Community transformation is possible, and it has to start somewhere, but ultimately it is about the grass roots fabric of a society actually turning around, so that the whole community is impacted by the change
Over the past 9 – 10 years I have had the privilege of travelling throughout a number of what we might call developing nations (or third world countries). I have met some of the most beautiful people you could ever meet, and have also seen some of the most wrenching scenes that would make even the hardest of hearts crumble.
Once in Lusaka, (the capital of Zambia) I visited the humble home of a young man and his family as they lived at the back of one of the Local Councillors (government officials) houses. This man and his wife where employed by the councillor to clean his luxury house and tend their finely manicured garden. For their 14 hour days, they would receive the princely sum of $2US (equivalent) per week between them. Not even enough to buy mille meal to feed their five boys. Their home was a lean-to made of rusted tin and cardboard, and each of the boys had clothes which looked like they had been ripped to shreds by a lion. As we sat to share a cup of Fanta (Lord knows how they managed to get hold of a bottle of Fanta) we heard a story that has now become all too familiar. In a world where there does not seem to be a social conscience at all, it is a dog eat dog existence, where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

In 2006 I spent 3 weeks in the Mathare Slum of Nairobi Kenya. One morning after a mob had run riot the night before ravaging one of the slum districts with axes and machetes, I saw a young man lying dead in a stream on the side of the road, already in a stage of riga mortis. I was on my way to visit a man who was dying from some kind of tumour that was growing out of his back, and had just spent the morning with a group of orphan school children in their tiny little school room in the back of a local tin shed church. You get to the place where no matter where you look there is a need, and you know you have only so much resource, only so much time, and your heart will only hold out for so long before it breaks completely.
And then you are reminded of the story of a boy found tossing starfish back into the ocean after a violent storm had washed thousands of them up on the beach. A passer by stopped to say, “Boy you’re wasting your time, there are far too many. You can’t possibly make a difference here”. Picking up another starfish and tossing it back into the ocean the young boy responded by saying “made a difference to that one”.
And so we press on. In the hope that somewhere in the midst of all this there is an answer, that may bring some kind of change big enough to make a difference.
Well in the midst of so much hardship and trouble, there are plenty of good news stories. Like the illiterate preacher in Uganda who decided to buy 6 sow piglets. He gave each of these piglets away to 6 orphans (not necessarily children) with the view to having each one give away a piglet from the first litter each pig bore. On last count I heard that there are now more than 300 orphans who own a sow pig that can provide a small income and some food to eat.

I have another friend in Uganda who has found that if you train an orphan in a life skill (sewing, wood turning, metal fabrication) you can turn their whole life around. He works in a bank and has been using half of what he earns to establish a small church and workshop where he can train people in these basic Life changing skills.
I met a man in Zambia who has a similar role in his community; however he and his wife help young girls who have been used as prostitutes, and rehabilitate them back to some kind of normal life including teaching them a life skill.
Everywhere I go I meet people who are making a difference where they are, with what they have.
But is it enough?
I have a train of thought that has been developing on this matter for some time, which relates to how a community can actually change.
As a Christian I have some very firm beliefs, and at the core of what I believe is the basic premise that there is a Creator God who loves the whole world and wants the very best for all of his creation. Many do not hold to that belief. However, what even the most avid of sceptics would agree on is that somehow in the midst of this mess we call the world there are some basic laws of the universe which seem to be constant under most circumstances.
For example: The law of gravity… ‘What goes up must come down.’
And then there is one of my favourites: The law of sowing and reaping… ‘You reap what you sow’
If we believe then that these and many more ‘laws of the universe’ are somehow irrefutable then it makes sense to work within the parameters of these laws to find the answers to our dilemma.
When it comes to African communities then, it would stand to reason that any society that has a culture of ‘live for yourself’, and ‘take whatever you can when you can’, will have had extreme repercussions from decades of this kind of neglect.
Take into consideration that whole generations of parents have been wiped out in certain communities through the aids epidemic (now rendering one in four infected throughout many parts of Africa), and the onslaught of war and famine. And you have a recipe for certain disaster. This is what we are seeing in many African nations where the average wage is now less than $500 US (equivalent) per annum.
OK, so what solution?

Without wanting to over complicate this matter I have purposefully simplified my theory to help the process of its outworking.
If we take the law of sowing and reaping and unpack it a little, we find a basic premise of life.
A farmer has a hand full of seed. He can (a.) Make some food to eat, so he can feed himself for this season. (b.) Sow his seed so that he has a crop to feed himself for the next season. (c.) Make enough food for this season and the sow the rest so that he has food next season.
If a man has time, talent, and a little treasure, he can (a.) Use it all for himself (b.) Give it all away. (c.) Use some for himself and give the rest back to society so that the next generation has a share of his wealth.
You reap what you sow.
If you sow sparingly you will reap sparingly.
If you give nothing back then the next generation will suffer.

The 3T’s of Transformation
One of God’s most basic laws (the Law of the Tithe) is based on this greater law of sowing and reaping. Give back a tenth of what you get. It’s not a tax, as it has always been a choice that we get to make, however there is more than enough evidence to say that God thinks we will be better off if we do. He even says, ‘test me in this and see if I will not open the flood gates of heaven.’
So to help transform a Community I have formulated these simple thoughts based around this law.
Giving back into our communities a portion of our TIME, our TALENT, and TREASURE will be the basis of a wider transformation that could ultimately change a nation.
If a generation can be taught to sow back into the generation that follows then society will change. Take some Time to teach your Talent, and give something of what you have (Treasure) back into society.
What I have noticed is that when people are taught to value each other, (another of God’s Laws – Love your neighbour as you love yourself) and the next generation sees this in actions as they grow up, then they develop a new culture with a different mentality.

So if a man gives away a pig, because someone gave him a pig, or a lady teaches another young lady how to sew because someone taught her to sew, or someone who knows how to read and write takes some time to teach a few others these same skills, and if people learn to respect the land as well as the people who share it, and community starts to change as a result, then why can’t a nation change.
In the midst of all that there are Big Brother neighbours like us in the west who have TIME, TALENT and TREASURE, and if we were to do our bit, not just give stuff away, but actually get on the ground and teach in these developing nations what we know, then we will have helped make a difference, even if it is only with one community.
At least it will have made a difference to that one.
So how many Africans does it take to change a nation?
‘One… at a time’

source  http://ministrynow.blogspot.com/2010/07/community-transformation.html

• Suicide rate in Australia is 21.5 per 100,000 people
• Two of the most developed countries have even higher rates Finland is 43.4 per 100,000 people, Switzerland is 29.5 per 100,000 people.
• Whereas so called developing nations have much lower rates, Zimbabwe is 10.4 per 100,000 people, Panama is 7 per 100,000 people, and Peru is 0.7 per 100,000 people.
• Australia has one of the highest youth suicide rates in the world.
• The United States has the highest number of teen pregnancies in the industrial world.
• Alcohol is a major contributing cause of death and hospitalisation for young Australians (15–24yr olds)

There are many statistics that could be listed illustrating the consequences of the lack of social development.  How many times do we hear people say “things were better in the old days”?  Are they saying they want to go back to poor health systems, poor road infrastructure, lack of work, etc. of course not, what they desire is a return to community.

It has been said that you can judge the health of a community by the health of its young people.  How do we stack up?

