Barriers to Serving the Poor – Ignorance

It is my firm belief that service to the poor is not some special spiritual “calling,” but a normative part of the Christian life, just like attending church or praying or reading your Bible. So why aren’t more Christians involved in caring for the poor? One reason I’ve encountered is ignorance.

The less you know about something, the less involved you will be with that something. We manipulate our lives in such a way that we know virtually nothing about the thousands of poor and homeless living all around us.

Knowing nothing gives us an excuse not to care.

Knowing nothing helps to perpetuate our prejudices and stereotypes about poor people, which hardens our ignorance.

Knowing nothing keeps us safe in our nice, little Christian comfort zones.

Knowing nothing also keeps us from spiritual growth through Christian service to others.

In talking to Christians about homeless people, I’m simply amazed at how many of them have such strong opinions and emotions regarding this subject.

I’m also amazed by the fact that almost none of these Christians actually know or have had a real conversation with a homeless person in their lifetimes. With little or no personal experience whatsoever, these highly opinionated people are self-proclaimed experts regarding homelessness and poverty.

Personal experience and factual knowledge helped to destroy my presuppositions about poverty. While I can’t give you personal experience (you have to get that on your own), I can provide you with some facts:

Every year, more than three million people experience homelessness. This number includes 1.3 million children.

One-third of the homeless population is composed of families.

Almost half of the homeless population is employed. However, they do not earn enough money to pay for housing. [1]

Housing affordability is the main issue for homeless with low incomes. Estimates indicate that there are twice as many low-income families searching for homes than there are affordable units available.

Although many homeless apply for government assistance, frequently they end up waiting for upwards of six years on subsidized Section 8 housing lists. Due to government inefficiencies, others find that they simply cannot even get on such waiting lists.

Over 30 million people live at or below the poverty line. There is currently no jurisdiction in the United States in which a full-time job at the prevailing minimum wage provides enough income to rent a one-bedroom home.

A significant number of the homeless population is mentally disabled, but never receive the benefits to which they are entitled. Further, the de-institutionalization policies of the 1960s and following have left many such individuals abandoned to a life on the street with no means of support.[2]

Some studies have shown that only 20% of the homeless population can be considered “chronically” homeless.

In this past year ministering on the street, I’ve been surprised to find that, contrary to popular Christian belief, a significant number of homeless are believers. Many not only know the gospel, but can actually recite verses entirely from memory as well as discuss intricate theological and philosophical issues.

Of course, some Christians refuse to believe this, saying that if someone is saved, then it is unthinkable that they could wind up on the street. Among other things, I would merely reply that these skeptics possess a very low view of sin and a low view of the influence of the powers of the world that entice men and women to engage in patterns of life-dominating sin.

Should we not be diligently ministering to restore our fallen brothers and sisters who find themselves locked in a vicious cycle of sin and poverty?

1John 3:16 (ESV) By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.  17 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?  18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

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[1] “Homelessness and Poverty in America,” National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, http://www.nlchp.org/hapia.cfm, Accessed 14 November 2009.

[2] http://www.nlchp.org/hapia_causes.cfm.

Our Philosophy of Ministry

Along with others on our leadership team, I currently find myself in a ministry context of planting a new church in an urban area that is racially, culturally, and socio-economically diverse. Add to this mixture a highly transient student and young, urban professional population and further challenges to long-term ministry become immediately evident. In this short piece I will set forth my philosophy of ministry in general (regardless of any temporal or geographical circumstances) and my philosophy of ministry in the immediate context of University City, Philadelphia.

The ultimate goal of my life is to serve and minister in a way that is radically Christ-centered, radically gospel-centered, and radically other-centered by the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of God the Father (Matt. 22:34-40; 28:18-20). It is the God-man Jesus Christ whose life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension gives meaning to the gospel and displays for me the precious value of each and every human life (John 3:16; 1 Cor. 15:1-8; 1 John 4:9-10). It is through the gospel that I am reconciled to this Jesus and empowered to love and serve others (Rom. 1:16; 5:5; 1 John 4:19). It is through indiscriminately loving others that I can live out this gospel and serve Christ by serving others (Matt. 25:31-46; 1 John 3:14-19).

