Empowering destitute people towards transforming communities

6.6The value of people in the public church (anthropology)

As Blomberg and Wilson (1993:8) aver, the image of God remains in all humans even after the fall – but while it may not be destroyed, it is fundamentally spoiled, disorientated and in need of restoration. Consequently the public church would recognize the fact that the image of God is present in all human beings, regardless of their state or fallen condition, whether in a spiritual or physical sense, and would actively journey with people to restore the image of God in them. The public church would do missions with people in a way that empowers them to become what God intended them to be; to realize their God-given potential, because a public church would see something of the (broken) image of God in all people, especially the destitute.

Such a church would journey with people to (re)-empower them to become the image of God. This is a powerful statement that calls for some reflection. In this respect Swinton (2000:54) states that humanity’s sinful condition includes, on a personal individual as well as corporate relational level, the failure to faithfully live out the image of God which is the heritage and destiny of all human beings. Guy (2006:1) adds that the church must recognize that each person is created in the image of God, and thus possess the inherent dignity and value that accompanies it. He stresses the fact that God has been, and continues to be, at work within people, leading them on a unique and sacred journey.

6.7The value of culture in the public church

When referring to culture, we are talking about the “human context”. As Bevans & Schroeder (2005:47) put it: “The gospel never encounters people in a vacuum. Human beings are meaning-making animals and work out and express that meaning through human culture” (2005:47). Schreiter (1997:144) defines “culture” as a multi-dimensional concept that includes beliefs, values, codes of conduct, rituals as an expression of that culture’s worldview, as well as “material” things such as food, language, clothing, music and so on. As such, culture constitutes the “human” part of context.
A public church would first of all respect the culture of the people it engages, whether they are official members or not. It would expect to encounter the divine in potentially different ways in that culture. It would strive to understand that culture and engage it in meaningful ways. It would try to flesh out the gospel in a “culture-friendly” way, one that makes the gospel easier to accept in that culture. At the same time it would work towards the healing of culture as the need for such healing is perceived. Even with the destitute, a challenging “culture” that cannot be clearly defined in terms of normal aspects of culture, the public church would try to understand that fragmented culture and engage it in meaningful ways.

7Conclusion

In terms of missions with the destitute, a number of aspects stand out.
Firstly, it is not our mission per se; we (as the church engaging the destitute) are participating in God’s mission (Missio Dei). Missions with the destitute as part of the Missio Dei must be liberating with regard to the destitute, in accordance with God’s preferential option for the poor. Our missions must mediate a comprehensive salvation that includes evangelism, while at the same time pursuing the quest for social justice. As such our missions with the destitute must generate hope, not reactively, but creatively. Missions with the destitute require continued dialogue with all the parties involved, to resourcefully generate a prophetic hope.
Secondly, missions with the destitute must be contextualized over and over again. This implies continued contextualization, as we reflect on and adapt our missions, approaches and engagement with the destitute.
Thirdly, this will inevitably lead to conversion/s, where all the parties involved should experience a motivation to change, and change again, in a process of growth as far as understanding and doing differently are concerned.
In the fourth place, missions with the destitute will discover SHALOM as the all-inclusive liberation and blessing intended by God for people and humanity; understanding that SHALOM is very strongly relational, so that only “in community” can SHALOM truly be experienced in its fullness.
And, lastly, missions with the destitute will call for a public church. Such a church would be active in the public sphere, on the market plain, in the streets – any place where we will find the destitute. It would engage people in culturally sensitive ways, using public language. It would value community, and would work for community, including community with the destitute. As such, it would transcend its own boundaries and endeavour to dismantle boundaries that inhibit community with the destitute. It would treat people with dignity and respect. It would reveal and uphold SHALOM as its aim and as God’s purpose with people. It would also empower the “whole people of God” to be involved in its missions.
Theologically, these perspectives must lead to renewed practice. How can the church empower destitute people and in so doing transform its own community, and the community in its broader sense? This question is explored in the following chapters.

Chapter 4 – Towards Understanding Destitute People

Who are the destitute? What do they experience? What is their outlook on life? Do they entertain “hope” of any kind regarding the future? What about belonging and other needs? What do destitute people feel about God? How we answer these questions, and how we perceive destitute people will obviously play a role in the way we do missions with the destitute. I propose that we try to see the destitute as God sees them, as individual people with dignity, needs, strengths and feelings. While this may sound obvious, it often seems as if we are so focused on the task of “correcting” or “fixing” destitute people that we tend to forget the people themselves. Only through the effort of trying to understand, an effort of solidarity with the destitute, can we start to flesh out missions with them.