A major factor in all of this is that people have lost a sense of belonging and a hope for the future.  Without that we are lost to economic development, where the only important person in the world is me…me…me.  We must invest our money to get the highest return regardless of the consequences of those who lose because of our gain.  As Christians we must make a decision to change or face the consequences.

Overseas Aid

A recent newspaper feature by news limited highlighted problems with the “Aid Industry” where large amounts of the aid dollar is spent on expensive consultants and little outcome is seen in communities.  Should we, as Australians, expect a better outcome for our $4+ billion aid program than what we are currently getting? 

It’s a beautiful day

Dr Paul Turner has seen both sides of development and need.  Expelled from school at seventeen he was written off by many as a burden to society.  Although this was not the way things turned out.  A number of people coming alongside him and giving him positive support, led Paul to go on to become a Professor in Tropical Medicine as well as working for a number of international agencies.  He recognises, from experience, that giving positive support to people gives them hope and developing community structures will give them a sense of belonging.

Paul has written a book, the title of which comes from a U2 song, ‘It’s a Beautiful Day, don’t let it get away’, to help others recognise the positive in their lives. So much of the Church’s message is negative and based around our problems not recognising our God given talent.  In the book there are 30 exercises which will enable people to see the good in themselves, their families and the community around them and forms the basis for a personal journal.  Starting on a positive base will give a good platform for building hope for the future and give people the sense of belonging so desperately needed.  He also highlights problems with international aid programs, short term missions and general aid, asking the question, do communities deserve more?

In the same way we give health warnings on cigarettes, should we give health warnings on our development plans for countries ‘less developed’ than our own, that economic development being offered may cause harm to their communities.

Comments about the book

“Paul Turner has had an extraordinary life as illustrated in his book “It’s a Beautiful Day”.  Paul’s writing style is easy to read consequently readers can learn life skills from the crucible of his experiences.  The “change your life” boxes, throughout the book, make ideas easy to follow which should be particularly valuable for young people.  I wholeheartedly agree with the notion of mentoring and my career would have been poorer without mentors throughout my life.  I hope this influences the reader to learn from Paul’s philosophy forged from early adversity.Dr John Herron, Former Senator, Surgeon and Ambassador and currently Chairman of the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital Foundation

“Paul Turner’s book is full of excellent advice on how to live full lives while rebuilding our communities. He courageously shares his own mistakes so that the reader can learn from them, but Paul also has the wisdom and experience to demonstrate how a positive outlook combined with a community-centered approach can create a more liveable world for all.”

Mr Jim Diers, First director of Seattle Department of Neighbourhoods, Director of South Downtown foundation, Faculty member of the University of Washington Department of Architecture and University of Chicago Asset -Based Community Development Institute.

Books are available for $24.99 plus postage from directly from Paul by contacting him via email on Turnerbout@bipond.com

Or from most good bookshops, Borders, Dymocks or QBD.

Many of us have gone to start churches or to be part of churches without due consideration of what this thing is all about. As a result, we accept whatever that is presented to us either by tradition or by those we assume know as we are not in a position to discern and assess correct definitions, operations and practices of church. Generally, it has become the culture of Christians to invest in something they do not even understand why it exists. We invest our lives, time and our resources without even checking if the church system we are part of is operating within the Biblically correct framework. We take the most important decision in life, that of giving our lives to Christ and then continue without checking if the “giving of our lives to Christ” is bearing any real fruit to Him and His kingdom. In fact at times we do not even care if the thing is correct as long as we can produce a successful church service on Sunday morning. We forget that Israel under Moses had “successful church services” in the form of the manifest presence of God (Pillar of Cloud and Fire) although God Himself had long judged that they would not enter the Promised Land or His purposes (Heb 3:7-19, Jude 1:5, Acts 7:39-43). The fact that God had judged them did not mean that He would not heal their diseases and provide manna for them; God did this faithfully until all of them died except for two men, Joshua and Caleb, whose hearts were set on the journey. This is what I call “sustaining presence of God” where God provides His miraculous power and manifest presence just as a way of waiting for the entire generation to die in order to raise a new generation that can possess His promises.

Definitions

Mathew 16:13-19

 Matthew 16:13-19

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” 

14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 

16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.  19  I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” NIV

It was in Mathew 16 that Jesus revealed for the first time His intent of building an entity He called “church”. The word “church” was unpopular in the religious circles of the day. The word that was used to describe the gathering of a people for religious purposes was “synagogue”. Jesus Himself was familiar with synagogues, he went and attended synagogue meetings and sometimes even taught in synagogues, see Luke 4:16-21.

Luke 4:16-18

16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

because he has anointed me

to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

and recovery of sight for the blind,

to release the oppressed,

 NIV

“Synagogue” (sunagoge in Greek): an assemblage of persons. If you study about Synagogues in the Gospels and in the book of Acts, you will realise that it was basically an assembly of people (Jews) who came together to pray, worship and teach one another on the Word of God. Since the synagogue was a Jewish religious assembly, their Bible would have been the Old Testament (the Law and the Prophets). For example, in Luke 4:17, Jesus was given the scroll of prophet Isaiah.

It is important to unveil the definition of “synagogue” simply because although Jesus was familiar with synagogue operations, He did not say “I will build my synagogue”. On the contrary, He said “I will build my church (ekklesia)”. This straightaway tells us that the Lord was not simply establishing an assembly of people who would meet weekly only for religious purposes (as the Jews did within the synagogue system). The disturbing realisation is that the church has not only been run like a synagogue historically, it still operates as a synagogue even today. Church, just as ancient synagogues remains a system of bringing people together for religious purposes. In the synagogues, there was powerful evangelism taking place just as we see today (Matt 23:15). Now anybody reading this article will have to track through following articles carefully because if we read as far as this paragraph, then we will misinterpret and misrepresent what is being said.

Matthew 16:18

18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.  NIV

 “Church” (ekklesia in Greek): The word ekklesia is made up of two words, “ek” which means “out” and “klesis” which means “a calling”. This word “ekklesia” was used among the Greeks of a body of citizens gathered to discuss the affairs of the state (Vine’s Dictionary). The word refers to the gathering of competent citizens of a city-state in order to decide issues regarding laws, office appointments, and public policy (Mounce’s Dictionary).

The ekklesia was therefore a political system of government and human development.

The important question here for us is, why did Jesus not say “I will build my synagogue”? Jesus took what was known to be a “secular” concept, entity and system and declared that He would build this same system to advance the kingdom of God. Ekklesia was a system of regulation and development of a city-state and so those who formed what was known as church needed to be people who were concerned with the affairs of humanity or with the human conditions of their city-state. Basically, ekklesia had a serious political-developmental role and function. When I say “political”, I do not mean “party politics”. The important question is, why are these realities not even traceable within the current identity, existence, doctrine and operations of the church? Who has defined church for us? Where did they get those definitions from?

In declaring the building of church, Jesus took what was known to be secular and unreligious; He bypassed the whole synagogue operation. This reveals the mind and the intent of God for the church.

