Don’t Forget the Poor: A Biblical Approach to Addressing Poverty

What has God called you to do? In this chapter from Your Call to Work & Mission: Following Jesus 24/7, Johan Mostert challenges all followers of Jesus to remember those trapped in poverty and take practical steps to demonstrate God’s love for them.

Evangelism, global missions, and discipling others—topics from the previous section—are urgent. They excite and energize committed Christians. This chapter shifts the focus of following Jesus in discipleship to an area that often causes discomfort—that of working with the poor. It seems counter-intuitive to work with poor people when Christian leaders and literature often—and rightly—emphasize vital Great Commission concerns of church planting, church growth, and impactful evangelism.

Our natural tendency is to seek out influential and well-off persons in the church who have the potential to promote and fund our proposed ministries—instead of individuals with few resources. Also, we often think first of the capital needs of a future church project rather than the need for relational capital that is so evident among poor people—such as caring, mutually upbuilding relationships, community-building, mentoring, and people who demonstrate biblical values. Even as we strategize to reach the world for Christ and to disciple believers, why in the world would the biblical writers insist that we “not forget the poor” (Gal. 2:10, KJV)?

To answer this question, let us review the prevalence of the biblical insistence on focusing on the poor. One of the clearest indications of the prominence of the poor and the marginalized in the gospel of the Kingdom is the way that Jesus identified with them. In the Parable of the Sheep and Goats (Matt. 25:31–46), He makes the stunning declaration that when we serve the needy, we are actually serving Him. If we forget the poor, we are forgetting Jesus! In addressing the needs of the destitute, we do not move away from the heart of the Kingdom message, but recognize this as an essential way of serving the Lord.

In the Early Church, we see the beginnings of a division of missions focus: Peter, James and John concentrate on preaching to their own people, the Jews, while Paul seeks to reach Gentiles as well. This creates serious tension between them, as Paul seeks to break free from Jewish rituals and proclaim a gospel of faith and grace. Paul says that after their meeting to resolve their differences, the only thing that the other disciples ask him to do is to remember the poor (Gal. 2:10). They give Paul the freedom to pursue new courses of action; however, he must not neglect the importance of serving the needy. With this, Paul is in full agreement.

When Readers Digest interviewed mega-church pastor, Rick Warren, he verbalized what so many of us have realized, “I’ve got three advanced degrees. I went to two different seminaries and a Bible school. How did I miss the two thousand verses in the Bible where it talks about the poor?”¹

For Pentecostals and Charismatics, this creates an even greater embarrassment. Luke records the narrative of Jesus returning to Galilee after His temptations in the wilderness and what He said and did when He was full of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 4:14). He went to the synagogue to teach and explain what was happening in Kingdom terms by quoting Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor …” (v. 18).

We need to think intelligently about how to fulfil the biblical mandates to serve the poor and to bring the gospel to them. To do that we first need to redefine our concept of who the poor are and to understand what causes their poverty. If we understand the causes, we can begin to address them with our God-given resources.

 

Accurately Defining Poverty

When we think of the poor, our minds may instinctively jump to street beggars who plead with us to give them money. Or, we may visualize impoverished people continents away and want to send money or short-term mission teams to help them. In our mind’s eye, we may see poor African children with inadequate water, nutrition, and education. We suppose the answer is to build an orphanage or a school. I have tried to address this “edifice complex” by pleading with the international community to change their thinking from putting up buildings and creating new organizations to think in terms of providing community care.²

One item of good news in the world today is that although there are still hundreds of millions of poor people, the percentage of people living in extreme poverty has actually been reduced by 50 percent since 2000. This was one of the eight Millennium Development Goals that the United Nations set that year.

The progress in reducing extreme poverty resulted from effective development strategies that increased the number of people who have jobs and can support themselves by their own labor. The best thing that one can give a materially poor person is a job, not a handout. Increasing global trade and creating jobs are all part of the developmental strategies that address the materially poor.

