When Helping Hurts
One possible way to follow/modify the
Chalmers Center’s recommended curriculum.
One
chapter per week plus optional readings in italics.
Session One (September 21)
Read pp. 11-31 of When Helping Hurts.
Do the Opening Exercise on Page 19.
Tuesday morning discussion could revolve primarily on the following:
Reflect on how your church answers the question: “What is
the primary task of the church?” Your church’s answer to this question might
not be explicit. Hence, you might have to discern your church’s implicit answer
to this question by thinking about the messages from the pulpit, the types of
ministries pursued, and the way those ministries are conducted. How might your
church more fully reflect a Christ-centered, kingdom theology in its
ministries? Be specific.
Session Two (October 5)
Read Chapter 1 of When Helping Hurts.
Read Chapter 1 of Churches
that Make a Difference.
Tuesday morning discussion could include the following:
Churches That Make a Difference, pages 35-44, looks at
patterns of holistic ministry seen in churches in the US.
·
Which one of the 6 patterns does your church (or the churches with whom you work) focus on the most? Why?
·
Which one does your church (or the churches with whom you work) focus on the least? Why?
·
Think about your church (or the churches with whom you work) in 3-5 years from now. How would you want it to look the same?
How would you want it to look different in terms of its patterns of holistic
ministry?
As you reflect on this week’s reading,
please share one or two ideas that:
· Confirm what you already believe.
·
Are new to you (but ring true and/or intrigue you).
·
Make you uncomfortable or with which you don’t
agree.
What might be some implications of these
ideas for your own context?
Session Three
(October 19)
Read Chapter 2 of When
Helping Hurts.
Read Chapters 2 & 3 of Churches
that Make a Difference.
Tuesday morning discussion could include the following:
Think back to a situation in which you have tried to minister
to others. In what ways did your approach help both you and them to overcome a
poverty of spiritual intimacy, a poverty of being, a poverty of community, and
a poverty of stewardship? In what ways did your approach actually contribute to
greater “poverty” for both you and for them? Now answer this question for your
church by reflecting on the type of ministries that your church pursues and the
manner in which it pursues them.
As you reflect on this week’s reading,
please share one or two ideas that:
·
Confirm what you already believe.
·
Are new to you (but ring true and/or intrigue you).
·
Make you uncomfortable or with which you don’t
agree.
What might be some implications of these
ideas for your own context?
In what ways might you find this “relational framework”
helpful in your own organization, church, or ministry? How might this framework
affect program design in a ministry initiative?
Session Four (November 2)
Read Chapter 3 of When
Helping Hurts.
Read Chapter 4 of Churches
that Make a Difference.
Read “Guidelines for Benevolence”
(www.diaconalministries.com/documents/guidelinesforbenevolence.pdf)
Tuesday morning discussion could include the following:
Think about your church’s ministries and mission efforts.
Are they intentional about “people and processes” or is the focus primarily on
the “projects and products”? List some specific things that you could do to
improve these initiatives. Answer this question for any parachurch ministries
with which you are involved.
Consider your community, city, or region. How might the economic, social, religious, and political systems be unjust and oppressive to some people? If you are able, ask several materially poor people or people who are ethnic minorities (e.g. Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanics in the southwestern part of the U.S.) to share their perspective on this with you. Spend some time really listening to them and considering what they have to say. Then ask yourself: is there anything you or your church could do to make these systems more just?
As you reflect on this week’s reading,
please share one or two ideas that:
·
Confirm what you already believe.
·
Are new to you (but ring true and/or intrigue you).
·
Make you uncomfortable or with which you don’t
agree.
What might be some implications of these
ideas for your own context?
Session Five (November 16)
Read Chapter 4 of When
Helping Hurts.
Read Chapter 5 of Churches
that Make a Difference.
Read “Ten Common Myths of
Disaster Relief.”
(www.chalmers.org/course_materials/ss_usc_c1/assets/top_10_myths_of_disaster_relief.pdf)
Read “Oxfam: Making the Case for
Cash: Humanitarian Food Aid Under Scrutiny.”
(
www.reliefweb.int/rw/lib.nsf/db900SID/SODA-6GA9RR/$FILE/bn_cash.pdf)
Tuesday morning discussion could include the following:
Think about the materially poor people in North America
whom your church or ministry is trying to help. Do these people need relief,
rehabilitation, or development? Is your church or ministry pursuing the right
strategy for these people? If not, what harm might you be doing to these people
and to yourselves? What changes could you make to improve your approach?
In Churches That Make a Difference, pages 104-109, five
basic ways of incorporating a spiritual (including evangelistic) component into
social service ministry are presented. Which of these positions does or would
your church/organization tend to practice the most. Why?