Principles from Matt 16:13-19

• The revelation of church is preceded by a correct definition of Christ (Matt 16:13-17). The first question by Jesus was ‘who do men say that I am’. Correct definition of Christ basically means that we need to have correct revelation and doctrine in the church. Our sight of Christ produces understanding, doctrine and church operations. If we see Christ wrongly, like those who confused Him with past expressions of the Spirit (John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah) then we are not even going to see what church is all about.
• Church is built upon ‘this rock’, the foundation of revelation truth (Matt 16:18). And so the extent to which we have correct revelation truth is the extent to which we have a correct solid foundation upon which to build.
• Church is “built” (Matt 16:18). Jesus did say, “I will build my church”. This means that what I’ve just described in the paragraphs above needs to be built diligently over a long period of time. Our test of correct building is when we eventually produce a mature people that God can use to administer and govern the affairs of humanity. We have to produce the ekklesia. The idea of building must therefore emphasise to us issues of (a) having design (a blueprint) for church that must be built, (b) mobilising necessary and relevant resources (tools from God) that will help us build, (c) engaging in a long term process of building (building takes time), (d) being much more deliberate in how we build church.
• The building of church is a governmental-warfare issue (Matt 16:18). There is “gates of hades” we have to overcome. “Gates” in the Bible always represent wisdom and government. Elders sat at the gates to discuss issues of their cities and to come up with wisdom for effective government (e.g. Prov 31:23). This is the meaning behind the concept of elders in the churches. Paul meant that elders were governors of church communities (1 Tim 3). Elders were governors and senators of human civilisations and the church has reduced them to conductors of church services and builders of church organisations. Building a church service and governing human lives in Christ are two different realities. The “gates of hades” therefore means that there is wisdom of darkness that can overcome us if we are not receiving a higher wisdom from God. When we build church, we are engaged in warfare.
• Church has a clear mandate to advance the kingdom of God (Matt 16:19). According to Matt 24:14, this mandate must be brought to completion before the end comes. If this is true, how is it that kingdom realities are so distant from church processes. Why is there lack of kingdom emphasis in the church? Why has the “vision of the pastor” taken over clearly stated vision of advancing the kingdom of God in the earth? Have we considered that Christ and apostles preached that which they called “the gospel of the kingdom of God”? Why are we hearing “a different” gospel in the church today? Why are we “sermonising” the saints instead of preaching doctrine that reveals kingdom realities to believers. Have we considered what the kingdom of God is all about?

There are several principles that can be extracted from the word “ekklesia” (the called out ones):

• To be part of church means that you have been “called out” (of the world) to participate in serious kingdom business. That “calling out” is not a monastic process, i.e. it does mean we have to distance ourselves from the world. That calling out is one based on identity, mentality, ideology and value system. If church is made up of people who are called out then why is it that believers still wonder if they are called or not? What is a calling and what are we called for? Clearly, what we can say for now is that “calling” is not limited to “pastors” but to all those who are part of the ekklesia of God.
• One can not be part of church if one is still locked up in worldliness, worldly philosophies, values and ideologies. There must be a “calling out” or a “moving out of the world” process.
• To be part of church means that we have to be motivated by an advance of the kingdom of God.
• To become a functional church (ekklesia) we need to be trained and equipped (instead of being sermonised), see Eph 4:11-13. The “ekklesia of God” will not be produced through “sermons” but through training and equipping for kingdom function. This training must produce a set of competences inside the church that in turn produce people who can interact and advance the cause of the kingdom of God in the spheres where God has placed them (namely: Business, Workplace, Communities etc.). We have to be trained to function within the broader scope of the kingdom (and not simply or only in a “local church”). Many of believers have become competent in handling the affairs of their local churches but are still incapable to advance the kingdom of God into their God-given spheres

The Bible reveals God as the all-powerful creator of everything (Col. 1:16). He is portrayed as the Supreme Ruler over all creation (Mt. 28:18) who orders and holds together the entire cosmos (Col. 1:17). He is not neutral towards His creation. He loves and delights in it (Gen. 1:31). But all is not as it should be. The Bible reveals sin not as an isolated spiritual ailment, but as something that has radically disordered the cosmos (Rom. 8:19-22). The redemption that God provides through Jesus will result in a new heaven and a new earth (Rev. 21:1) – not just saved human souls.

While Jesus is our savior and redeemer, he is much more. He is the savior of the whole world – the redeemer of the entire cosmos (Jn. 3:16). The Bible reveals Christianity not as a religion, but as a comprehensive view of the universe—the only view that aligns with reality. This understanding of Christianity is not new. Indeed it is very old. It was concisely expressed by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Church at Colosse:

[Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible
and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all
things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in
him all things hold together… For God was pleased to have all his
fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things,
whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through
his blood, shed on the cross
– Colossians 1:15-19

Here we read Paul’s doctrine of creation, his understanding of the sovereignty of God, and his awareness of Jesus as the redeemer of the universe. In short, Paul presents us with an all-encompassing Christian view of the universe. In this passage the words “all” and “everything” appear six times. Centuries later, this same all-inclusive Christian worldview was expressed by the great Dutch statesman and theologian Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920) this way: “There is not a square inch of the universe over which King Jesus does not claim, ‘Mine!’” Yet today, for many Christians, this comprehensive view of reality has been obscured.

Today, there is a tendency for some to divide the world into opposing components. One component is labeled “sacred” and has to do with the spiritual life and presumably eternal things. Everything else goes into a “secular” category. For those who hold this divided view of reality, the consequences are profound. While they may love Jesus as their spiritual savior, they may fail to honor him as Lord over all areas of life. An invisible line divides their personal faith in Christ, their church attendance, worship, prayer life, and Bible study from other areas of life such as their work, leisure time, or care for their physical bodies. Anything that is labeled “secular” is assumed to be of little concern to God. Christianity is narrowed down to a scheme for spiritual salvation. The cross is a ticket to heaven and little more. These are a few of the personal consequences, but there are other consequences as well.

When this divided understanding of reality takes hold within a church, it results in the separation of the church from its surrounding culture. Sunday worship services and vocations in “full time Christian service” are believed to be of greater value to God than seemingly secular pursuits in areas such as the arts, law, politics, social services, care for the physical needs of the poor, and so on. Little effort is made to connect the core doctrines of the Bible to cultural and civic life. Little effort is made to encourage church members to serve as salt and light (Mt. 5:13-16), bearing witness to the truth in all areas of society. Evangelism is pitted against care for the poor. “Full-time Christian service” is pitted against careers in law, business or politics. One category is higher and the other lower. The church is sealed off from society. It exists in a Christian “ghetto” with its own sub-culture of language, media, and entertainment. When the divided mindset impacts churches, they become impotent and ineffective at impacting culture. Rather than discipling the nations as Christ commanded (Mt. 28:18-20), the values and dominant beliefs of the surrounding culture begin to influence and shape the church.

Despite this, there is cause for great hope. God is at work in our generation. He is active around the world leading his bride back to a comprehensive, undivided understanding of reality. He is reminding his followers that he is Lord not merely of some limited
spiritual realm—he is Lord over all! He created the spiritual and the physical realms and cares for them both equally. He seeks to be glorified not only in the church building, but also in the home, the school, the company, the courthouse and the houses of government equally. Furthermore, he is reminding his bride that while he passionately and actively seeks and saves lost people trapped in sin (1 Ti. 2:4), his redemptive plan is far grander than saving human souls for heaven. He is about the business of redeeming all things distorted through the Fall (Col. 1:19-20). It is this all-encompassing redemptive agenda that he calls his Church to participate with him in.