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Neo-docetism and the Judgment of God

If one asked the average American Christian why ancient Israel was punished by God and sent into captivity, the usual response would probably center around the nation’s disobedience to the covenant, or its idolatrous tendencies, or some combination of both. Rarely, if ever, would one expect to hear anything about the failure of the nation to seek after social justice or care for the poor.

However, the Holy Spirit of God speaks very clearly to Israel through His prophet Isaiah that a failure to look after the poor was a major component in the broader picture of judgment upon the nation:

Is. 1:10 (ESV) Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom! Give ear to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah!  11 “What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats.  12 “When you come to appear before me, who has required of you this trampling of my courts?  13 Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations—I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly…. 16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, 17 learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause (emphasis added).

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On Holistic Ministry

I’ve written previously on the imbalance in the ministry philosophy of churches on the right and on the left. Conservative evangelical and fundamental churches on the right have the saving gospel message, but are largely ineffective in reaching our culture because they lack in genuine, Christ-like, unconditional love.

Liberal mainline churches on the left do not preach the gospel message and the need for conversion, but are much more active in reaching out in love to the culture around them. However, because their social ministries are not properly rooted in and performed alongside the gospel of grace, they lack the power of the Holy Spirit. Whatever change is wrought through such ministries is fleeting and ephemeral. Taking an eternal view, such ministries merely make the earth a better place for souls to go to hell from.

The great need of our day is for the body of Christ to rid itself of the inchoate faith of the right and the biblically-uninformed, anthropocentric faith of the left and embrace a full-bodied, biblically-faithful, socially conscious, holistic Christian faith that can radically impact our post-Church society for Jesus Christ.

Following are some quotes from urban church planter, philosopher, and theologian Tim Keller (2002) on holistic ministry:

Have a counter-intuitive holistic ministry. Most people have a very powerful desire (need?) to place a church somewhere on an ideological spectrum from “Liberal/Left wing” to “Conservative/Right wing.” There is nothing more crucial than to use the gospel in the life of our church to defy such stereotypes and to (thus) become impossible to categorize. On the one hand, the gospel of Christ and justification-by-faith brings deep, powerful psychological changes. Though I am sinful, I am accepted through Christ. This discovery converts people, so they sing, “My chains fell off, my heart was free; I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.” On the other hand, the gospel of the cross and the kingdom brings deep powerful social changes. It defies the values of the world – power, status, recognition and wealth. The gospel is triumph through weakness, wealth through poverty, power through service. This changes our attitude toward the poor and toward our own status, wealth and careers.

Together, these two sides of the gospel’s influence create a unique kind of church. So many fundamentalist churches tend to be legalistic in their approach, even if they technically believe in justification by faith! Therefore, though they stress evangelism, they are not all that attractive or effective. Legalism does not produce reciprocal love for those without faith. On the other hand, so many liberal churches, though they stress social justice, are not all that effective at it. Their people’s lives are not electrified by conversion. They do not have deep experiences that humble them and change the way they look at the poor. Therefore, a gospel-centered church should have a social justice emphasis and effectiveness that greatly exceeds the liberal churches. Meanwhile, it should have an evangelistic fervor that greatly exceeds the ordinary fundamentalist churches. This gospel-driven, counter-intuitive combination of zeal can only come through teaching, prayer and repentance.