As you reflect on this week’s reading,
please share one or two ideas that:
·
Confirm what you already believe.
·
Are new to you (but ring true and/or intrigue you).
·
Make you uncomfortable or with which you don’t
agree.
What might be some implications of these ideas for your own
context?
Are you, your church, or your ministry being paternalistic
in any of your poverty alleviation efforts? If so, what could you do to change
this?
After reading “Guidelines for Benevolence,” evaluate your
church's/ministry's benevolence policies. What elements of the policy should be
maintained, what elements added and/or adapted?
Session Six (November 30)
Read Chapter 5 of When
Helping Hurts.
Read Chapters 6 & 7 of Churches
that Make a Difference.
Read “From Clients to
Citizens”
(http://www.mystfx.ca/institutes/coady/text/about_publications_occasional_citizens.html)
Tuesday morning discussion could include the following:
Review your answer to the question in the “Initial
Thoughts” at the start of this chapter.
·
Whom did you ask for advice?
·
Whom did you not ask for advice?
· What, if anything, does this reveal about your views of the poor and of yourself?
As you reflect on this week’s reading,
please share one or two ideas that:
·
Confirm what you already believe.
·
Are new to you (but ring true and/or intrigue you).
·
Make you uncomfortable or with which you don’t
agree.
What might be some implications of these ideas for your own
context?
Session Seven (December 14)
Read Chapter 6 of When
Helping Hurts.
Read Chapter 12 of Churches
that Make a Difference.
Read “Empowering Communities,”
Sessions 2-4.
(pcs.aed.org/empowering.htm)
Tuesday morning discussion could include the following:
Take a few moments to consider questions 1-6 in the
Extended Exercise: Indonesia Reconsidered in When Helping Hurts.
Next, respond to question 7 from the Extended Exercise:
Indonesia Reconsidered in When Helping Hurts (p. 50).
As you reflect on this week’s reading,
please share one or two ideas that:
·
Confirm what you already believe.
·
Are new to you (but ring true and/or intrigue you).
·
Make you uncomfortable or with which you don’t
agree.
What might be some implications of these ideas for your own
context?
Session Eight (January 11)
Read Chapter 7 of When
Helping Hurts.
Read Chapter 8 & 9 of Churches
that Make a Difference.
Read Chapters 3-5 of Serving
With Eyes Wide Open.
Read “How Short-Term Missions Can
Go Wrong”
(www.chalmers.org/course_materials/ss_usc_c1/assets/how_short-term_missions_can_go_wrong.pdf)
Tuesday morning discussion could include the following:
Reflect on your answers to the questions in the “Initial
Thoughts” section pg 132 of “When Helping Hurts”. Have your views changed at
all? If so, how? Be specific.
As you reflect on this week’s reading,
please share one or two ideas that:
·
Confirm what you already believe.
·
Are new to you (but ring true and/or intrigue you).
·
Make you uncomfortable or with which you don’t
agree.
What might be some implications of these ideas for your own
context?
Session Nine (January 25)
Read Chapter 8 of When
Helping Hurts.
Read Chapter 10 & 11 of Churches
that Make a Difference.
Read Chapters 6-8 of Serving
With Eyes Wide Open.
Tuesday morning discussion could include the following:
In thinking about ideas such as poverty as more than
deficit, the marred identity of the poor and god-complex of the non-poor,
asset-based approaches and the central role of participation in development:
·
How might you structure a short-team trip in order to minimize its harm and maximize its benefit? List three or four
specific things you would do.
· How might you accomplish these changes in your church or organization?
As you reflect on this week’s reading,
please share one or two ideas that:
·
Confirm what you already believe.
·
Are new to you (but ring true and/or intrigue you).
·
Make you uncomfortable or with which you don’t
agree.
What might be some implications of these ideas for your own
context?
Can you think of any alternative things you could do with
your missions or ministry budgets that might have greater impact than STMs?
What are some specific action steps you will take to investigate those alternatives?
Could you see your church or organization engaging in any
of the economic development strategies introduced in “When Helping Hurts”
Chapter 8? If so, what might that be and why. Consider additional training by
exploring the training resources and opportunities that are available from the
Session Ten (February 8)
Read Chapter 9 and
Concluding Remarks of When Helping Hurts.
Read Chapter 13, 14,
and Conclusion of Churches that Make a Difference.
Read Chapters 1, 2,
9, and 10 of Serving With Eyes Wide Open.
As you reflect on this week’s reading,
please share one or two ideas that:
·
Confirm what you already believe.
·
Are new to you (but ring true and/or intrigue you).
·
Make you uncomfortable or with which you don’t
agree.
What might be some implications of these ideas for your own
context?