The 15th century European reformers had a motto that reminded them, in a very practical way, of God’s comprehensive concern for all areas of life and all spheres of society. The phrase was “coram Deo” which means “before the face of God.” All of life is to be lived before the face of God and to his glory. There is no higher, no lower—no sacred, no secular. God is Lord of all. Today a new word is proving useful in directing Christians back this same comprehensive, undivided mindset—the word “wholism.” While the word is relatively new, the idea behind it is not. It is as old as the universe itself. Wholism derives from the root word “whole” and is used to describe whole systems made up of multiple, interacting parts that function together. Think of your life as an example. There are different “parts” that include your family life, your career, your private life and your public life. A divided mindset will split these parts into sacred and secular categories.

A wholistic mindset will seek to glorify God in all areas of life recognizing that God is concerned for the whole of life (1 Cor. 10:31). Think of Christian ministry. Some ministries focus on evangelism, others on discipleship, and still others on providing care for the poor and needy, and so on. A divided mindset will separate these activities into higher and lower categories. A wholistic mindset sees them as equally essential parts to the total ministry of advancing God’s Kingdom on earth. Jesus showed us by example how to practice such a ministry. In Matthew 4:23, we read that “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people”. What are the “parts” of Christ’s ministry? Which of these parts was most important? For Jesus, such a question wouldn’t make sense. They were equally important and essential for his whole kingdom-advancing ministry.

The concept of wholism is both liberating and challenging. It holds the power to free us from a debilitating mental dualism. It provides a fresh, faith-expanding perspective— one that leads to a newfound freedom to enjoy embodied human life in all its wonder. It opens the door for us to take new interest and delight in God’s magnificent creation. It liberates us to explore vocational alternatives outside of “full time Christian service” and still know that we are both serving and glorifying God. As whole churches gain this new perspective, they escape from the Christian ghetto as Christians infiltrate the culture, taking with them the power of God’s Word lived out in human flesh.

Wholism can lead to social and cultural transformation. Yet it is challenging because it shows us that our faith must impact our entire lives. When we truly grasp wholism, we realize we can no longer withhold certain segments of our life from God. Jesus wants our whole lives— every part—to glorify him. He wants us to join him in advancing his Kingdom in all areas of culture and all spheres of society. For those who have been trapped within a divided mindset, this can appear to be a fearful and radical step. Yet he promises that when we join with him, our burden will be easy and our yoke will be light. The responsibility of advancing the Kingdom belongs to God, yet he gives us the privilege of joining with him. When we do, he supplies the strength we need to do things we could never do on our own.

SCOTT D. ALLEN is the President of Disciple Nations Alliance, U.S.

by Tim Stafford

Wednesday mornings at 8, 24 women crowd into Leticia’s Eatery in Muntinlupa City, a poor Filipino community on the southeast edge of Metropolitan Manila. They sing “Lupang Hinirang” (“Chosen Land”), their national anthem, recite a pledge of commitment, pray, and sing Christian songs. After that, 52-year-old Letty, who owns the eatery along the narrow San Guillermo Street, leads a Bible study.

Finally, the women get down to business. They belong to Fellowship 3 of the Center for Community Transformation (CCT), a community development organization that focuses on fellowship members’ spiritual as well as economic needs. Almost exclusively women, CCT business owners earn money selling fish and bananas, trading inexpensive products, operating mobile phone stations, and selling consumer goods door to door. All are facing new struggles to make ends meet: About 35 percent of the Philippines’ 97 million people are destitute, living on $1.25 or less a day. The global financial crisis has only compounded their plight, as the national economy is down 30 percent.

Keys to success

Keys to the success of the center’s many fellowships, which function like cell groups, are its microloan program and its instruction in Christian living, coupled with teachings on sound business practices. The average CCT loan is $300, enough for one woman to launch or grow a local business. During the business end of the meeting, women solve problems and encourage each other. Each woman harbors high hopes of making a small profit and paying off her loan on time. At the end of each weekly meeting, members sign the general ledger, and a local pastor closes with prayer.

In Fellowship 3, most of the participants come from a Roman Catholic background. A growing number of them have had a born-again experience, revitalizing their faith. But the group does not discriminate and is open to all. “They listen to the Word of God and are refreshed,” Letty, a CCT client and fellowship leader, observes. “At first they came to join because of temporal needs. As the fellowship aged, their spirituality matured.” The women’s lives and families change, too.

Why the poor are still poor

With its motto of “serving God by serving the poor,” CCT is highly effective in doing just that: Since 1992, it has partnered with 125,000 individuals in 6,000 fellowship groups. Though it works with international ministries such as Habitat for Humanity and Campus Crusade, CCT is an entirely Filipino venture, funded, staffed, and directed by nationals.

The microfinance movement made global headlines when Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, was awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. Worldwide, more than 3,000 organizations now provide small-scale financial services such as loans, savings accounts, and life insurance to about 120 million people.

Ruth Callanta, the founder of CCT, is a pint-sized, motherly dynamo brimming with enthusiasm. Energetic evangelism blended with community development form the core of her ministry model. She knows all the economic buzzwords and can debate economic development methods with scholars, practitioners, and policymakers. But Callanta’s own journey of transformation began not in a classroom debate on running a business but in a Nepalese church, where she found herself unable to stop crying in 1988.

Having grown up in a rural Methodist family, Callanta learned Christian values and had committed herself to Christian mission at a young age. Through high school and college, she had volunteered with community organizations that fought poverty. Increasingly, though, she sensed that the church was irrelevant to activism and was drawn into politics. Under the corrupt and repressive regime of Ferdinand Marcos, president of the Philippines from 1965-1986, Callanta was briefly imprisoned. Following the 1986 revolution, Callanta became a university administrator. Later she was hired as one of the top executives of the Philippine Business for Social Progress, a nonprofit that organizes corporations and agencies to work in concert against poverty.

Rising in the ranks of the national organization, Callanta asked herself why self-centeredness and greed so frequently undermined efforts to help the poor. She decided to refocus on teaching the next generation of young professionals how to make a difference. She joined the prestigious Asian Institute of Management, an elite graduate school in Manila linked to Harvard Business School, but found that many of her peers were career-driven and did not share her passions.

Still restless, she became a consultant, crafting development policy through the United Nations Development Program and the U.S. Agency for International Development, among others. Attending a professional conference, she visited the Hindu-majority nation of Nepal. One day, she took a break and found herself inside one of the few Christian churches in the South Asian country.

That’s when she burst out weeping. “I saw that people were not thinking about other people,” she told Sylvia Palugod, author of Toward the Abundant Life, a book about CCT. “They were just thinking about the advantages they might get personally.

“In the Philippines, we had implemented practically every development intervention that had ever been formulated, adapted, and recycled. Immense resources were being poured into development projects.

“Why are the poor still poor? Why are communities still unchanged? I became convinced that unless people’s hearts were changed, there could not be any true transformation. We are too self-centered, too selfish to be able to make a difference in the lives of other people.

“Of course, when I realized that, I also realized that there was only One who could change the hearts of people: the Lord Jesus Christ!”

God’s Development Indicators

In the 20 years since that defining moment, Callanta’s conviction has not dimmed. But it took more than 10 years for her ministry to fine-tune its model. Not until 2001 did CCT find a way to make faith the center of its mission in a meaningful way.