Jesus considered a concern for the poor to be a mark of his presence (Matt. 11:5). Increasingly, in a globalized world, we will win neither the elites nor the masses unless we embody the gospel in strong ministry to people with economic and material needs as well as spiritual. “The renewal of Christ’s salvation ultimately includes a renewed universe…there is no part of our existence that is untouched by His blessing. Christ’s miracles were miracles of the Kingdom, performed as signs of what the Kingdom means…His blessing was pronounced upon the poor, the afflicted, the burdened and heavy-laden who came to Him and believed in Him. The miraculous signs that attested Jesus’ deity and authenticated the witness of those who transmitted the gospel to the church is not continued, for their purpose was fulfilled. But the pattern of the kingdom that was revealed through those signs must continue in the church…Kingdom evangelism is therefore holistic as it transmits by word and deed the promise of Christ for the body and soul as well as the demand of Christ for body and soul” (Edmund P. Clowney, in The Pastor Evangelist)….

Jesus says that a sign of the gospel is faith. Matthew 5:4-7 says, If you “only greet your brother, what do ye more than others?” Since the Jewish greeting was Shalom! and an embrace, Jesus is saying much. We must show our uniqueness by following our Lord who always embraced the moral and spiritual outsider. Matt. 21:31 – “The prostitute and the tax collectors are entering the Kingdom of God before you.” If you understand the gospel of grace, you treat the other: A) With respect. Grace means the non-believer may be a better person. B) With courage. Grace means the non-believer’s possible rejection of us is not so fearsome. C) With hope. Grace means you are a miracle and no one is beyond hope. No other worldview can produce this combination of humility and confidence (pp. 105-106).  

Reference

Keller, Timothy J. and J. Allen Thompson, Church Planter Manual, New York: Redeemer Church Planting Center, 2002.

The Church and Social Issues

The following is an excerpt from Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck’s Why We’re Not Emergent (By Two Guys Who Should Be) (Chicago: Moody, 2008):

Shouldn’t we care for the poor and the unborn? Shouldn’t we care about justice and righteousness? After all, “religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (James 1:27, emphasis added).

More generally, Christians on the right and left must remember that while Jesus’ message certainly had political implications (most notably, He was Lord and Caesar was not), Jesus never started a political party, nor do we have any record of Him crusading against social and political ills. It’s true that the gospel has social implications. But the social gospel is something else entirely. Rauschenbusch and his followers often equated social action with the gospel so that the kingdom of God was no longer concerned with individual salvation and future life, but with the elimination of intolerance, corruption, injustice, and militarism. This message is hardly a secret or lost one since the mainline Protestant establishment has been saying it for a hundred years. The problem is not in working toward the elimination of injustice, though the specific activities lumped under “justice” are often debatable. The problem is in thinking that this is the main business of the church as church. But when the church’s business is mainly political and its unifying creeds are political instead of doctrinal, the church and state overlap until the church becomes redundant. Which is why the Religious Right has been getting such a beating of late, and why people are leaving the politically liberal mainline churches in droves, and why the emerging church will become little more than a venue for left-leaning politics if they continue to view historic Christian doctrine and faith as ancillary to the gospel.

The emergent church, like Protestant liberalism before it, is quite certain about God’s politics yet equally uncertain about God’s theology. I’m just the opposite. I don’t claim to have the divine word on minimum wage increases, activist judges, or global warming. Don’t get me wrong – I have opinions on these subjects and hope these opinions are well informed and perhaps even right. But I am much more certain about God’s view on the atonement than I am about His view on CEO salaries. On the right and the left, we would all do well to heed Hart’s advice as he summarizes the 1969 guidelines from the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod (LCMS):

On rare occasions the church’s influence may be “direct and intentional” when some social issues present themselves “about which the Scriptures speak so explicitly and clearly” that the institutional church is bound to speak. But because this kind of influence “always carries the risk of politicizing the church,” it should be done infrequently and “only on the basis of clear and unambiguous teaching of Scripture, where the church’s most fundamental concerns are at stake…. It asserted that the LCMS should “remain alert to the hazard of issuing superficial moral judgments or urging particular forms of action in complex secular matters for which there is no clear Word of God.”

