Empowering destitute people towards transforming communities

7.3Lessons learned from the spiritual experiences of the destitute

In terms of the theological and spiritual experiences of the destitute, a few trends emerge, even though these experiences can vary greatly from one individual, and must therefore constantly be reflected upon.
The first such trend is the search for meaning. What does it all mean, why this suffering, where is God, how is He at work in our lives? The destitute person seems to answer these questions by holding on to a deeper frame of reference.
Thembi’s story is a good example. Her references to God represent a desire held by many individuals to understand life more deeply. Thembi believes that there is a divine plan at work in her life that makes sense out of otherwise meaningless events.
Another trend that emerges from the stories of the destitute is that of “hope”. They hold on to hope, sometimes almost blindly, even when hope is often a vague undefined notion that God will work in their lives to change them: to “make it come out all right”. Their hope tends to be oriented to some indefinite time in the future. The “present hope” they do have seems to be passive: it manifests itself in the belief that God is present in their suffering, He is helping and comforting – often in ways that cannot be defined or understood – but this belief serves as an anchor.
Yet another trend has to do with the fact that almost all destitute people seem to profess faith in God. It is often as if the destitute confess a belief in God because there is a virtual prohibition against denying God’s existence in our societies. Nowadays this is changing, but traditionally it is the truth. At the same time most destitute people have had some experience with “shelters” or “projects”, where they feel and experience the pressure “to believe”. And they often confess a belief in God simply to be acceptable in the environment of the shelter – which means they often hold on to superficial notions of God and spirituality. Consequently their belief tends at least to some degree to be false, self-deceptive or superficial.
They often do not equate a belief with God in going to church. Their belief tends to be personal, and functions in their everyday lives in unexpected ways, where they are: on the streets. The destitute do not accord much weight to the church, almost as if they do not trust it. They believe in God, but not in the church. This is a sobering thought: the church as it functioned in the past simply did not cut it for the destitute; we need a new kind of church if we wish to engage them meaningfully, a public church that will meet them where they are, even if that means we must meet them on the streets.
Lastly, it would seem the destitute are often more committed to belief in God – in spite of their suffering – than we are. Their faith seems almost childlike in its lack of knowledge at times, but the commitment is strong.
What can we conclude then? Simply this: doing missions with the destitute would help them (and ourselves) discover new meaning. It would operate to reaffirm hope or discover it where it is absent: not an unrealistic kind of hope, but a hope anchored in God and His actions in our world, past, present and future. We need to discover with them how hope can bring about changes in the present, rather than only in the future. It can build on their commitment to believe in God – it is easier to talk with people about God when together we are looking for the fingerprints of God in our lives. And we need a new kind of church.

8Conclusion

It is clear that a greater understanding of the experiences of the destitute must lead to radically different approaches when doing missions with them. Such an approach would “humanize” them again, would see them as persons, individuals in their own right. It would acknowledge and build on their dignity and strengths. It would, together with them, combat systems and social dynamics that take away their choices, or marginalize them, or keep them trapped in poverty. Only then can we truly start to speak about “missions with the destitute”.

Chapter 5

Towards a Model of Missions with the Destitute: Care with Others
This chapter offers perspectives and guidelines for “helpers” engaging the destitute, by developing a model of missions with the latter. In using the term “helper” throughout this chapter, the term must be seen to include any person, church or organization (usually a CBO: church-based organization) that becomes involved in missions of this nature.

1Introduction

The idea behind devising a model of missions with the destitute is to provide helpers (individuals, churches, CBO’s) with a basic framework that should enable the incorporation of best practice strategies into this framework. In this way helpers can then flesh out this basic model (framework) by their own best practice strategies. While such a model could be directive in the sense that it promotes action leading to valued outcomes, it is not a rigid recipe. Rather, it is non-directive in the sense that helpers (in their interaction with destitute people) will determine their own best practice strategies. Hence it could promote missions of this nature.

2Why a model?

A model should help to develop intentionality in our missions with the destitute. What is our purpose in missions with the destitute? Do we simply intend to be involved in some way that soothes our consciences as Christians, or are we actively seeking SHALOM with the destitute?
A model should also help us to understand the scope of the problems inherent in destitution, so that we can try to define the scope of our own involvement in missions with the people affected. It would seem that the problem of destitution is simply too broad and integrated, too complex, to be addressed in its entirety by any one person or even organization. This simply means we need to join hands with others who are involved in missions with the destitute. Defining the scope of such missions should actually help to improve the quality of services we provide. For instance, one church might focus on running an overnight shelter, while another might concentrate on outreach on the streets, or delivering social services, or delivering counselling services, or skills training, or housing. The possibilities are endless, but we need to take each other’s hands!
Lambourne (1983:28) argues for a model of care that incorporates the whole church community, where healing is seen as a satisfactory response to a crisis (such as destitution), offered by a group of people (such as the church community). He argues against a model of care that is “professional, problem solving or problem preventing, standardized or defined”. He also argues against the over-emphasis on problem solving and cure in the church’s pastoral ministry. Instead he calls for the church to develop a model of care that is lay, corporate, adventurous, variegated and diffuse. He does not argue that the first set of concepts and practices be abandoned, only that the second set should be allowed enough credibility to supplement and if necessary correct them.
Such a model would:

…emphasize the role of the group or team in the healing work, rather than the work of the skilled professionals who keep free of personal involvement. But it still allows for the particular roles of healing specialists such as doctors, probation officers, and clergy properly trained in pastoralia, who are pictured as encouraging and advising the group (Lambourne, 1983:289)

As Swinton (2000:103) adds such a model would be erected on the foundation of the actions of the community of “the whole people of God.” It would concern itself with the development of healing, sustaining, guiding and reconciling forms of friendship (where friendship signifies the relational bonds between people) that will enable the formation of the type of community that reveals a new way of living in the world and for the world (Swinton, 2000:103).
Important principles emerge from the statements above. Firstly, the importance of the involvement of the whole people of God: where the lay, the everyday, members of the congregation, start to reach out to the destitute by befriending them. Once relationship develops, they can then be drawn into a caring community (the church, or other newly-formed communities), where they can continue to receive support from the lay people, but where they can also be helped in specialized ways by professionals. Secondly, the need for the involvement of specialized professionals in missions with the destitute becomes apparent. At the same time, such a model should not be rigid, but, rather, “corporate, adventurous, variegated and diffuse”, as was stated earlier.
Therefore we describe missions with the destitute as a two-pronged involvement. Firstly, the broader informal involvement by the whole people of God with the intention of drawing the destitute into a caring and healing community (this would differ from communities formed by the destitute among themselves in that it actively promotes healing towards SHALOM). Secondly, the narrower, more focused involvement by specialized professionals.