When Callanta returned from Nepal in 1988, she realized that she was functionally illiterate about the Bible. The following year, she was introduced to Lausanne Covenant theologians Vinay Samuel and Christopher Sugden, who instructed her in biblical basics related to community development. A key insight was that God had promised in Isaiah 65:17-25 to create a new heaven and a new earth, a promise Callanta believes presents a vision of community development as robust as anything the United Nations offers.

Translating these promises into reality, however, has not always proven easy. At first, CCT provided training and consultation for poverty-focused organizations. But Callanta found that leaders wanted more. They needed a model.

The organization then struggled for years to refine its ministry model and strategy. In terms of microloans, CCT was barely able to make a list of organizations worthy of outside support. The basic problem was that CCT’s loan repayment rate was awful. (The default rate was 40 percent.)The organization also struggled to integrate a Christian dimension in an effective way.

The Christian component came into focus after Callanta attended a course in evangelism offered by the Haggai Institute, an Atlanta, Georgia-based training agency. The CCT microloan program then got an overhaul with the help of United Nations experts. Today, its loan repayment rate is 98 percent.

While these changes starting taking hold, Bertram Lim, a successful businessman with a strong Christian background, became CCT chairman. He spent two days each week mentoring staff members. Today, CCT has more than 800 full-time staff working all over the Philippines. Much of their work focuses on Mindanao, the second-largest Filipino island, where poverty is particularly pervasive.

Though microloans and savings accounts are the backbone of CCT, its leaders’ hearts are for spiritual transformation. Sometimes they hear complaints from borrowers like, “If you were really Christians, you would be more understanding of why I can’t repay the loan right now.”

But learning to save, plan, and budget are crucial to economic transformation. Loan collection in the context of community and Bible study does not come off as harsh capitalism but as family discipline. Such discipline then carries over into spiritual transformation as well.

CCT staff view microfinance loans as a way to get people into the Bible, which introduces them to the possibility of personal transformation. Protestants and Catholics as well as Muslims and other nonbelievers can participate without discrimination in CCT programs—so long as they join in Bible study.

CCT’s methods are drawing widespread acclaim

CCT’s methods are drawing widespread acclaim. Benjamin K. Homan, president of Food for the Hungry, says, “I love how CCT grasps the reality that spiritual issues are real and formidable when it comes to battling poverty and hunger. That stark recognition helps shape effective strategies that shepherd the hearts of people through, around, and over barriers of the mind and soul.”

Trust restored

Cindy Caro’s story is typical among CCT participants. Caro was a drug addict when she fell in love with a laborer named Arnaldo. He motivated her to quit drugs, and they had a child together. But Arnaldo’s family disapproved of the relationship, and it soon fell apart.

This turn of events stoked Caro’s resentment of Arnaldo’s family, so much so that one day, Caro set out to murder Arnaldo’s sister with a knife. (Arnaldo stopped her.)

CCT founder Ruth Callanta is a pint-sized dynamo brimming with enthusiasm. Evangelism blended with community development form the core of her ministry model.

Struggling with depression, Caro went to a meeting of CCT Fellowship 50 in Santa Rosa, a city south of Manila, only because another friend had dragged her along. Zoraida Factoriza, then the project assistant, spoke about forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Caro was deeply touched and knew she had to forgive Arnaldo’s family. She cried out to God for help, and a few weeks later, committed her life to Christ.

Caro also joined Fellowship 50. Her first loan was for $85, which she used to sell hotdogs, sweetened beef and pork, ham, and spiced beef door to door. Her second loan was 50 percent larger. With the third loan, she was able to build a small store two square meters in size and begin selling snacks, beverages, and bath products.

Caro is now the coordinator of Fellowship 50. “God restored my trust in others,” she says. “Not all people are judgmental. My fellowship group has become very close to my heart.” So has Arnaldo’s family. “At night, when I reflect back on my dark years,” Caro says, “I can only see God’s hand. He really did have a plan for me; I just didn’t know it. If it wasn’t for God, I should have been dead in the street.”

How to be sustainable

CCT now offers a portfolio of services: life insurance, help with government benefit programs, business-startup training, financial aid for education and youth and family programs, and outreach to the homeless.

The organization also sells products such as generic medicine, soap, and drinking water at wholesale prices so its partners can sell them in their retail businesses. Further, CCT offers pastoral care to encourage its participants to worship regularly. Local churches, once leery of combining business with discipleship, are partnering with CCT centers.

Callanta is jubilant about CCT’s future. She does not see development as a short-term boost. “No one should graduate from CCT,” is how she puts it. “In development, you look at economic progress and ask if it is sustainable. In transformation, you look at individuals and ask whether their lives have changed—and whether that change is sustainable.”

At Leticia’s Eatery, the answer is obvious.

Report written by Tim Stafford for Christianity Today

by Stephen Shearsby

Its the 16th November 2006, AAMI stadium, Adelaide. U2 are half way through the long anticipated Australian leg of their ‘Vertigo’ tour and they’re playing an old classic from the Joshua Tree album, Where the Streets Have No Name. Edge’s guitar cuts the air, criss-crossing the crisp Adelaide night sky. All the flags of African countries are scrolling down the giant LED screen as lead singer, Bono exhorts the crowd ‘from the heights of Mt Kilimanjaro to the heart of Australia…from Drop the Debt to Make Poverty History, the journey of equality goes on!’ Bono’s binding the globe together, trying to throw his arms around the world. Africa and Australia. We’re far away, but Bono’s bringing us so close.

Streets has very simple lyrics, yet both its sentiment and music have justified keeping the song in the U2 set since 1987.
’6,500 people die needlessly every day from AIDS, TB and malaria. That’s two 9/11’s a day but without the tears’

‘I wanna run, I wanna hide
I wanna tear down the walls
That hold me inside
I wanna reach out and touch the flame
Where the streets have no name’

A street can determine your status. Your postcode boxing you in, determining how people treat you, and what potential your life may realistically hold. Bono knew this from his upbringing. You may know it from yours. But what about the people of Africa? Bono is a co-founder of DATA, an organisation that aims to raise awareness and spark response to the crises of extreme, large-scale poverty that is affecting many Sub-Saharan African nations. DATA describes Africa as struggling under a triple crisis that keeps its people poor and its nations weak; the burden of unpayable debt; the epidemic of AIDS and unfair trade policies. Bono states that in Africa 6,500 people die needlessly every day from AIDS, TB and malaria. That’s ‘two 9/11’s a day’ but without the tears, or ‘fifty-one gun salutes’, he says. Why? ‘Because we don’t put the same value on African life as we put on a European or an American life … we say we can’t get these anti-retroviral drugs to the farthest reaches of Africa, but we can get them our cold fizzy drinks. Deep down we don’t believe in their equality’. Where you live determines your status. Where you live determines your worth in the eyes of the Western World. So ‘streets’ do matter. Streets are the basis of our assessment of each other’s worth.

This ‘journey of equality’ that Bono expounded at each concert of the Vertigo tour is not about putting ipods into every person’s hands. It’s about more basic thresholds: whether someone lives or dies. Whether they have what they need to function as a human being in society. Bono has often argued that the campaign to halve extreme poverty by 2015 is not about charity but about justice. The justice that says an African (or Asian) person is just as valuable as an Australian person. The justice that says God will hold us to account for how we treat each other. Make Poverty History is not a difficult campaign to understand. Yet one common misconception of the campaign is that it’s about you and me giving more money to charity. On the contrary, MPH is about halving extreme poverty without individuals spending another cent. What we are being asked to do is to speak up and encourage our governments to use the money they already have from us to put right something that is wrong.