This makes refreshingly good sense to me. Too often well-meaning Republicans and Democrats have been quick to politicize the gospel, unnecessarily alienating their brothers and sisters, and quick to pronounce divinely sanctioned judgments on things they don’t understand. I guess as a gospel minister I tend to focus on, well, the gospel – the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. I am dogmatic, yet humble (I hope), about orthodoxy, while I am open-minded, yet opinionated, about politics. That is to say, the difference between emerging churches and what I am aiming for in my church is the difference between unity based on social issues and unity based on theological issues. Orthodoxy means right doctrine that overflows in right living, which can be variously applied in the political sphere. For emerging churches, however, it seems that orthodoxy means right living immediately applied in the political sphere without attention to doctrine (190-92).

Suburbolationism and American Christianity

 

There exists today an epic crisis in America’s urban areas. This crisis of crime, impoverishment, and anomie has been exacerbated and facilitated over the last several decades by the mass exodus of middle-class Christians from the city to the suburbs. This exodus has left a vacuum of resources both economic and spiritual. While they may exhibit some short-term external benefits, social and political solutions to this crisis can never suffice to bring about a full resolution of the structural problems within our cities. It is only the mighty power of the everlasting Gospel that can transform the heart and life of those within the city. The American Church must turn its eyes back to the city as a place teeming with the very people that Jesus has called us to love and serve: the poor and the outcast.

            The problems in America’s cities are multitudinous: anomie, poverty, homelessness, crime, desolation (spiritual, moral, and physical), decay, addiction, and so on. Unfortunately, the Christian Church has behaved in a way that facilitated the downward spiral of the American cityscape into this state of crisis. Over the last few generations, evangelical Christians have fled the city for the relative peace and safety of the suburbs, and in so doing, have all but abandoned the city as a place to be avoided and even despised. More importantly, Christians have not only abandoned the city, but have abandoned the people who live in the city, both believers and unbelievers alike. Largely as a result of this flight, “The city…remains the repository of the poor and powerless” (Henslin, 2008, p. 409).

            Evangelical flight from our nation’s cities was and is a powerful indicator of a larger-scale, ongoing cultural disengagement by the middle class. The departure of the middle class has left the city devoid of resources, both material and personal. For decades, white Christians with money have fled the city for the suburbs and left behind a “mostly brown and black population that was often bereft of resources” (Byassee, 2008, p. 22). Without these spiritual and physical resources it is terribly difficult, if not impossible, for the city to be renewed in righteousness. Unless and until the Church repents from its neo-monastic stance and behavior and turns its eyes upon our nation’s urban areas, wickedness will continue to reign in our cities and we can expect no real lasting spiritual and cultural change to occur in these areas.

            Government and social programs can assist to alleviate suffering and chaos only in the short run; long-term solutions can only be realized as a result of deep-rooted, spiritual-structural change. Such transformation can only be found in the Gospel. Urban regeneration and renewal must begin with and focus on individual people as holistic beings made up of physical, mental, and spiritual components.

The main purpose of regeneration in urban (or indeed any other) areas must always be the promotion and encouragement of all that will enable human beings to flourish. In this sense, one of the failings, from a Christian perspective, of many statements about [urban] regeneration is that they fail to offer an understanding of what it means to be human…. My argument is that one of the things that Christian theology can offer to urban regeneration…is a strong reminder that regeneration is about enabling everyone to flourish, in every sense (Knights, 2008, p. 220, emphasis in original).

            In order for the city to experience renewal there must first be a renewal and regeneration of individual human hearts within the city. [1] This type of transformation can only be wrought by the power of God through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. While we cannot and should not disparage the impact of social programs that are enacted to combat the various social problems within the city, we must keep these human constructions in a proper context. These institutional arrangements can never bring ultimate or lasting renewal to the city. It is only the grace of God through Jesus Christ that has the power to transform a landscape of chaos, brokenness, and dependency into an environment of love, wholeness, and sustainability.

