Building the Kingdom

"The people of the Kingdom have a unique mandate to care for the needs of the vulnerable and the voiceless. Our scriptures are quite clear about this. It has been from antiquity both our birthright and our responsibility. We cannot rightly take joy in the rebirth of the city if no provision is being made to include the poor as co-participants. It will not be enough to offer food baskets at Christmas to migrating masses of needy people who are being driven by market forces away from the vital services of the city. Nor will our well-intentioned programs and ministries suffice for those being scattered to unwelcoming edge cities. We must be more intelligent than this. More strategic." -Bob Lupton

"..there is a vast untapped reservoir of giftedness ready to channel into the work of the Kingdom – secular sounding gifts like deal-making, lending, insuring, lawyering, marketing, architecture, real estate developing to name but a few. Under the Lordship of Christ, these become spiritual gifts ideally designed for the work of Biblical justice." -Bob Lupton

If we want to get serious about breaking the cycle of poverty, we must be more intelligent, and more strategic.

I've heard great analogies that speak to this very idea. For instance, let's say that a factory is located near a river. The pollution that is created at that factory is dumped into the nearby river. 25 miles downstream the effects are seen and felt. So people begin to clean up the river at that spot. And they continue to do so. Some progress is made, however the pollution doesn't stop, and despite the efforts to clean up and stop the pollution from spreading to other parts of the river, it eventually does. While the cleanup efforts are still ongoing, a new group of people actually go to factory that is creating all of the pollution. And they attack the problem from it's source.

Relief work is so important. Assistance in monthly rent payments or utility bills, providing transportation needs, educational tutoring, food pantries, shelters, and any other type of immediate relief work is extremely important and necessary.

However, community development can be broken into two parts. Community development through relief/aid, and community development through systemic changes.

Because if we want break the cycle of poverty, we'll need to continue to provide those relief services as well as becoming more strategic to battle these systems that continue to oppress and impoverish. We as followers of Jesus need to tap into this vast reservoir of giftedness and become an active part of God's kingdom. From people at the grassroots level all the way to the CEO level.. all have a vital role in building God's kingdom 'on earth as it is in heaven'.