Empowering destitute people towards transforming communities

6Conclusion

The problems and issues causing or contributing to destitution are complex, and seem insurmountable. It is clear that destitution results from a complex set of circumstances which force people to choose between food, shelter, and other basic needs. Only a concerted effort by different helpers and role players, to address both internal and external issues contributing to destitution, will make significant inroads towards ending destitution.
In terms of “internal” factors contributing to destitution, we need to realize that, even in our efforts to understand why some people make certain choices, we must eventually come to the place where we respect those choices, even if those choices differ from our own ideas. We must also take into account the various ways in which people will try to protect their dignity, so that we will not trample on emotions that are already sensitive and raw. At the same time, we are a prophetic voice in this world, we must introduce Godly possibilities to “hopeless” people (people without hope), and we must try to facilitate change towards SHALOM. Probably our respect for the choices (destitute) people make, and our desire to see them change, will always remain in tension.
In terms of “external” factors contributing to destitution, among other efforts we need to advocate jobs that pay a living wage, adequate support for those who cannot work, affordable housing, and access to adequate health care, all interventions necessary to empower the destitute.
From the complexities and range of problems that contribute to or cause destitution, it quickly becomes clear that no simple blueprint answer can be found. We need different perspectives, different “angles”. We need to seek holistic solutions that really work!

Chapter 3 – Missions with the Destitute: Theological Perspectives

This chapter comprises five main themes which aim at gaining an understanding of missions “with” the destitute. Of course it would be possible to explore many more theological themes than just the five selected; however, these five provide a good overview of theological reflection and perspectives on missions with the destitute, and as such serve as a starting point for the development of a praxis for missions with the destitute in the following chapters.

1Introduction

In deciding on the heading for this chapter, the word “missions" instead of mission is used, because, as Cozens (2005:2) puts it (in following Bosch, 1995:9): “We have to distinguish between mission (singular) and missions (plural)." "Mission", the Missio Dei, is what God is doing in Christ to reconcile the world to Himself. "Missions" are what we do to respond to that.
This chapter represents my own difficult and challenging journey of personal growth from a theology of “missions to the destitute” to a theology of “missions with the destitute”. I have discovered that, theologically, there is a world of difference.
Missions “to” the destitute represent an approach where the “haves” give to the “have-nots” (in this case the destitute), where we reach out to them to help them find the God whom we already possess; an approach that focuses on converting them. It is an approach that strives to impart SHALOM to them. It is the wrong one.
Missions “with” the destitute, on the other hand, explore the fact that, in our missiological involvement with the destitute, we are often the ones experiencing conversion. This acknowledges that we often find God already there where we meet the destitute; and we often experience God through their lives, while we were expecting to impart God (in a one-way fashion) to them. In a sense the destitute help us to find God. And as we grow, to see with unbiased eyes, we start to discover SHALOM together with the destitute, and already present among them. There is SHALOM, being manifested where one destitute person helps another on the streets, where a person with virtually no possessions shares what little s/he has with another. Such acts among others make God visible where we least expect it – and challenge us over and over again with personal conversions to live in a SHALOMATIC fashion.
In my own struggle to grow from “missions to the destitute” to “missions with the destitute”, I was challenged to reflect critically on my personal theology of missions, on the role of the church in relationship with the destitute (and vice versa), and on SHALOM as the perceived goal of missions with the destitute. This reflection also implied researching biblical perspectives on poverty (as these relate to the destitute).
I will now try to encapsulate the interplay of different aspects of missions with the destitute in an illustration, which also provides the framework for this chapter.


3

2

1

4

The outer perforated oval circle (1) represents God’s Missio Dei. The perforation simply indicates that God and God’s mission cannot be fully understood or limited by our understanding. The perforation also implies that; although God is fully present in our world (inside the inner circle), He also transcends our world.

The area inside the inner circle (2) represents our world and our context. God is at work in our world, in the physical, ethical and temporal (where temporal includes past, present and future) spaces of our lives. We understand this as the specific context in which we live and function. This is the context in which God is actively at work. In a sense the Missio Dei (the mission of God), becomes a personal, communal and faith discovery of God already at work in our world and lives.
The two smaller inner circles (3 & 4) represent the engagement between the “public church” and the destitute. This engagement has a reciprocal effect: it brings about conversion for both the public church and the destitute.
The overlap between the two circles illustrates the fact that, in the engagement between the public church and the destitute, we together discover SHALOM.
Stemming from this illustration, five major themes arise for missions with the destitute, representing different interactive aspects of such missions. In terms of the outline of this chapter, doing missions with the destitute is the underlying theme featuring throughout. The five themes building on this underlying theme are to be seen as distinct, yet very strongly interrelated:

• 
  Missions with the destitute flow from the Missio Dei
  
• 
  Missions with the destitute are contextual mission
  
• 
  Missions with the destitute bring about conversion
  
• 
  Missions with the destitute help us to discover SHALOM
  
• 
  Missions with the destitute require an active public church.