Discovering the Poor's Wealth

Read my latest article in the Williamson County Sun entitled, "Discovering the Poor's Wealth"

On a crisp fall morning in Georgetown, children run and play among the pumpkins spread across the lawn of the McKinney Ministry Center at First United Methodist Church, oblivious to the talk of revolution and disruption taking place inside the building.  This revolution is not what you think.  It doesn’t involve politics or overturn of a government although eventually politics and government come into play.  This revolution relates more to the radical teachings of Jesus, who turned the world upside down by instructing us that the last shall be first and the first shall be last and commanding us, among other things, to love our neighbor as ourselves.  And on this Sunday in Georgetown, there is talk of disruption in the way in which in which we deal with the issue of poverty and the poor.

Dr. Ron Swain serves as President of The Georgetown Ministerial Alliance.  He is also Director of Transformative Missions Ministries at FUMC Georgetown.  Dr. Swain explains that Transformative Missions is a ministry in which we become more Christ-like by building loving and trusting relationships with our neighbors as a result of sharing God’s love and grace through various ministries.  A community development advocate, Dr. Swain hopes to create a high quality of life for all people, not just members of the church congregation. 

In August 2015, Dr. Swain heard a man named Larry M. James speak at the Texas Christian Community Development Conference.  Mr. James has been the CEO of CitySquare in Dallas since 1994.  CitySquare is a faith-based human and community development corporation that serves several inner-city neighborhoods in Dallas as well as San Antonio, Austin, Fort Worth and Houston.   

 Intrigued by his presentation, Dr. Swain also listened to one of Mr. James’s sermons posted on YouTube then subsequently read his book The Wealth of the Poor.  Dr. Swain arranged to tour the CitySquare facilities in Dallas then invited Mr. James to speak to the congregation at FUMC Georgetown regarding his work at CitySquare.  James’s presentation and book outline the organizational success story of CitySquare.  He advocates for a “paradigm shift” in how we think about and perform mission ministry by targeting four areas:   housing, hunger relief, health and the creation of hope through a food pantry, job training, medical, legal and other services. 

The first step in tackling poverty is to admit there is a problem.  In Georgetown, approximately 10.2% of the population lives below the poverty line.  Of this amount around 18% are ages 12-17 and about 12% are age 65+.  The U.S. Census Bureau Weighted Average Poverty Threshold for 2012 defines poverty as a four-person family of two adults and two children with an annual cash income below $23,283 or a single parent family with three children with an annual income below $23,364.

James’s book points out that there is a division among those who believe “poverty is a result in the failure to take personal responsibility and those who believe government is the solution to the problem.”  James suggests that to bridge this gap we must first “discover the wealth of ‘the poor.’”  The initial step in this discovery process is to not look at the poor as a problem, project or a program, but to see them as peers, partners and most importantly, as our neighbors.  When we work in conjunction with our neighbors, it affects how we engage the poor, restores dignity and helps us to see “the wealth of human capital.”  A key component to discovering their wealth is to encourage those being served to consider what gifts they have to share and to work as volunteers themselves.  James states in his book that “the people with the problem are also the people closest to the problem and therefore are the people who should be consulted first about any solutions.”

This radical community development model that James espouses focuses on the value of people regardless of their economic status.  CitySquare wants to bring systemic change that will alleviate the “perpetual need for charitable assistance.”  They hope to accomplish this in three ways:  first address the immediate charitable needs of its neighbors.  Once they are back on their feet, discover what these individuals have to contribute to the community.  The final puzzle piece is tackling and challenging public policy so that there is more equity and justice for people with little or no voice.

From reading James’s book Dr. Swain is reminded that “each of God’s beloved children are persons of worth and value and deserve love and respect.”  What Dr. Swain likes about the CitySquare model is that it is holistic, addressing homelessness, health, hunger and giving people hope.  Likewise, Dr. Swain wants to see a shift from charity and handouts to more development and empowerment for people to help themselves.  Dr. Swain agrees that we should “never do for people what they can do for themselves,” a common aphorism among James and other authors, such as Robert D. Lupton, who have written on this subject.

While Mr. James indicates that the biggest return on investment of his time is not the church but government agencies, businesses and foundations, Dr. Swain’s vision includes the church and various non-profits in Georgetown working together.  “Based on our history and heritage of compassion and justice, I expect that FUMC Georgetown will have a lead role in creating the beloved community, “ asserts Dr. Swain.  “As our city grows with more people living and working here, services and programs will be needed to meet emergencies, but also to empower our neighbors toward self-sufficiency and sustainability.” 

How this is best accomplished has yet to be determined.  The various non-profit agencies located in Georgetown are independent of each other but sometimes work together to resolve issues.  Organizations like the Georgetown Community Resource Center were created to coordinate social services by housing multiple non-profit organizations under one roof.  Dr. Swain agrees that the concept of an umbrella agency is worthy of further exploration because a great deal of cooperation and collaboration are needed.  But as James jokingly counsels, “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing poorly.  Don’t let a quest for excellence kill the good you can do.  Just start.  It’s not going to be perfect.”

Sometimes the biggest obstacle is fear from the community.  James concedes that classism, racism and feelings of superiority will never be eliminated.  But the community can work on extinguishing the fear by demonstrating the good that will come from the efforts.  “We’ve never had a negative experience by improving the living conditions of people.  Once they’re given the resources and opportunities to solve their own problems, they will perform far beyond any of our fears.”  There will always be people who disagree with the work being done but James stresses that doesn’t mean the people instigating the change have to be uncivil or unkind.  “We have to work harder and longer.  We have to prove ourselves but let’s don’t fool ourselves about how much progress we’ve made because people are still going to protect their asset,” he admonishes.  “We have to figure out just how much courage we have at these times.”