Compassion, Justice and the Christian Life: Rethinking Ministry to the Poor

by Robert D. Lupton

The urban landscape is changing and, as a result, urban ministries are at a crossroads. If the Church is to be an effective agent of compassion and justice, Robert Lupton notes, we must change our mission strategies. In this compelling book, Lupton asks the tough questions about service providing and community building to help ministries enhance their effectiveness. What are the dilemmas that caring people encounter to faithfully carry out the teachings of Scripture and become personally involved with "the least of these?" What are some possible alternatives to the ways we have traditionally attempted to care for the poor? How do people, programs and neighborhoods move towards reciprocal, interdependent relationships? To effect these types of changes will require new skill sets and resources, but the possibilities for good are great.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Poverty, Nonfiction, Faith, Justice, Social Justice

144 pages, Paperback

First published April 20, 2007

About the author

Bob Lupton is the founder and president of FCS Urban Ministries, a non-profit organization serving inner-city Atlanta, and is on the board of the Christian Community Development Association. He is a Vietnam veteran, has a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Georgia, and consults and lectures internationally on urban issues.

Reviews

[Katy · Rating 4 out of 5]

We're reading this in our neighborhood group at church, and it's been one of the best books for discussion about living in the city and loving people around you. Lupton has decades of experience and has considered at length situations that we think about every day in East Nashville.
His tone can be a little sassy- but then there's a place for that.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lupton presents a strong argument in favor of Christian Community Development and includes a proposal to use gentrification to improve poor neighborhoods. However, in between two excellent chapters on the above subjects, the book seems padded with fluffy examples. The book is not a coherent whole. The strength of his good chapters justify the 4 out of 5 rating.

[Jana Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book will make you totally rethink "helping the poor"

[Dayton Dangel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lupton does a fine job walking through the important considerations of urban ministry, especially for the discerning yet compassionate heart who sees that simple handouts don't quite cut it. His honesty, his experience, and his desire to show the love of Christ, that is, to be obedient to the command to love your neighbor, comes through in spades. It just how to most effectively obey this command that Lupton expounds upon in this short read. I would highly encourage anyone looking to do urban ministry or social programs to read this book and engage with the implications of it.

My only hesitation is perhaps his overemphasis away from betterment. He does rightly argue that development is preferable to betterment, and on that I agree. However, development presumes a certain demographic that may not always be present in a given context and can veer dangerously close to the mentality of "God helps those who help themselves." Development is absolutely preferable to simple betterment "hand-out" programs, but my concern is that a reader might come away from this book writing off those programs completely. There is still a place for betterment programs, there is still a place for hand-outs.

[J. Alfred · Rating 3 out of 5]

This little book gives a good look at what makes communities go bad and suggests how they might be rejuvenated. The main point is that, basically, helping sometimes hurts, and so we have to be careful to think about how to formulate our help in such a way that it allows people to help themselves, and in fact helps communities help themselves (because often people who newly learn to help themselves see leaving their bad community as a mark of success and thus drains newly useful resources from that same community).
Useful stuff to read for church leaders and other people concerned with city ministry. "Gentrification with justice"? He defends the idea well, and Shane Claiborn and John Perkins sign off on it, so um. It sounds like something you can have a good conscience about, especially if you're willing to do the dirty work of helping to turn a dying neighborhood around.

[Cal Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book I’ve read of Luprons (the first being Toxic Charity). This book reads like an abridged version of Toxic Charity. Lupton does a good job of showing what true community development can look like both theoretically and practically by giving real world examples from his work in Atlanta. He makes the point that giving money to the homeless man is not always wrong but it certainly is the easiest way to appease our own consciences. If we truly care about helping people out of poverty, a whole new worldview often needs to be instilled into the lives of those we are helping. Of course this work is not easy and requires a lot of time, or, at least, a lot of researching into what organization is best to invest your money in. Lupton takes a long-term approach that he convincingly argues is necessary if you truly want to see communities begin to take responsibility for their own welfare and prosperity. While a silver bullet approach would be nice, there does not seem to be one for this type of systematic, community-wide development work.
Towards the end of the book, he argued how local churches are vital for wholistic community development to happen, a point I greatly loved seeing added into this community development conversation. We do not want to just see transformed bank accounts and employment opportunities, but transformed lives! What better place for this to begin than with the Gospel as witnessed to through the local church. In his conclusion, Lupton talks about the Deuteronomic gleaning principle, which does a good job of summarizing his philosophy of community development. Not only do the means for people to be able to provide for themselves need to be made available, but the ones in need should be the people to work (glean) for these means as well. The poor are not only cared for but also given dignity as they work to provide for themselves and their families. I am currently thinking through how these types of community development principles can be applied to a transient refugee community like Clarkston.

