"Worth Seeing" (Amy L. Williams)

TITLE: Worth Seeing: Viewing Others Through God's Eyes
AUTHOR: Amy Lyn Williams
PUBLISHER: Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2024, (232 pages).
 

Our society often elevates the externals over the internals, the visible instead of the invisible. In many developed economies, people rush headlong toward attaining the 5Cs: Cars, Cash, Condominiums, Credit Cards, and Country Clubs. With that, people tend to gravitate toward those who are famous, rich, and powerful. Fact is, not everyone can be world famous, materially rich, and powerful. What happens to the rest of us? What about the marginalized and those despised by society? Can we learn to see all people for who they are, regardless of their reputations or ill-repute, poverty or riches, seen and unseen? More importantly, how do we learn to see our fellow human beings the way that God has intended for us to see? Beginning with the story of how Sarai mistreated Hagar in Genesis 16, author Amy Williams shows us that amid Hagar's depressing situation, God sees her and encourages her. God assures her that even when the world do not, God sees her for what she is worth. As one who ministers frequently to gang members, high-risk youths, and people who fell into a life of crime, she calls herself a "Hope Dealer." She also works as a "female gang-intervention specialist and juvenile justice advocate." The key is to learn to see people from God's point of view as best as we can.  Williams shows us the four fundamental ways of seeing:

"Having Nothing, Possessing Everything" (Michael Mather)

TITLE: Having Nothing, Possessing Everything: Finding Abundant Communities in Unexpected Places
AUTHOR: Michael Mather
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2018, (160 pages).

How can we help the poor and the needy? How can we be of help to the less fortunate? How do we go about making a difference? These are some of the questions many of us ask, especially during the festive season and times of giving. While the intentions are good, the mentality behind the questions are not as good, especially when we fail to understand the contexts of the poor. What makes us think that we are their heroes? How can we have the audacity to think that we can help them according to our own terms? This is something that pastor and author Michael Mather had before he had a change of mind and heart. A major paradigm shift is to learn to see people as peers rather than people inferior to us and needful of our gifts. Having worked in two lower income parishes for 31 years, Mather learns that the best way to help is to encourage people to do what they could do for themselves. In 1986, he ventured into the ministry to the poor at the inner city streets. Using a "white mainstream Protestantism" approach to ministry to the poor, he would be serving in the soup kitchen, providing a food bank, organizing summer programs for kids, and other giveaway initiatives. Such projects may seem charitable at first but on hindsight, it does not empower people as much. In fact, it could be disempowering. What rocked the author was the violent deaths of 9 youths in the neighbourhood. With each death comes the singing of "Amazing Grace" during funerals. He soon discovers that the way to help the poor was to "shine a spotlight on the glories of the people" in the neighbourhood. In other words, give the people the dignity that rightfully belongs to them. Don't be condescending or presume we are the savior of their predicaments. Don't do things for people when they could very well do things for themselves. Spurred by the idea of an "Asset Based Community Development" (ABCD) which seeks to empower people to use their gifts, Mather writes this book about his personal journey from giving people food to eat toward helping them help themselves. The key reason why needy people remain needy is because of projects that create dependency. So he listened. He facilitated participation. He started paying attention to the uniqueness each individual brings with them. The very people who could help the poor are the poor themselves! Thus the mantra: Focus on what the people have instead of what they lacked. Thus, the title of the book summarizes the essence of this message. People outside think that they needy had nothing and needed everything. The truth is, they possessed everything in spite of public perception of their poverty.

"Eyes to See" (Compassion Canada)

TITLE: Eyes to See -Reflecting God's Love to a World in Need
AUTHOR: Compassion Canada
PUBLISHER: London, ON: Compassion Canada, 2017, (152 pages).

One of the greatest biblical indictments about the human race is this: People have eyes but not see. Used frequently in the Old Testament judgments of a rebellious people of Israel, prophets have constantly railed against the disobedience of the Israelites. The prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah had frequently reprimanded the Israelites for their insensitivity to the call of God. Jesus also rebuked the religious leaders in the first century about their stubborn hearts and closed minds. For many of us in modern world, sometimes we get compassion fatigue where we see so many needs around us that we simply got overwhelmed to the point of inaction. Others presume good intentions are enough. Others deem themselves too small and unable to do anything helpful at all. Poverty is real. Some images of poverty may guilt-trip us into action. Yet, we need something far more substantial in order to make some difference in the world. This is where this book enters in. Rather than simply rely on random images of poverty or TV commercial to jiggle our heart strings, this book provides a six week journey to sharpen our vision and our compassion for people in need. At the end of the 30-days exercise, it is hoped that readers will not only develop eyes to see but hands and feet that are ready for action.

