| Discussion Room Thread |
| |
 "financial literacy" and "empowerment" |
| By kingdomemily - 29 Jan 08 |
 |
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
 2 Replie(s)
|
|
| |
| |
 |
|
kingdomemily |
| |
Sat Apr 12, 2008 1:32 pm |
|
|
|
| |
i've been thinking about this for a while and then checking out the thread about the pentecost project i've decided to post....
here's the context: i work for an urban church plant in a lower-income neighborhood in new orleans. i also live in the neighborhood. as part of my work with the church, i have been coordinating the free volunteer-run tax-filing service affiliated with the IRS (VITA). we at the church have been excited to provide this service to our community since we see it as a way of making strides for economic justice in the face of so much misinformation and systemic injustice. why are there so many more check-cashing stores in low-income neighborhoods than anywhere else? one of the main benefits of the VITA program is to increase taxpayers' awareness of public benefits like the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) which is a refundable tax credit for those who work but make below certain income thresholds. besides information about credits, this program also just helps taxpayers get the money due to them (ie tax refund) without having to pay ridiculous fees to get it. we have also been providing each of our clients with a financial literacy packet that goes over some basic concepts like savings, budgeting, etc. now with the economic stimulus payment coming, we have seen many more people filing tax returns than would otherwise, and finding that people are really looking forward to this "free money" coming their way. most people i've spoken to are planning to put it toward current debt, not necessarily consuming more as mr. president would like.
i did mission year several years ago and some of the language we heard in the beginning was how we had come to live among and serve the "poorest of the poor." i wondered, would my neighbors call themselves the poorest of the poor? in my mind, that conjures images of people who cannot afford the next meal or clean drinking water, not those who are shooting each other over the hottest pair of sneakers, or keeping their children from attending school because they dont have their hair done. clearly, there was poverty in ways besides economic, though this was an economically depressed area. i went home for winter break that year to the suburbs of chicago and was immediately filled with what i thought was justified disgust at the consumerist mindset and accumulation of things that defines the worth of upper-middle class people. i thought it was the righteous thing to be sick of that but then a thought (ie the Spirit) struck me that even my neighbors in west oakland were falling for the same thing. each disparate group was striving to have things, own things, show off those things to receive approval and validation from others' acknowledgement of their ability to possess.
anyway, all these mixed up thoughts lead to a lot of questions in my mind. i dont even know if this is the correct forum to birng them up. when i read "jesus and the disinherited" by howard thurman, it opened my eyes up to the gospel in a whole new way because i was not part of the target audience of the book. it was not another book on how to DO urban ministry but it was written to those urban poor who find themselves being ministered to. i think the struggle i have is how to balance when you're not on the giving-away-your-things end of redistribution but on the receiving end. what kind of language do we use? (we struggled with the terms to put in the financial literacy packet since we didnt want to give the impression that having a handle on peronal financces was a means to true "freedom") is empowerment the right word? how do we encourage empowerment without giving off the impression that money will make it all better? how do we promote responsible participation in the workforce without building money as an idol? how do we counter the prosperity gospel in a reality where people might just want to hear that they could get rich? how do we make the poor equal participants in our attempts at economic justice and redistribution?
|
|
| |
| |
 |
|
johnpolly |
| |
Sun Apr 13, 2008 4:21 am |
|
|
|
| |
Your 1/29/08 post was quite challenging. This is not an answer but an anecdotal response.
An African-American pastor once shared that in his congregation he had NBA basketball players making high 7 figure incomes giving less than school teachers to the church.
His analysis: the school teachers had always been giving since their childhood, even out of their poverty. The gospel had always had a demand component, not about money, but about giving all of your heart, mind, soul and strength to the Lord of Life. For these teachers God had captured their hearts, and the gospel had never been preached that bypassed crucifixion and sacrificial giving of life and heart as a follower of Christ.
From my viewpoint the 'poor' in the African American pastors referencing, had the blessing of being treated like any other follower of Jesus: give it all to Him everyday.
The NBA basketball players were late comers to the gospel. They thought giving $2500 out of their $5,000,000 salary was a lot of money and all the church needed.
Could it be that when many of us work with the 'poor' we dilute the gospel because we are there to 'help' and help means giving away things economically even as we reject the prosperity gospel?
Now, to be sure: that approach is full of traps as well. Justice and expoitation are big deals and a part of our calling to oppose creatively and powerfully...so my musings here are not answers but things learned along the way.
I am 65 years old and involved in urban ministry.
|
|
| |
| |
 |
|
Dustin |
| |
Tue Apr 15, 2008 9:56 am |
|
|
|
| |
kingdom emily,
Wow, let me say that you raise some excellent points. In many ways, I have always wrestled with how to "help" without the help creating a hierarchical structure of those who have and those that don't, and how to continue honoring the humanity of those I'm trying to help. I believe it does first begin with our language, but then where do we proceed?
I think the task in front of us is to put ourselves in the place of the "other" and then determine how we might feel in any given situation. For instance, if our church was giving out free food for Thanksgiving and requiring those receiving it to come to a service, how would we feel if we were being required to come while looking vastly different than most people we would run into? The church may be trying to do something good, but their method dehumanizes those they are helping and creates an us vs. them situation where we never fully identify with the "other."
I don't know if I have much more than that. I hope a few others will chime in with their thoughts soon.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