These strategies are complex and require long-term sustained commitment by people who understand that development is not something you do for the poor but with the poor. Bryant Meyers eloquently refers to this as “walking with the poor.”³ When we address those who are materially poor, we need to learn long-term relational skills that enable our “walking with them.”

It is important that we accurately define the nature and causes of poverty because our response to poverty is determined by our understanding. If we believe that poverty is simply the lack of material resources, then our response would instinctively be to provide money and resources for the poor. If we believe that poverty is simply the result of personal sins on the part of individuals, then our response would be to just bring the gospel to them. Marxists believe that poverty results from the exploitation of the masses by the bourgeoisie or property-owning capitalist class. Their answer to poverty is to overthrow this class, so that the workers can take control of the means of production. Our definition of poverty and its causes will determine our approach to help people who suffer from it.

Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert have written one of the best books on alleviating poverty in recent years, When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty without Hurting the Poor … and Yourself.⁴ They correctly identify the cause of poverty as “the result of relationships that do not work, that are not just, that are not for life, that are not harmonious or enjoyable. Poverty is the absence of shalom in all its meaning”⁵ (emphasis added). The biblical word shalom or “peace” means much more than the lack of conflict. It represents the well-being that God desires for all people and creation. The lack of shalom results in poverty of relationships and the spirit as well as material lack.

When understanding poverty in this way, we realize that the poor are all around us and that some of them actually do not have material needs, but are extremely poor because they experience an absence of shalom. We also realize that there are many materially poor people around us who would still be poor even if they won the lottery. They would still suffer from an absence of shalom because their relationships with God, others, the rest of creation, and even with themselves are all broken. As noted by Corbett and Fikkert, to effectively deal with their poverty, we need to address all of these relationships:

These relationships are the building blocks for all of life. When they are functioning properly, humans experience the fullness of life that God intended, because we are being what God created us to be. In particular for our purposes, when these relationships are functioning properly, people are able to fulfill their callings of glorifying God by working and supporting themselves and their families with the fruit of that work.⁶

In the light of this definition of poverty, the injunction to remember the poor takes on a new meaning. Certainly we need to give regularly to provide for the survival of so many who cannot even meet minimal needs. Also, we must support community development in terms of health, education, and economy. However, as followers of Jesus, we need to assist in a way that goes far beyond the material needs of people. We need to work to bring the poor into God’s shalom. This means helping them to achieve genuine well-being based on right relationships as well as material sufficiency. This chapter provides five biblical steps to overcome material and spiritual poverty.

 

Five Biblical Steps to Overcome Material and Spiritual Poverty

 

The Power of the Gospel to Break Poverty: “Redemptive Lift”

The first step is to help people experience the transforming power of the gospel. One of the most potent drivers of the growth of the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement over the last century has been the power of the Holy Spirit to transform the social outcasts of society. Our movement was popularly characterized as a motley bunch from the “other side of the railway tracks.” Our grandparents’ generation generally came from the poor and marginalized portions of society. Often they were alcoholics and wife beaters, but the miraculous, transforming power of the Holy Spirit was undeniable in their lives. In the words of one deep rural pastor in South Africa, “My God is so big, He can turn beer cans into furniture!”

Missiologist Donald McGavran referred to this impact of Pentecostalism as “redemption and lift.” When people become Christians and their lives are transformed by the Holy Spirit, they begin to see themselves in a different light and their self-esteem increases. Old habits like alcohol, drugs, and nicotine that used to consume much of the family’s budget, suddenly disappear. New family values turn the husband’s heart to his wife and to his children,⁷ fueling a desire to invest in the education of his children and to create a better future for them.

Economists have traced the impact of Pentecostalism in both South America and Africa. They have found that it promotes transformative values that empower the poor and widens their opportunities to participate in the market economy. Self-discipline, which is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, promotes good work habits and saving for future needs, while discouraging wasteful spending. Spirit-empowered faith in the provision of God and His blessing predisposes many new converts to become entrepreneurs. These economists report that the transformative values of Pentecostalism are powerful factors that could change the direction of economic activity in a nation.

