own life where this lesson may apply.

Restatement of the Lesson’s Thesis

Resources and Bibliographies

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Ministry Connections

Ask the Holy Spirit to illumine your heart concerning Toxic Poverty Work . Offer yourself anew to our Lord’s service as a redemptive poverty worker. Pray that he would provide both the insight and the courage to apply what you are learning.

Counseling and Prayer

ASSIGNMENTS

Memorize John 1.14 from a standard translation.

Scripture Memory

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To prepare for the next lesson, please read the following: • Redemptive Poverty Work – “Redemptive Poverty Work” (pages 31-36)

Reading Assignment

• Uncommon Church: Community Transformation for the Common Good – Chapter 4: The People of God: God’s Plan for a Broken World – Chapter 8: Championing the Community: Empowering Grassroots Leaders and Workers – Chapter 10: The Kingdom Is in Us

Prepare for the Quiz. You will be quizzed on the content of this lesson after the Face-to face Meeting. Make sure that you spend time reviewing your chapter reading and covering your notes, especially focusing on the main ideas of the lesson.

Other Assignments

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Lesson three, Redemptive Poverty Work , defines the goal of our activity. We’ll explore the three types of poverty work available to us and how our response to the work that Christ has done on the cross should aspire us towards redemption of lives and neighborhoods.

Looking Forward to the Next Lesson

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Redemptive Poverty Work

L E S S O N 3

page 23 & 1

Welcome in the strong name of Jesus Christ! After your reading, study, discussion, and application of the materials in this lesson, you will be able to: • Renew your understanding of the concept of redemption. • Reflect on how your poverty work can be redemptive. • Distinguish redemptive poverty work from other types. Pray the following prayer: Lord, train us to hear your voice. When it is time to grieve, help us to grieve. When it is time to rejoice, help us to rejoice. When we grow weary, be the strength in our weakness. And may your most beautiful and perfect will, not ours, be done. Amen. Read John 1.1-8 . Reflect and journal on potential life application. Close this section by listening to “You Are God” and meditate on the Scripture you just read. As someone who has both lived as part of the working poor, as well as ministered among them, I understand how important redemption is. I know what it feels like to desire to have a better life. I’ve felt the weight of being a part of the fabric of a broken community. Genesis 3 (The Fall) really happened, and those who live in the condition of poverty feel it every day of their life. It is a common theme in movies that the hero or heroine is willing to die for the cause. Yet, reality is very few people are willing to go that far. We do know someone who was – Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, too many of us have reduced his story to a simple formula of “God made the world, we are sinners, and so God sent Jesus to save us from our sins.” Creation-sin-Jesus and that’s it. What’s wrong with this formula? Nothing, except it is incomplete. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are known as the Gospels. They were written to serve as tools of evangelism. In fact, the word “Gospel” means good news. It is reading these books where the idea is presented that Jesus Christ served as a ransom for our sins. We were all prisoners to ~ Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals.

Lesson Objectives

Devotion

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sin, he paid the ransom price for our freedom, and this gave new life to humanity. The term we use to describe this process is redemption. Redemption involves sacrifice for the purpose of restoration. The whole story of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is much deeper than the formula we narrow it down to. The redemptive work of Christ put into motion the world-changing idea that Satan is defeated, the works of the devil are destroyed, and the reign of God has been reestablished here on earth. The whole story proclaims that the King is here! There are different ways to view sin. When it comes to poverty work, the predominant view should be that it is oppressive. Because of sin, too many have a low quality of life. We are doing people in poverty a disservice if we do not introduce to them an understanding that the redemptive work of Christ signals victory over the forces of sin and evil.

Recite and/or sing the Nicene Creed (located in the Appendix).

Nicene Creed

Memorize John 1.14 in a standard Bible translation (not a paraphrase version, e.g. The Message ) and grade yourself using the scripture memory-form.doc.

Scripture Memory

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To prepare for class, refer to the schedule for this course to see what assignments are due before your next class meeting and complete the

Assignments

assignments below: Read the following:

• Redemptive Poverty Work – “Redemptive Poverty Work” (pages 31-36)

• Uncommon Church: Community Transformation for the Common Good – Chapter 4: The People of God: God’s Plan for a Broken World – Chapter 8: Championing the Community: Empowering Grassroots Leaders and Workers – Chapter 10: The Kingdom Is in Us Summarize each book reading with no more than a paragraph or two per summary.