"Counter-Culture, Revised Edition" (David Platt)

TITLE: Counter Culture: Following Christ in an Anti-Christian Age
AUTHOR: David Platt
PUBLISHER: Carol Stream IL: Tyndale-Momentum, 2017, (320 pages).

The world we live in is increasingly anti-Christian. Many of the traditional beliefs are being challenged. Literal understanding of the Bible is being pushed back by liberal inclinations. Same-sex marriages are not only becoming a right for many, some circles even see it as the norm and marriage as something less than ideal. It creates a false impression that what is termed legal is legitimate. Those who hold on to orthodox beliefs are becoming ostracized and ridiculed for being old-fashioned. How do we speak the truth in love? What does it mean to live as believers in an increasingly unbelieving world? What do we do with split opinions and old paradigms being overturned with erroneous thinking? For author David Platt, following Christ is increasingly becoming a call to live counter-culturally. Concerned with the tendency of many believers to flee or take flight of challenging circumstances, he exhorts us to risk it because it is worth it. Platt writes that this book is about:

"helping us think through how to live out that gospel in our lives, families, and churches in an age of sexual confusion, legal abortion, rampant materialism, violent racism, escalating refugee crises, diminishing religious liberties, and a number of other significant social issues. This book is about refusing to retreat from these realities, instead choosing to face them with a fearless faith that is full of hope in Christ and free to love even those who would belittle Christian belief."

"For the Least of These" (editors: Anne Bradley and Art Lindsley)

TITLE: For the Least of These: A Biblical Answer to Poverty
AUTHOR: Anne Bradley and Art Lindsley (editors)
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2015, (304 pages).

How do we help the poor? We know that Jesus ministers often among the poor, the marginalized, and the outcasts. As disciples of Christ, we are called to be part of this movement to do likewise. The question is then, how? How much do we rely on governments to do the charity? How are Christians called to discharged their biblical responsibilities? Is a way to understand poverty? The editors of this book begin with a good summary of the problem. Bradley and Lindsey write:

"Christians understand that wealth is not an end in and of itself, but a necessary means of giving people choice, access to vital goods and services (like clean water and medical care), and an opportunity to serve and care for others. . . . . For the Least of These: A Biblical Answer to Poverty was written to provide an alternative perspective for addressing the problem of poverty from both a biblical and economic point of view, presenting a framework that will allow us to become better stewards of the earth’s scarce resources and simultaneously to bring about a flourishing society." (12-13)

Poverty is a complex issue. It is more than simply having the rich handing over money to the poor. It is more than redistribution of wealth. More importantly, it is about empowering the poor to help themselves. Like the famous saying: "It is better to teach one how to fish and eat for a lifetime; instead of giving one a fish to eat for just a day."

"Hoping to Help" (Judith N. Lasker)

TITLE: Hoping to Help: The Promises and Pitfalls of Global Health Volunteering (Culture and Politics of Health Care Work)
AUTHOR: Judith N. Lasker
PUBLISHER: Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2016, (256 pages).

One of the growing movements in the helping industry is medical missions. Whether one calls it "voluntourists" or holiday missions, the pattern is familiar. Some group from a rich first world country would organize trips to third-world countries to "contribute" and to do some good for the people there. This is especially so for medical related trips like "medical missions," "health brigades," "flying surgeons," or anything that has medical professionals flown in from the rich to the poor countries. In 2007, researchers have calculated about 1 million Americans have contributed 162 million hours at the cost of $3 billion into third world countries around the world. This figure is just for USA alone. This is not taking into consideration many other private and non-accounted for volunteering by smaller groups. Amid the big impressive figures, there is a growing disquiet among observers looking beyond the nice feeling generated by the huge numbers.

• About 50% of the money spent are airfares.
• How much of these money go directly to the third-world countries?
• Are the third world countries really that poor and dire?
• Are the people there as needy as the Western media paint them to be?