            It is important to note that this environment of grace will, in all probability, manifest itself incrementally. While God can act swiftly and bring social-spiritual transformation in the blink of an eye, often in this dispensation of grace He acts in an incremental fashion throughout society. [2] Even in periods of great spiritual revival, one can sense order in the process, rather than wide scale upheaval and instant social transformation. [3] Perhaps it is that the Lord works in this fashion in order to soothe our anxieties, as humans are wont to abjure change rather than embrace it, even if the change is for the good. An understanding of this dynamic reality can help to prevent Christian workers in urban areas from becoming too quickly discouraged or burnt out. It can assist Christians in keeping their focus on the task at hand, their hands to the plow (Luke 9:62), working and serving diligently for the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31). 

The Importance of the City

            The city is “a place of shelter for the weak and different” (Keller & Thompson, 2002, p. 45). It is a place that the poor and the outcast flee to for refuge. The city is a place of mercy for those who would not be able to survive in other settings: “The city is always a more merciful place for minorities of all kinds. The dominant majorities often dislike cities, but the weak and powerless need them. They cannot survive in suburbs and small towns” (Keller & Thompson, 2002, 45).

            As a place where the poor and needy congregate, one would expect it to be a place to which the followers of Jesus Christ would flock. You know, the same Jesus who taught us how to be merciful unto those in need, as in the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37); the same One who taught us to freely minister to “the least of these” in society (Matt. 25:45)’ this same Jesus who taught His followers to heartily serve those who are unable to repay them such as “the poor, the crippled, the lame” (Luke 14:13-14, 21). Unfortunately, it seems that many suburban evangelical ministries have rendered themselves urban-crippled and metro-lame through the dogged pursuit of things belonging to the kingdom of this world. The sectarian political agenda of the Republican Party and the quest to secure the comforts and conveniences of the mirage of a suburban/rural utopia appear to be two areas where suburban Christianity devotes much of its energy and attention.

            The kinds of Christians bred in twentieth and early-twenty-first century evangelical churches simply do not seem to take well to the teachings of Jesus with respect to the spread of the gospel in the cities and the care of the poor who congregate there. Mercy ministries as a whole are looked upon with suspicion in many churches. A neo-docetic [4] view of humanity has comfortably nestled down into our midst. Instead of viewing people in a holistic fashion, Christians seem to be obsessed with the spiritual needs of others to the total neglect of their physical needs. Perhaps the Church is in need of a reminder that human beings are composed of bodies, minds, souls, and spirits: “not as discrete compartments, but as overlapping facets, and all need to be attended to” (Knights, 2008, p. 221, emphasis added).

            American Christians seem to pour most, if not all, of their resources back into their existing congregations in a frantic attempt to create a womb-like subculture that is insulated from the ravages experienced in urban areas. Pouring energy and resources into people that exist outside of the Christian community simply does not appear to be an option in many ministries. Such ministries may devote a percentage of their tithes and offerings to missions and church planting. But these efforts, to the extent that any of this allotment is invested in the city, goes mainly toward creating “Christ-against-the-city” clone communities that then proceed to gather and isolate new groups of Christians within the safety of their freshly-built walls. At other times, the city may be engaged in a “hit-and-run” fashion whereby Christians run into the city in small groups to accomplish a specific ministry task, such as a homeless outreach, only to leave and return intermittently, if ever again.

            Of the churches that do engage in the planting of new churches, these new ministries are, overwhelmingly, planted in areas similar to the originating church’s own suburban and rural environment. Rare is the conservative evangelical church that catches a vision to plant a vibrant, passionate, Christ-loving ministry in the city. Not only has the local church abandoned the city, but many within the church also refuse to lift a finger to invest in the lives and future of those who live in the city.

            Church planter Tim Keller teaches that, throughout the ages, God’s people have been called to live in and love the city:

When Nebuchadnezzar sacked Jerusalem, he brought thousands of Jewish exiles to live in the pagan mega-city of Babylon. At first the exiles refused to move into the wicked city, settling outside in their own enclave, but God spoke to them through Jeremiah and gave them a startling mandate. First, he spoke to them of their actions toward the city. He told them to move in, settle down, raise their families there, and invest in the economy of the city (Jer. 29:5-6). Second, he spoke to them of their attitude toward the city. He said, “Seek the shalom of the city” (v.7). The word ‘shalom’ meant full flourishing-economically, culturally, spiritually. And most amazing of all, God [in v. 7] said, “Pray to the Lord for it, for if it prospers, you prosper” (Keller, 2005, emphasis in original).  