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a nutshell, the book offers stories and examples of a paradigm shift in ministry to the poor: moving from betterment (closing closets, food pantries, and the like) to development, and moving from individual to communal services and ministries.

[Jeremiah Nguapha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book will certainly open your eyes to the reality of ministries to the poor. It has certainly made me rethink and approach the idea differently.

[Elizabeth Ramos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and thought provoking. A must-read for anyone wanting to 'make a difference' in their community.

[Bekah Backman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great examples of transformational work in America. Let's rethink how we relate to and help the poor.

[Lauren De La Cruz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enlightening.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some really good insights for helping neighborhoods long-term.

[Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Doing for others what they can do for themselves is charity at its worst." What is true for the individual is also true for communities. Doing for a community what it could do for itself is as dangerous as it is to an individual.
Serving people is distinctively different from developing/empowering people. Betterment does for others. Development/empowerment enables a person to change their life which brings hope.
It is a long journey from soft-hearted and cheap one way charity, to reciprocal interdependent relationships. Everyone must pull his own weight. That is the key to responsible charity. Which is not to say that everyone has equal capacity nor potential—just equal responsibility. ....Dignity, not pity, will win every time.
Neighborhoods decline because of dis-investment.Loading up a depressed neighborhood with services—faith-based or otherwise—does nothing to reverse that downward spiral. Re-investment is needed. Bottom line: the community must be re-neighbored. ..strategies to attract middle-income neighbors back into the area are essential.
A community will never come back to life through subsidies and services. Economic viability is the only thing that will build and sustain a healthy community. And then there’s the issue of the spiritual health of the neighborhood. It’s a matter of triage. We’ve got to stop the bleeding first.The odds of success have increased if there is a consensus among city council members and community leaders to lock arms.
Yet, who is the visionary? Without a vision the people perish.
A ministry that was starting out addressing a pressing need in the community would soon become a problem to that same community. The last thing a neighborhood struggling to revive needs is a proliferation of human services that will insure an ongoing flow of needy recipients into that community. If rebirth is to take place, a de-concentration of poverty and brokenness must take place.

[Phil Rushton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lupton provides a practical insights as to how we can move beyond simple relief approaches to charity towards a model of community development. He argues that many of our relief models of charity can be naive and create unhelpful dependencies. He advocates a more holistic approach to ministering to the poor that empowers them to participate in community change. For example, he talks about turning food banks into food co-ops that employ the under resourced. He also advocates mixed income neighborhoods that avoid an over-concentration of social services in one area. In so doing he promotes a modified view of gentrification that allows for urban centers to continue their upward mobility while creating a place for the poor to invest in these emerging communities. His book speaks a word of empowerment to those with business and real-estate acumen. The gifts required for this type of community development lie outside the usual social service and ministry gifts. I would love to have some of the professionals in our congregation work through this book and consider how we can bring about the betterment of our community.

Key quotes:
“How we demonstrate our compassion has everything to do with whether or not the poor actually feel valued.”

“New technologies of charity must be developed to bring the dignity of reciprocity into the practice.”

"Good neighbors are preferable to good programs any day. And they're a whole lot cheaper." While talking about the importance of relocation.

"One of the reasons a ghetto remains poor is because the need is so concentrated. If rebirth is to take place, a de-concentration of poverty and brokenness must take place. The community must become strong enough to deal internally with its own needs."

[RF · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this for Allan for Christmas and he says its a great resource on outreach and caring for the poor. It's published by the Christian Community Development Association.

I read this book in one evening. It has the best response I have read to the question of giving and compassion. I've always struggled to know how to respond when strangers ask for money - I feel terrible if I don't give, but then I don't know if my offering will really help the person. Bob Lupton has lived in an urban setting for decades, and his answers are built from experience in truly walking with poor people. Check it out - it will challenge most church models of giving from a distance. I also learned how giving in a one-sided way can create dependency but not empowerment. This book is really a challenge to move to the next level in compassion for the poor and gives great practical applications... It got me thinking!