Many Australians share a deep-seated cynicism toward government and world leaders in general. It is easy to be apathetic. We expect those in leadership to abuse their powers and be self-serving. Is it vain to expect the leaders of our world to work collaboratively, to achieve something for the common good? One might expect that the teachings of the Bible would re-enforce such cynicism and encourage the conclusion that human leaders are pointless, and that the UN is nothing but a wasteful, godless institution. On the contrary, the Bible encourages a more positive even hopeful view of leaders and their efforts to work for the common good.

The Bible views human leaders in the wake of God’s leadership. According to the Biblical narrative, God sent His Son Jesus, to reclaim the world that was estranged from Him. In Jesus’ death God judged the world; he punished our wrong. When Jesus rose from the dead a new context was created and made available to all: forgiveness and freedom. Jesus now claims an authority that surpasses all earthly power. But instead of sidelining human authorities, Jesus redefines and redirects their power. Governments are expected to exist for judicial purposes and not behave as though their power determined a community’s identity. In light of Jesus’ claim, they should denounce hubris and see their power as gesturing towards His rule until He comes. As such, governments exist to stand in our place, pass judgements on our behalf and create better contexts for us to live in. Governments can do this by making decisions that put wrong – right again. Though many governments may not consciously acknowledge their redefined role, nonetheless this is the reality a Christian Worldview envisages.

Interestingly, the expectation that governments should rectify wrong was not lost on our newly elected Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd. In his recent ‘Sorry Speech’, Mr Rudd acknowledged the responsibility of the government for its role in the injustices perpetrated against the indigenous peoples of Australia. He said ‘It’s time to recognise the injustices of the past. It’s time to say sorry. Its time to move forward together…Today’s apology, however inadequate, is aimed at righting past wrongs.’

The responsibility of government to make wrong-right in matters pertaining to their nation is relatively clear, but why should a nation like Australia, located so far from the African continent, be held to account over poverty issues there? Is it our fault that Africa is in a mess?! By signing the Millennium Declaration in 2002, which seeks to halve extreme poverty by 2015 – the issue of global poverty has become a justice issue for our nation on account of international law. International law is invested with authority on the basis of ‘natural right’.

One might wonder what, if any binding force such judgements have since the UN is not a world government, has no representative authority over any nation and consequently holds no power to enforce the judgements it makes. Indeed, the UN’s ability to exercise authority depends on the ‘common will of states to act in concert’. However, it is the threat of international strife that makes judgements of ‘common will’ necessary. As Professor Oliver O’Donovan argues, the UN’s role is to shape the international community’s universal moral conviction into a functioning international practice. Consequently, the authority of its judgements is located in the natural right of God. That is, we are to authorise one another to do what ‘God’s law has clearly imprinted on the conscience of mankind’.
The Millennium Development Goals provide a reference point of order outside our country’s introspective interests.

The Millennium Development Goals provide a reference point of order outside our country’s introspective interests. They call on us to recognise the value of people’s lives outside our own backyards. Since the Bible reveals God to be a God of ‘order’ not ‘chaos’ and holds out the hope of a day when there will be one peaceful community under His Son, the idea of nations working co-operatively to order the international affairs of our world should be seen positively rather than cynically. We should be glad for the potential of the UN to line up, consciously or not, with God’s activity of judgement in the way it orders conflicts and disasters ‘within a framework of human lawfulness’. If the nations of the UN conceive what judgement requires regarding extreme poverty and freely bind themselves to these judgements but fail to complement it with action then Bono is right – God will hold them to account. But the buck doesn’t stop with our leaders. Each of us has the obligation of standing up for the oppressed when authority fails to fulfil its obligations, lest our silence be ‘a kind of consent’.

Stephen Shearsby is an ordained Anglican minister who works with children.

Article used by permission from Centre for Public Christianity

Introduction

The goal of society in biblical teaching is understood as ‘shalom’, which can be translated as social harmony, peace, prosperity, security and well-being, and is only achieved through right relationships. Such relationships are characterised by justice, truth, compassion, hope, faithfulness and forgiveness. The relationships the Bible is concerned about are not only those between individuals, but those between groups and organisations; between nations, regions, ethnic groups, cities and churches; between rich and poor, old and young, urban and rural interests; men and women; and between God and all these groups and individuals.

The question addressed in this paper is not how Christians should tackle the symptoms of relational breakdown and distress. There are numerous initiatives by churches, charities and the public services, such as those to resolve local or international conflict, to aid those without family support, and to provide financial help for the destitute. The question here is about prevention rather than cure. How is it possible to design a society’s institutions in a fallen world so as to maximise the likelihood of positive relational outcomes, and address the most fundamental causes of relational breakdown? Is it even worth pursuing such a vision in a fallen world?

Biblical teaching on institutional issues

Jesus teaches how the church, though often a minority, is to be ‘salt and light’ in society (Matthew 5:13–16), addressing in part its role in tackling social decay and darkness. However, Christ also points to the continuing significance of OT law (verses 17–19; see also Mark 7:9–13, Matthew 22:34–40) which has much to say about the institutional foundations of a just society.  Beyond this Jesus says relatively little new on these issues except to teach his disciples how they should respond at a personal level to Imperial Rome and Jewish national institutions (e.g. Mark 12:13–17). His extensive teaching on the Kingdom of God is addressed primarily to the community of believers to explain their place in the world, and only indirectly points to norms for the wider social order.

Although the apostles address the clash between Christ and the state for ultimate allegiance, they give little social teaching beyond the ordering of church life and the family life of believers. They do not set out a new vision for the political and social system. However, in NT times, the church undertook direct social action. Thus, Puritan commitment to limit the king’s arbitrary power, and the campaign by Wilberforce and his friends to stop the slave trade, were based on teaching from both Testaments.

Conclusions

1. Each of the great themes of biblical social teaching can be shown to impact directly or indirectly on whether and how citizens relate to each other. It is impossible to trace here all the relational outcomes if these laws were followed, but benefits would include strong and stable families, decentralised government and an absence of material and relational poverty.
2. Prosperity is a consequence, rather than a precondition, of relational well-being. So the focus of national Christians and those who seek to assist ‘development’ from outside should not be on producing wealth and then dealing with the symptoms of poverty, but on working to achieve an institutional framework which will help to prevent relational poverty, and contribute to bringing about right relationships.
3. The environment, like prosperity, is a derivative rather than a primary issue. That is not to underestimate its immense significance. However, it is only through following biblical teaching on family and love for neighbour that it will become possible to create the social solidarity required to persuade the complacent Western public, and ambitious Asian governments, to make the changes necessary to leave an inhabitable world to our children and distant neighbours.
4. Some might see technology as the major driver of social change. However, Mumford and others have argued that technology is driven by the institutional context of the day. [38] Large companies, for example, seek new technology for large factories and large markets rather than innovations for efficient small-scale production; an individualistic culture seeks new forms of entertainment that do not require a second ‘player’.
5. Christians have to weigh up tackling the symptoms of injustice and exploitation (e.g. hunger, ill-health, landlessness) with tackling the causes(e.g. skewed distribution of access to land, capital markets, concentration of political power, foreign debt). There is no single right solution. Each country needs a strategy for each of its regions, sectors and ethnic groups; each organisation needs its own package of relational reform proposals.
6. To concentrate attention on economic growth, or even on the growth and distribution of income, is not enough. Reform of the markets for resources (e.g. land reform or opening wider access to capital) is vital for promoting positive relationships between rich and poor, and between different sections of society. Equity must be built into the economic system through safeguards in markets for resources rather than relying on a redistribution mechanism after a polarising growth process.
7. Christians should prioritise evangelism, discipling and church planting to restore each person’s relationship with God, to build the Christian community, and to increase a right ‘fear of God’ across society as a whole. But about their priorities for the wider agenda of social change? While Christians should agree on the goals and strategies for social change, they can legitimately disagree about the priorities and timetable of institutional reform. Scripture is not definitive in these areas but gives guidelines. Factors to consider will include the history of the nation, international agreements, the nature of current political arrangements, and feasibility of intervention.
8. Christians need to develop new strategies, campaigns and initiatives to move their societies towards relational well-being; they also need to learn to evaluate them critically. This requires that they build up a body of knowledge drawn from international experience of interventions based on the biblical paradigm, and use it as a training resource for future generations of Christian reformers.

