“When Helping Hurts“

Ever since I can remember I have had a passion for caring for the poor and marginalized and the sharing of the Gospel. It is just part of my DNA. Most of my major life choices have come about as an outflow of one of these passions. If you are reading this then more than likely you in some way share these as well.

The trouble I have always had with these inclinations is how to live them out responsibly and with an integrated approach. Should I give money to the guy standing on the street corner with the sign? How should I help the couple with two small children who have come to the church office asking for financial assistance? As a church committee or outreach team, how should we design our benevolence program to really help people instead of enable them to stay in their situation? Is our short-term mission team really helping the people we are going to minister to? And, how do we share the Gospel in an effective way when we try to live out the biblical imperative to care for “the least of these”?

For years I have seen people and churches wrestle with these questions. We’ve all acted and done the best we could, but there was always a nagging question of whether we were really helping people or actually hurting them by our actions. As I was preparing to come to Cambodia I was really looking for researched, proven guidance that was biblically based and theologically sound. That is when I found the book When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor and Yourself. http://www.whenhelpinghurts.org/  Authors Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert run the nonprofit Chalmers Center for Economic Development and also teach economics at Covenant College. In this book, they communicate both a sound, gospel-centered theology of poverty and the “best practices” of poverty alleviation. They have answered many of my questions with an approach that is academic but not heady, helpful but not condescending, challenging but not demoralizing. While this book may not be a choice for your daily devotional, it is a book Christians should read as we try to make responsible decisions to help people, both in our own communities and internationally.

The authors help us confront our own unrecognized “God complex” that often hinders our effectiveness. They introduce us to best practices like asset-based community development (those are just big words for deciding how to help by seeing peoples strengths and abilities instead of always seeing their needs and weaknesses). They help us recognize crucial distinctions (like those of relief, rehabilitation, and development). And they do all of it through a rich, gospel-driven perspective. They write neither as smug experts who have already arrived, nor as distant prophets who are content to point out our faults, but as humble practitioners who are learning what it means to seek for God’s kingdom to come “on earth as it is in heaven.”

They also take the time to show us why many well-meaning approaches to poverty alleviation – both governmental and church/private – actually hurt the very people they’re designed to help. And, if you are wondering whether to take that short-term mission trip or need some advice in planning your next trip – they have a chapter in the book just for you.

If you care about the poor… if you long to see the church recover a heart for justice… if you desire to alleviate poverty in ways that are truly sustainable and empowering… if you just want to learn more so you can participate intelligently in the conversation… or if, like me, you know you need to grow in this area and want a reliable tutor… you should buy this book!