Allan and I are going to a few CCDA Institutes in the next months, so I will be learning more about this approach.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Argues for Christian Community Development (CCD) as a robust model to minister effectively to the whole person who happens to be impoverished. This is no quick fix. Moreover, it likely falls outside the resources and talent pool of many churches. This is its greatest drawback. Community development is a monumental task. It requires the right church leaders with the right skill sets who know the right people who have the right community leverage who are willing to follow the right course and involve the right community members who have the right desire to see their community revive. Many elements must align before this can be done, and it is a project that takes years. I have no doubt that it is one of the best ways to minister to a given neighborhood. However, efforts to help the poor on the part of the leading church will be circumscribed to this project for years while other needs may have to go unmet. This book does address ways of enhancing church benevolence programs, but its primary aim is community development.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book more accessible and gentle than "When Helping Hurts". Perhaps When Helping prepared the way for me to be open to the guidance in this book. The short and long of it is that the best way to show Christian kindness to someone is to befriend them, walk with them, support them in becoming their best selves. It is much the way we care for our children and friends. The trouble is that this is time consuming, hard work and we are often called to walk in friendship with those children of God we might prefer to keep at a distance.

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has a great deal of wisdom about charity and community development in the life of a Christian. Much of it is composed of things I already knew from much more tedious reading or life experience but these insights are packaged winsomely and easily understood and digested by a broad audience. The chapters are short, the book is thin, and you will not come across many things so profitable that are its equal in ease.

[Lyle Wenger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book if your interested in or are involved in inner city ministry. The author shares his evolution of ministry, and how he kept moving to the next step in order to meet the REAL needs of the people. People, churches that read this book, can avoid so many of the mistakes that well meaning people and ministries will make if they don't read this book. Having worked with youth in the city for over 10 years, the ideas the author discusses in this book are very true.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read - I recommend it to anyone doing Christian development work in American urban areas.

Lupton challenges the poverty ministry model used for decades - open a food pantry! open a clothing closet! and argues that this is not alleviating poverty, but perpetuating it. He's right, and in an incisive, analytical way, Lupton challenges the reader to consider doing development, not relief, work as a means to alleviate poverty long-term.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very good but rather disturbing. It challenges a lot of modern ideas and practices having to do with helping the poor. It takes an honest look at what kind of things are being done today and why they aren't having the desired effects. It then describes some programs that are being implemented with very good long-term results. Definitely worth reading!

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had great information and really challenges readers to look at how ministries impact the communities where they reside, for the good or the bad. Makes one want to be more intentional about Christian community development, making sure those in poverty are also active stakeholders in the process. The only negative about this book is it reads like a textbook.

[Dr. Dena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Lupton's themes for community development as economic viability, integration as shared responsibility, indigenous resources, and holism, and his reminder to fulfill the great commandment as a pathway to the great commission instead of the other way around (p. 16). I also liked his call to serve through friendship and via applying one's gifts for social benefit.

[Rich Bergmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

What Lupton has to say just "makes sense." We know that gentrification drives low-income residents from their neighborhoods, yet *not* actively participating in the redevelopment of a community leads to blight. What to do?

Lupton doesn't have "the answer," but he does describe another way -- a way that all decent mission minded servants should consider.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lupton challenges his readers to reconsider the current way for urban ministries. Through explanation of his own experiences, positive and negative, he outlines the importance of building relationships in order to enhance the community; defining the difference between enabling and empowering the poor for the betterment of the community as a whole.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is excellent for sparking thoughts on Christian Community Development by using Atlanta as an example, Lupton really hones in on his church's errors and successes with developing their community. Additionally, Lupton 'keeps it real' by advocating that true change occurs with indigenous leadership and the leadership of those who seek to gentrify an area.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good Lupton book. Again he shares insights and lessons-learned from a life of ministry among the poor. Really challenges the pervasive view of "charity" that can often lead to the opposite of empowerment. This book will spur you on to action!

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lupton takes a more in-depth meditation on his attempts to love the poor in urban America and the on the ways that well-meaning charity can hurt. To me, this was super instructive. Jesus has taught me something through Robert Lupton.

[mpsiple · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather than direct advice, Lupton tells stories of his successes and failures in ministry to the poor. You have to make you own applications, but many of his ideas are still paradigms for me as a deacon.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. Great ideas with how to engage with people and organizations for more systemic and relational change. following along with the idea that it means more than handing out, it's building relationships and using the God given skills that each of us have to care for one another.