Sociologists Donald E. Miller and Tetsunao Yamamori studied fast growing churches that are engaged in significant ministries of social concern all over the world.⁸ To their surprise, 85 percent of their global sample of churches were Pentecostal or Charismatic. Their book highlights the same upward mobility of Pentecostals that the economists identified. They attribute it to a spiritual transformation where hard work, personal honesty, self-discipline, accumulation of savings, and capital investment all work together to create wealth for individuals and jobs for their community.

We have seen the spontaneous work of the Holy Spirit at work all over the Global South as He lifts people out of poverty. However, the miracle is not the creation of wealth out of nothing. The miracle is in the transforming power of the Holy Spirit that changes the values and work habits of individuals. Workers are suddenly conscientious about going to work every day. They learn to place a higher priority on loving their wives and children. This creates a generation of children who flourish as they are emotionally released to attend school and pursue excellence in their education. It creates a cumulative effect of generational blessings. We see, therefore, that the most basic way to remember the poor is to introduce them to Jesus and the redemptive power of the Holy Spirit.

 

Discipleship for the Family to Counter Poverty

The second step in a biblical approach to overcoming poverty should be a discipleship focus that addresses personal economic responsibilities and the promotion of healthy family life. When families flourish, they break the curse of poverty and set up their next generations for success and prosperity. This is true for families in the church and the poor we seek to assist.

The church needs to take seriously the responsibilities that the Scriptures place on the shoulders of every Christian household. Paul writes, “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Tim. 5:8).

Parents have the primary responsibility of providing for the physical, emotional, and spiritual support of their children. The pursuit of goals, activities, and responsibilities that divert the attention of the parents and are detrimental to the flourishing of their children need to be identified and confronted. As a church, we need to actively promote healthy family life and provide support systems to ensure that parents who are unable to cope with these responsibilities have the help they need. This is particularly true of single parents and parents with children who have some form of disability. The divorce rate in the disability community is extremely high and together with the extra financial burdens that so often accompany disabilities, these families are particularly vulnerable and need the support of the church.

Providing for one’s family also implies that Christian households have taken reasonable measures to protect their families from unforeseen circumstances. Part of the curse that rests on the earth means that Christians are not immune from accidents, illnesses, disasters, and even death. Insurance policies serve as financial instruments that spread the risk of disaster over a large group of people. One of the most logical and inexpensive ways to prevent poverty for a family is for them to be disciplined about their expenses and pay for insurance that will protect the family against losses, accidental death, and illness.

A friend of mine who pastored a small church in a mining community discovered too late that one of his leading members failed to make appropriate arrangements for his family in the event of his death. This member was an exemplary worker and faithful church member whose family was an integral part of their church life, but he had failed to take out any life insurance and his premature death in a car accident plunged his family into financial ruin.

The church rallied to their rescue and found ways to support the family until the children were able to finish their education, but the pastor immediately undertook an inventory of all members and their financial affairs. When he discovered that a newly converted young couple with two children was unable to afford life insurance, the church found it wiser to pay the premiums for this dynamic young couple until they were able to get on their own financial feet and shoulder the responsibility themselves.

Christian households also face the responsibility of accumulating assets, so that when the time comes when parents can no longer work, they are still able to financially support themselves. In Paul’s instructions to Timothy, we see that there may be those among us who reach this period of their lives without having made sufficient provision for these times (see 1 Tim. 5:9–16). Today, this is an even greater issue because we enjoy the benefits of medical science that has given us an average longevity rarely before experienced.⁹ During the New Testament times, few people lived to see the age of sixty because life expectancy at birth was only about thirty years.¹⁰ Today, the world average life expectancy is sixty-seven. In the United States, depending on ethnicity, this could be anything from seventy-five years (African Americans) to eighty-six years (Asian Americans).