This is an extract from a Cambridge Paper called ‘How to create a relational society: foundations for a new social order’ to read the full article visit the Jubilee Centre website.

The Right to a Healthy Community

by G. Stephen Goode.

Some Pharisees asked Jesus when God’s kingdom would come. He answered, “God’s kingdom isn’t something you can see. There is no use saying, `Look! Here it is’ or `Look! There it is.’ God’s kingdom is here with you.” Luke 17:20-21

What do the values of the Kingdom of God look like in a country where freedom of religion is restricted… with a government that is Communist… where the International Fund of Agricultural Development (IFAD) reports that 17.7 % of the population of 86 million people live on less than 1 US dollar per day … or where women have less education, little voice and fewer opportunities than men despite bearing heavy responsibilities?

YWAM team leader JR meets regularly with government leaders and local families in the Southeast Asia nation where she serves. Their goal is to assess the needs of the community, with the people who live in the community, and to empower them to pursue solutions. This is what Kingdom living looks like there…

…Animal excrement flowed openly through the village in one of the most polluted communes I have ever seen. JR and her team showed families how to turn this awful situation around through the use of more than 800 bio-gas units. Clean stalls for animals prevent disease and provide free methane gas for cooking. Other villages are learning from them as women and children save hours every day by not having to cut and transport wood.

…The team is also committed to influencing local families through early child care and development, whether their children are in school or not. The local preschool teachers organise concerts about early childhood care where the whole community takes part. Most of the village turned up for a recent concert where humour was used in songs, skits and dances to address difficult issues affecting families in the area. JR was delighted when the teachers came on stage in their beautiful national dress, singing, “YWAM is investing in our future. YWAM is helping us care for our children!”

…In a rubbish-strewn village which seemed to be beyond help, it was the village drunk who had a solution. He shared about his dream of making this village a clean village. I simply encouraged him in his dream while JR and the team facilitated a model of waste management which turned this into the cleanest village in the area, profiled on national TV. The village drunk is now a respected man who has shown the power of a dream being fulfilled.

JR recently had lunch with high government leaders from her nation and the nation in Southeast Asia where she serves. Their conversation was about the poor, women and children and the vulnerable and about what JR and YWAM are accomplishing as they champion the dreams and ideas of local people to help alleviate poverty in this country.

When I visit JR and her team, when I meet with government officials and community leaders who want to help their nations, I see the Kingdom of God has come and is coming. Through Kingdom living people feel valuable and empowered and they become a part of the process of improving their own lives. A simple idea but one that Jesus modeled.

Steve Goode is YWAM’s International Director for Mercy Ministries.

by Philip M. Burgess, Ph.D.

These are excerpts from a speech given by Dr Burgess at a fundraising dinner for Anglicare in Sydney on June 29, 2007. For the full transcript visit. Also there is website on the Clapham sect

“I like what you do because what you do represents the essence of compassion – which is primarily about actions, not primarily about feelings.  Compassion is about action verbs:

• doing things for people that they can’t do for themselves,
• helping people where assistance is needed to live a full or better life,
• sharing in their suffering.

In his widely acclaimed book, The Tragedy of American Compassion (1992), Marvin Olasky reminded us that “compassion” is not about the emotion of “caring,” “sensitivity,” “sympathy,” or other such “feeling” words now typically used as synonyms. Compassion is not just about giving money. Giving money is important, and that is called charity. Charity is a key element that enables groups like Anglicare to practice the six mercies on our behalf. Compassion is certainly not about button-holing political authorities to spend more money or to legislate new programs. That’s called lobbying and it has an important place in democratic governance – but it is not compassion.

Compassion is, as the 1834 edition of Webster’s dictionary said, “suffering with another.” So, compassion is about “doing.” Olasky reminds us that compassion, at its root, is about “personal involvement with the needy, suffering with them, not just giving to them.” Compassion is about one person personally involved in helping to meet the needs of another person…dramatically personified by foster parents. To paraphrase the Apostle James, “Caring without deeds is not caring at all.”

Deeds are important. As the sociologist Rodney Stark documents and argues so persuasively in his important book, The Rise of Christianity, it was the deeds of the early Christians – assisting the sick during several First Century plagues and other acts of love and caring – that accounts for the rapid rise of a tiny and obscure messianic movement on the edge of the Roman Empire and how that movement dislodged classical paganism and became the dominant faith of Western civilization. Put another way, deeds trumped doctrine to account for the rapid spread of the Christian faith.

I also like the methods and strategies used by Anglicare to go about changing lives and communities – not just by good works but also through community partnerships that include churches, business enterprises, non-profits and other institutions in the wider community. Strong democracies require a strong civic order, and from all accounts Anglicare plays an important role in knitting together the fabric of the civic order in this community. That’s what I would like to focus on today – building what I call civic leadership networks, like Anglicare, to change lives and communities.

Let me talk about this in cultural terms. Though both the US and Australia are societiescharacterized by great ethnic diversity – a diversity that is an important part of our strength and our capacity for renewal. Still, both societies have deep roots in the Anglo-Saxon tribe which includes a Judeo Christian worldview. That means we have a lot in common – including a common heritage. When you have a common heritage, you also have common heroes.

• From Winston Churchill to the Beatles
• From Abraham Lincoln to Bono and U2
• And what about Banjo Patterson or Steve Irwin…or Rolf Harris

These are all names that are well known in the cultures of the US and Australia – and, of course, in the UK.

I might have mentioned the late Sir Donald Bradman, the great Cricketer, but I have been here 23 months and still can’t get the hang of Cricket – so I’m not going there. But I came here today to talk about another common hero. He may be less well known than Churchill or Lincoln or even Don Bradman. But he is no less important – and this year of 2007 is the 200th anniversary of one of humankind’s greatest achievements, where he was a key leader.
I am talking about abolitionist Parliamentarian WilliamWilberforce

• born in 1759,
• entered Parliament in 1787 at age 28, and
• laboured for 20 years to end British involvement in the slave trade that was “legal, lucrative and brutal”6 until it was abolished in 1807; and another 26 years to abolish slavery in the colonies, achieved in 1833.