            While God does not call all Christians to relocate to the city, it does seem clear that, given its great lack of the love, mercy, and compassion of God, more Christians should begin to sense the urgency of bringing the Gospel and love of Christ to these places of greatest need.

Impacting the Broader Culture Through City Renewal

            Suburbolationist Christians [5] frequently decry the moral decay of our nation and culture. However, they refuse to go into the very places where they can have the greatest impact on our nation and culture: the city. “If the Christian church wants to really change the country and culture, it must go into the cities themselves, not just into the suburbs or even the exurbs” (Keller & Thompson, 2002, p. 46).

            Many of today’s suburban church planters appear to have overlooked the fact that Paul’s ministry was carried out almost exclusively in urban areas. While many pious Christian leaders are overheard frequently decrying the pagan-ness of our society, it is interesting to note that the early church was urban, while the surrounding countryside was pagan. As a matter of fact, the word “pagan” is derived from paganus, which means “country-man” (Keller & Thompson, 2002, p. 46). Perhaps today’s Christian leaders and moralistic preachers should embrace the complete topographical reversal that has taken place since the early church and begin calling non-believers “urbans” instead of “pagans.” Certainly, this would be more etymologically appropriate and linguistically honest.

            Keller and Thompson state, “While there are millions of born-again Christians, they seem to be having no impact on the culture. The reasons given are usually complex and unconvincing. Nobody notices that Evangelicals are totally non-urban…. This is a recipe for complete cultural irrelevance” (2002, p. 48). Elsewhere, Keller states, “The modern U.S. church is fast losing cultural and economic force because it avoids the city” (2005).

            It appears clear that if Christians are serious about “reclaiming the culture for Christ,” they have to get serious about urban missions and renewal. Christians need to eschew the “privacy, safety, homogeneity, sentimentality, space, order and control” of their predominantly non-urban, middle class backgrounds (Keller, 2005) and begin to embrace the city with the love of Christ while it is still day, for the “night is coming, when no one can work” (John 9:4).

The Blessing of Urban Renewal

            The crisis in urban America will never ultimately be solved by political or social programs, no matter how well intentioned such efforts may be. The problems in our cities, to a great extent fueled by the mass exodus of middle-class Christians, can only be properly addressed and solved by the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the ministry of the Church. May our Lord grant a burden for the city to the present and future generations of the Church in order that we may fulfill our Christian responsibility to love our neighbors from the same heart into which Christ first poured His own love by the Holy Spirit of God (Rom. 5:5).

            In closing I would like to include a short poem by Sarah Brownsberger on the challenge and blessing of urban renewal:

            It wasn’t where we wanted to live

            but you have to put down roots to thrive.

            Daily we bore the shock of forbearance –

            our own and our neighbors’: the noise, the smell!

            Be fruitful! We tried. Soil of lead arsenate,

            cadmium. We added our detritus,

            peel and core: redemption. And now

            our mineral prison blooms in this,

            the year of our departure: now at last

            the berries fruit in blue abundance.

            Which goes to show our acts are not our own;

            what we make does not belong to us.

            At best we fade softly as timothy,

            and leave our harvest to the next people (2006, p. 8).

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References:

Brownsberger, S. M. (2006). Urban Renewal. Christian Century, 123, p. 8. 

Byassee, J. (2008). The Church Downtown: Strategies for Urban Ministry. Christian Century, 125, p. 22-27, 29. 

Henslin, J. M. (2008). Social Problems: A Down-to-Earth Approach. Boston: Pearson/Allyn-Bacon.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. (2006). Version 2.1. Accordance Bible Software, Version 8.2.3, 2009. 

Keller, T. (2005). The City: Why We Are Here. The Gospel Coalition. Available: http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/resources/a/The-City—Why-We-Are-Here [22 June 2009].