"Helping Without Hurting in Church Benevolence" (Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert)

TITLE: Helping Without Hurting in Church Benevolence: A Practical Guide to Walking with Low-Income People
AUTHOR: Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert
PUBLISHER: Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2015, (160 pages).

What do we do when a jobless man enters our church doors asking for help to pay his rent? How would our church respond when a woman walks into our offices asking if we could help her family pay her utility bills? While we would like to help, how do we differentiate the tricksters from the most needy? Do we have a set of guidelines on how to deal with such situations? Written primarily for churches in the United States and Canada, this book provides some simple principles and concepts to assist Church leaders in setting a benevolence policy. At the same time, the authors are aware that any help must not disempower the ones being helped. The authors are both professors at Covenant College who are keen on helping the needy without hurting them. As a follow up to their previous book, "When Helping Hurts," they seek to remind readers that poverty is a complex problem with no simple solutions. While reminding us not to disempower the needy by mere handouts or doing things for them, Corbett and Fikkert are eager to encourage churches to do more to help the poor and the marginalized. Central to their thought is this: How do we help the lost, the last, and the least without hurting their dignity?

"Made in the USA" (Alisa Jordheim)

TITLE: Made in the U.S.A.: The Sex Trafficking of America's Children
AUTHOR: Alisa Jordheim
PUBLISHER: Oviedo, FL: HigherLife Publishing, 2014, (288 pages).

The problem is not overseas. The problem is very much closer to home. In fact, it is right at our backyard! If we do not see the vulnerability of children to sex exploitation, traffickers will anyway. This is the underlying concern that leads to a passionate fight against a global epidemic: Sex Trafficking, Exploitation, and Child Abuse. From Asia to Europe, Africa to the Americas, the problem is the same that cuts across racial, ethnic, gender, and all classes. Right from chapter 1, readers will be shocked by the African, East European, Asian children coerced into the sex trade at a very early age. Gradually, the problem moves closer to home where young girls are lured into the sex industry as pimps and traffickers use their expert hunting skills to rein in the vulnerable. Jordheim does not mince her words. In fact, page after page, the message screams out that the problem is right at our door step, so much so that according to one, the only way to miss out is not to look for it. According to Founder and Executive Director of Justice Society, Alisa Jordheim, there has been lots of attention given to overseas concerns, but little toward domestic areas. She writes with this in mind, beginning with descriptions of the sex trafficking problem far away, and then drawing readers to recognize the problem close by. She highlights the problem in a highly sexualized culture that blurs the line between adults and children, and makes commercializing sex seems ok. She blasts the rise of pornography, the sexually explicit materials in public, loose language, that these simply grooms the local culture to become very similar to what is happening elsewhere. In fact, Jordheim maintains that the problem at home is no smaller than the problem far far away.

"Why Not Today" (Matthew Cork and Kenneth Kemp)

TITLE: Why Not Today: Trafficking, Slavery, the Global Church . . . and You
AUTHOR: Matthew Cork and Kenneth Kemp
PUBLISHER: Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2013, (288 pages).

Freedom is good. Freedom is great. Freedom is desired and even framed in nice sounding words in the United Nations. Yet, the very freedom that many in the developed world have often taken for granted is still very much out of reach to a group numbering more than 300 million. For more than 3000 years, this group has been oppressed, discarded, and considered as "untouchables" by many in the land. Blame it on a caste system that has managed to suffocate this race of people. Blame it on the aftereffects of reincarnation beliefs that these people are getting what they deserved. Blame it on apathy. More importantly, in this book, the focus is not simply on the outcasts, the spot light is also on those who know about it, and still refuse to do anything about it. Welcome to a book that highlights the plight of the people in South Asia known as the "Dalits."