Wilberforce was a man small in stature but huge in his impact – described by a contemporary as a shrimp of a man who became a whale when he opened his mouth. Wilberforce was the guiding spirit behind a group called the Clapham Circle, one of the mostinfluential political and social reform networks of his time…actually of any time in modern history, since the advent of modern democracies.

The Wilberforce network was named after the town of Clapham in Greater London. Wilberforce often used Clapham as a gathering place for dinners and discussions among distinguished friends and influential allies. In a way, Wilberforce was an early practitioner of the marketing concept of “touch points” – finding as many opportunities as you can to make personal and emotional contact with your customers, or in the case of Wilberforce, to engage with members and potential members of the coalition you are building to change the political culture of Great Britain.

The Clapham Circle grew to include many people over time. Still, there was a hard core of friends who drove change – not just in the cause of abolition but other social reforms as well. And the friends came from all walks of life and represented all politicalpersuasions – from what today we would call the socialist left to the conservative right.

The core members of the Clapham Circle included:

•  Josiah Wedgwood – of Wedgwood pottery fame – and the creator of the famous plate showing a slave in chains with the plaintive but disarming inscription, “Am I not a man and a brother?”
• John Newton – a former slave trader and author of the hymn Amazing Grace.
• Thomas Clarkson – perhaps the greatest and the most overlooked of all the abolitionist activists, whom the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge called “a moral steam engine” and “a giant with one idea”. Clarkson was a man of colossal achievements who had a genius for organization, imaginative publicity, along with innovative methods and techniques for investigating social phenomena – methods that now go under the heading of “policy analysis”.
• Henry Thornton – a banker and financial genius who gave generously to support the work of the Clapham Circle.
• Zachary Macaulay – philanthropist and estate manager in the West Indies who was disgusted by Jamaican slavery and whose financial support was also key to the work of the Clapham Circle,

The work of the Claphamites inspired a broad agenda of politicaland social reforms in late 18th and early 19th century England – including:

• a ban on bull fighting and bear baiting,
• suspension of the lottery,
• prison reform,
• improved working conditions in factories,
• banking reform,
• setting higher standards of morality for public officials and politics.

The Claphamites passed more than 70 reforms over a half century, setting the stage for the Victorian Age and for the many political and social reforms that marked that period of history – not only in the UK but also in America and later in Australia.

Wilberforce and the Claphamites are also important for another reason: Guided by Scripture and a faith-centered approach to life, they were the first modern social reformers to use facts and data to support their political and social reform arguments. They pioneered what today goes under the heading of “policy analysis.”

Examples:

• public opinion polls– used to assess changing “sentiments” of the people about the slave trade and slavery in the colonies.
• systematic surveys and interviews of eyewitnesses – e.g., seamen and ships’ surgeons – about the squalid conditions surrounding the transport of slaves;
• testimonials – e.g., of seamen who had witnessed the squalor and brutality on board the slave ships or testimony of slaves who had been beaten.
• “before” and “after” studies used to make a case – e.g., by have people to count the slaves boarding a ship and others to count those disembarking, Claphamites were able to establish how many slaves died in transit from Africa to the West Indies in the Caribbean. By also counting the number of British seamen who died, they showed that the slave trade was not just immoral, it was also uneconomic.
• books and pamphleteering – including books by Wilberforce and Clarkson that became national best sellers.

The Clapham Circle also pioneered what are today commonly-used approaches to “movement politics” or “issue campaigns” by political parties or special interest groups. These include:

• the petition – to exert pressure on Parliament. At one point Clarkson produced a petition from Manchester with more than a 11,000 names – more than a fifth of the city’s population at the time.
• the boycott – for example, a pamphlet by William Fox advocating a boycott of West Indian sugar that had been grown on plantations using slave labour.
• campaign buttons – e.g., with the inscription “Am I not a man and a brother?” on the pin.
• campaign posters – e.g., a diagram of a slave ship (the Brookes) showing the gruesome and revolting reality of 482 shackled slaves packed like sardines into the hold of the ship. Known as The Print, “the diagram was one of the most effective pieces of propaganda ever produced and came to hang in many homes.
• arm bands – including bracelets and pendants worn especially by women, who did not have the right to vote, so they could show their solidarity with the cause.
• “photo opps” or dramatic “show and tell” examples of the brutality of the slave trade by collecting manacles, leg-irons, whips, thumbscrews, and the like.

The Clapham Circle also pioneered the use of voluntary societies and organized advocacy groups to advocate causes – such as:

• (the first) Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
• Society for the Mitigation and Gradual Abolition of Slavery (later called the Anti-Slavery Society),
• The Society for Bettering the Condition of the Poor
• The Society for the Reformation of Prison Discipline
• And many missionary organizations such as The Church Missionary Society and the Society for Missions to Africa and the East.

So what are the lessons from this remarkable group of faithcentered social reformers. I have been an amateur student of the Clapham Circle for many years now, and I think the lessons are huge.

First, effective social reform is often backed by a movement, andmovements are driven by leaders with ideas. It’s another example of the old notion that “ideas have consequences”. In the case of the Clapham Circle, the organizing idea was that part of the Judeo-Christian worldview that calls us to love our neighbour and make the world a better place.

Second, effective social reform is not just about the cold pricklies of facts and data. It is also about the warm fuzzies of social engagement – finding ways to truly connect with people and to help them understand and bring them along.

Third, there are lessons related to what I would call the organizational requirements of social reform.19 You need to have organization to make things work. And from the experience of the Clapham Circle, I draw four requirements of an effective civic leadership network. These include:

•  Networks or forums for direction – and priority-setting associations that are inclusive and diverse, reflecting important and influential segments of the community;
• Analytical skill – e.g., policy analysis or an action-research capacity for problem identification and analysis;
• Advocates – i.e., campaigners, activists, elected leaders or other people who can make things happen, get things done, deliver;
• Money – i.e., a capital support base that is stable, dependable, and diverse.

Fourth, there are lessons about how we think about the communal and stewardship aspects of a Judeo-Christian worldview. The work of the Clapham Circle over nearly 50 years is a stark reminder that God’s Word is not just about personal salvation and spiritual growth. Our faith calls us to pay attention to all of God’s Creation…that’s why we pray, “thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, in Earth as it is in Heaven…”

In the words of Abraham Kuyper, a Dutch reformed pastor who was also a theologian, scholar, journalist, educator and, for a time, prime minister of the Netherlands, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which the Lord…does not cry: ‘Mine!’”

Today, unfortunately, we have a tendency to privatize our faith and compartmentalize our view of the world.  Too often, we condemn and withdraw from the culture – including the arts and entertainment, which, in earlier times, were powerful conveyers of the faith.  Too often we abandon the public square and retire from what US Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes called “the action and passions” of our time.  Or we treat religion as a ritualistic activity that doesn’t much matter to everyday life – except perhaps in times of joy (like marriages), ritual celebration (Christmas, Easter), tragedy, suffering or death.

When we privatize our faith by focusing primarily on our personal salvation while ignoring communal issues and obligations of stewardship – and when we compartmentalize the world into separate domains of faith, work, parenting, recreation, and commerce, to name a few (which we then try to “balance” – as in “I lead a “balanced life”), we say, in essence, that there are parts of ourselves and parts of our life – indeed, parts of Creation – that God doesn’t care about. From Scripture to Kuyper and from C.S. Lewis to Francis Schaeffer and Reinhold Niebuhr we know this is not true.