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In this summary, please give your best understanding of what you think was the main point in the reading. Do not be overly concerned about giving detail; simply write out what you consider to be the main point discussed in that chapter of the book. Use the Reading Completion form. Submit a Reading Completion Sheet for readings for each book (if you are completing this course in World Impact U, use the “Submit Assignments” green bar at the top of any page in your Redemptive Poverty Work course in WIU). Case Study You have been working with Sheri for five years. By all accounts, Sheri is a good woman with a rock-solid faith. She attends church every Sunday that she is not scheduled to work at a hotel as a maid. She brings home just enough money to make ends meet for her and her three children, as their father does not contribute much to their lives. Right now, she is upset because she just found out that one of her sons has been expelled from a private Christian school that you played a key role in getting him admitted to. On one hand, she is embarrassed; on the other, she feels invisible to God because in her opinion the school is over-reacting because of his race and social class. What is your response to her?

CONTACT

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Redemptive PovertyWork

Dr. Alvin Sanders

CONTENT

This lesson, Redemptive Poverty Work , defines the goal of our activity. We’ll explore the three types of poverty work available to us and how our response to the work that Christ has done on the cross should aspire us towards redemption of lives and neighborhoods. Our objectives for this lesson, Redemptive Poverty Work , is to enable you to: • Renew your understanding of the concept of redemption. • Reflect on how your poverty work can be redemptive. • Distinguish redemptive poverty work from other types.

Summary

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I. Three Distinct MindsetsWhen It Comes to HowWe Approach PovertyWork

Video Outline page 24 & 2

Redemptive Ethical Exploitative

A. The Exploitative Mindset: doing more harm than good (Neh. 5.1-7)

1. Well-intentioned people fail to properly understand the complexity of poverty.

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2. Poverty work can give us a sense of moral superiority and control.

B. The Ethical Mindset: a step in the right direction (Ezra 1.1-11, 6.1-12)

1. The focus is on the relationship between the poverty workers and recipients whenever possible.

2. An ethical mindset can do much good for our society by pursuing the common good.

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C. The Redemptive Mindset: loving our neighbors as ourselves (Ruth 1.15-18, 3.9-13)

1. The redemptive mindset is creative restoration through sacrifice.

2. The redemptive mindset says, “I sacrifice, we win.” This mentality encompasses both the recipients of our work and how we employ resources.

3. It is to love our neighbors as ourselves. It is how we join our story to God’s story.

II. RedemptiveWork in the Bible

page 26 & 3

A. Through his death, Christ paid the price for our lives to release us from the prison of sin. It was not only a past event but is an ever-present, ongoing hope (Rom. 5.18-21).

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B. The theme of redemption found in the Bible has historically been attached to the concept of Christus Victor ; Christ came to die for sins, to defeat Satan and destroy his works, and to represent the reign of God in the earth (Col. 2.13-15; Heb. 2.14-15; 1 John 3.8).

III. Our Role as Redemptive PovertyWorkers

page 27 & 4

A. Poverty is an oppressive condition people live in, not an identity they possess.

1. We have the responsibility to attempt to improve the quality of life of those who live in this condition (1 John 3.16-17).

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2. We base our advocacy in the understanding that we all need rescuing because we are fallen human beings and reflect a radical solidarity with those who live in the condition of poverty (1 Cor 9.22-23).

3. We put our faith in the supernatural work of God while we attempt the rearrangement of human systemic power (Eph 6.12-13).

4. Our role in the process of redemption is humble advocacy, asking for forgiveness when our own agendas fight for recognition, and admitting our complicity in injustice (James 2.1-13).

B. Ultimately, the goal of the redemptive poverty worker is to come alongside those who live in the condition of poverty and join in the work God is already doing.

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Conclusion We have defined Redemptive Poverty Work as the goal and end of our poverty work activity. We have seen how Redemptive Poverty Work contrasts with both the models and practices of both Exploitative and Ethical practice. Through our understanding of Christ’s work on the cross, we can now respond redemptively in our treatment of others, aspiring anew with a redemptive framework towards people living in neighborhoods of poverty. The following questions were designed to help you reflect on the material in Uncommon Church , Redemptive Poverty Work , and the video Redemptive 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. How has redemption changed your personal life? 2. Does the notion of redemptive poverty work resonate with you? Explain why or why not.

Student Questions and Response page 28 & 5