Keller, T. J. & Thompson, J. A. (2002). Church Planter Manual. New York: Redeemer Church Planting Center.  

Knights, C. H. (2008). Urban Regeneration: A Theological Perspective from the West End of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Expository Times, 119, p. 217-225. 

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[1] I speak here of a “renewal” in the hearts of Christians living within the city and a “regeneration” of the hearts of unbelievers through the new birth.

[2] Cf. Matthew 13:33: “He told them another parable. ‘The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.’” This speaks of transformation as a process that is not instantaneous, but rather orderly, organic, and dynamic in nature.

[3] It is only in the future that the Lord will work in an instantaneous way to “remove the iniquity of this land in a single day” (Zech. 3:9, emphasis added).

[4] Docetism was a heresy of the early Church. Adherents believed that Christ’s body was not truly human, but a phantasm of some sort. 

[5] “Suburbolationist Christians” are believers who are churched in the suburbs or exurbs, have created their own walled-off church subcultures, and take a militant, aggressive stance toward American culture. They basically ignore urban social concerns.

Social Justice and the Christian

According to church historian Justo L. Gonzalez, growing numbers of evangelicals in the late 1960s and early 1970s “began to feel that their faith led them to a commitment to critique the existing economic and social order, both at home and abroad. Christians, they believed, must strive against all forms of injustice, suffering, hunger, and oppression. In 1973, a group of leaders of similar convictions joined in the ‘Chicago Declaration,’ which articulated what seemed to be the growing conviction of committed Christians in the United States.” [1]

Following is the statement in its entirety. I do not find much, if anything, written here that I disagree with when I consider the American church’s current state of affairs:

The Chicago Declaration of Evangelical Social Concern
November 25, 1973

As evangelical Christians committed to the Lord Jesus Christ and the full authority of the Word of God, we affirm that God lays total claim upon the lives of his people. We cannot, therefore, separate our lives from the situation in which God has placed us in the United States and the world.

We confess that we have not acknowledged the complete claim of God on our lives.
We acknowledge that God requires love. But we have not demonstrated the love of God to those suffering social abuses.

We acknowledge that God requires justice. But we have not proclaimed or demonstrated his justice to an unjust American society. Although the Lord calls us to defend the social and economic rights of the poor and oppressed, we have mostly remained silent. We deplore the historic involvement of the church in America with racism and the conspicuous responsibility of the evangelical community for perpetuating the personal attitudes and institutional structures that have divided the body of Christ along color lines. Further, we have failed to condemn the exploitation of racism at home and abroad by our economic system.

We affirm that God abounds in mercy and that he forgives all who repent and turn from their sins. So we call our fellow evangelical Christians to demonstrate repentance in a Christian discipleship that confronts the social and political injustice of our nation.

We must attack the materialism of our culture and the maldistribution of the nation’s wealth and services. We recognize that as a nation we play a crucial role in the imbalance and injustice of international trade and development. Before God and a billion hungry neighbors, we must rethink our values regarding our present standard of living and promote a more just acquisition and distribution of the world’s resources.

We acknowledge our Christian responsibilities of citizenship. Therefore, we must challenge the misplaced trust of the nation in economic and military might–a proud trust that promotes a national pathology of war and violence which victimizes our neighbors at home and abroad. We must resist the temptation to make the nation and its institutions objects of near-religious loyalty.

We acknowledge that we have encouraged men to prideful domination and women to irresponsible passivity. So we call both men and women to mutual submission and active discipleship.

We proclaim no new gospel, but the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ who, through the power of the Holy Spirit, frees people from sin so that they might praise God through works of righteousness.

By this declaration, we endorse no political ideology or party, but call our nation’s leaders and people to that righteousness which exalts a nation.

We make this declaration in the biblical hope that Christ is coming to consummate the Kingdom and we accept his claim on our total discipleship until he comes.

1. Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity (Peabody, MA: Prince Press, 2005), 386.