A) The Discomfort

It begins with the Cork's discomfort over the "safe" environment he lives in. An environment that is predictable; that minds one's business; that toes the cultural line; that competes and lives like any other neighbour next door; that basically goes through life that maintains the status quo. Then one question (attributed to Bill Hybels) pops up that deepens the discomfort: "Do you have a vision with dying for?" Gradually, the conviction grows with the author finding Scriptural exhortation to speak up for the silenced, and bring about justice for the weak. This book is a story of how the author has found meaning and compassion to serve God through the Dalit Freedom Mission. Flying from California to Andhra Pradesh, Cork experiences not just a culture shock, he endures a tsunami of people in the poorest living conditions, with pleas for money and relentless cries for help. It is the sight of the children that is most unbearable. Poverty, hunger, dirty, helpless, just seeing the conditions of these "untouchables" is gut wrenching. Of all the reasons for the state of the Dalits, the one that is most targeted is the dreaded caste system where the Dalits are ranked at the lowest level to the point that they are not considered humans. What then can be done for these Dalits? How is justice going to be fought on behalf of these "untouchables?" This book reveals an American pastor's journey from discomfort to convert; and from convert to effort. Each discomfort leads him to prayer and faith. These words sustain him: "Do What You Can. Where You Are. With What You Have."

B) The Energized Convert

Seeing the real thing speaks more than words. Imagine seeing numerous beggars, mostly children who are hungry, uneducated, lost, poor, and being cast aside by the rest of society. Some children especially girls are sold away as slaves. Many are belittled, ridiculed, and treated in a manner that is less than humane. As long as one is a Dalit, justice seems to never be on one's side. Yet, seeing how education can bring about better livelihood and future for the Dalit people, Cork realizes that the most practical goal is to create an educational culture: Build schools. Those who have broken through the ranks are those who have benefited from education, such as Udit Raj who is a Dalit with a PhD, who in his early years, tell of the unfair treatment by his class, who simply assumed that because he is a Dalit, that he has to do all the chores and the cleaning up.  There is also the legendary Dalit, Dr Ambedkar who spends his entire life battling the chief cause of the Dalits' plight: Hindu Caste System. Understanding the history of the Dalit fight, and recognizing that his Church needs to wake up to the challenge to break the cycle of injustice, Cork is convinced that the rewards is far greater than the costs to bear. The 'converted' Cork learns that ministry is not about getting his Church on a balanced position with regards to worship, governance, and purpose. Neither is it about blending contemporary culture with biblical ministry. For him, the vision is about global freedom, in particular, how he can harness his Church's resources toward helping the Dalit Freedom Network. It leads to the starting of a new Church with Cork as the lead pastor. Just as his new Church finds liberation in a new vision, likewise, they increasingly realize, together with their partners from Dalit Freedom Network, that it is the gospel that will truly liberate the Dalits.

C) The Continuing Effort

On and on, the book flows with pages of wake up calls that will cause readers to have the same kind of discomfort as Cork. Education is not about helping the Dalits. It is also targeted at the powers of the land of India, and the outside world. It is also tackling the horrible divide of the rich and the poor, where the rich in India are profiting from the cheap labour of the poor and the outcastes. It is a most unfair system, tightly held and believed by millions of Hindus, including the Dalits themselves. Those who fight the system also do so at their own risk. Fighting injustice is often not so simple. For instance, it touches on religious sensitivities across the country. Certain Hindu radicals will basically use the fight to free the Dalits as a religious provocation too! Converting into the Christian faith is also a risk, and violence has been common.

So What?

It takes only less than 24 hours to change a man's view of the world. It takes a first hand look at the horrors of poverty, injustice, and a fatalistic religious system in order to wake one man out of his slumber. More importantly, what has happened to one man, can also impact us. It reminds us that Christians everywhere must stand up for the weak and the marginalized everywhere. If your Church or organization is going through a dry patch, or suffering from spiritual lethargy or a general lack of vision or purpose, what is needed is not more programs or more activities to keep one's members busy. It is also not about trying to maintain our churches' status quo, to become a church that is on "maintenance mode." What is needed is a vision from God about what the Church with all its people and resources can do: Make a difference.

The question that has arrested Cork can also be a wake up call for us: "Do you have a vision worth dying for?" If you do not have, or if you feel your church do not have one, start praying. Start seeking. Start seeing. Start visiting places. Start to venture beyond your comfort zone. Let one's prayers guide the way. Let the reading of the Word, and the examining of Jesus' outreach to the poor in the gospel energize us. Let the Holy Spirit guide us to do the right thing. The title of the book is a direct challenge to all of us: Why Not Today?


Rating: 4.5 stars of 5.

conrade

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This book is provided to me free by Moody Publishers and NetGalley without any obligation for a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.