The Christian household retains the primary responsibility of making sure that they have sufficient assets for this later period in their lives.¹¹ If this is not possible, for whatever reason, the secondary responsibility rests on the second and third generations. Christian children and grandchildren should “learn to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God” (1 Tim. 5:4).

The Christian ideal is that we handle our finances so wisely that not only will we be able to care for our own children, and make ample provision for our old age, but that we would be able to even leave a legacy for our grandchildren. “A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children” (Prov. 13:22).

When the Scriptures enjoin us to not forget the poor, one of our tasks is to lead the members of our church and the poor that God has called us to assist into a life of discipline that reflects financial prudence.

 

Discipleship in the Workplace to Counter Poverty

Whole-life discipleship is more than spiritual formation or character transformation or the development of sound relationships. The third step in a biblical approach to overcoming poverty should be a discipleship that manifests in the workplace. Most people spend more of their waking hours on the job than anywhere else. Central to the discipleship message of the church is the task to promote an appropriate theology of work. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord” (Col. 3:23–24). Work is not a curse; it is a function that God instituted even before sin entered the world (Gen. 2:15). The Ten Commandments instruct us, “Six days you shall labor …” (Exod. 20:9).

Ideally, work liberates people from inactivity and laziness and restores dignity and freedom to a laborer. “‘If a man will not work, he shall not eat.’ We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command … earn the bread they eat” (2 Thess. 3:10–12). In God’s plan, work enables us to support our families, to develop and enjoy meaningful use of our abilities, and create wealth and security for ourselves and our communities. “Work with your hands … so that you will not be dependent on anybody” (1 Thess. 4:11–12). When we do our work with Holy Spirit inspired passion, it can create extra wealth beyond immediate needs, so that disciples can make provision for their old age, have enough to give to support the poor, and eventually leave a legacy for their grandchildren.

 

A Key Role of the Local Church in Countering Poverty: Building Relational Resources

A fourth step in the biblical approach to alleviating poverty is for the local church to build the social capital or relational resources that it is uniquely capable of producing. This results from the promotion of Spirit-inspired koinonia (Christian love, unity, togetherness, and mutual support) and of biblical responsibility for the weak, isolated, disabled, and suffering. Miller and Yamamori illustrate the growth of social capital that global Pentecostal churches promote. Pentecostalism creates commitment to community, a family orientation, and a respect for differences among peoples that transcends gender, race, and social class.

The Jerusalem church practiced a community-oriented lifestyle and mutual support of one another, which assured that no one among them had need (Acts 2:43–47). They also learned that they needed to create a corps of Spirit-filled leaders to take care of the welfare of the widows (Acts 6). These deacons were the forerunners of today’s social work profession; they were ordained (set aside for special service) to care for the poor. When they took over this task, this freed the apostles to proclaim the gospel. In turn, this enabled the first church growth movement ever to develop in Jerusalem (Acts 6:6–7).

In Paul’s epistles, we get a clearer picture of this diaconal or servant role of the local church. In Galatians, we see that the church should not shirk its social responsibility to address poverty and need in the world, but that it should prioritize those who “belong to the family of believers” (6:10). When the Bible talks about taking care of our family, this differs significantly from the Western understanding of single families living in their own dwellings. God’s people are our family, and we have a sacred responsibility to care for them.

In Paul’s instructions to Timothy, this also comes out clearly. As previously stated, Paul emphasizes that the family assumes the primary responsibility for caring for their own family members. However, he insists that widows need to be honored (1 Tim. 5:3). The church needs to create a register of believers who require special care (v. 9), so that when the members in their immediate family cannot provide the necessary care for their needy family members, the church can fill the gap (5:16).

In local churches, we need to foster this sense of community that extends beyond spiritual activities. We have a divine social responsibility to ensure that the widow, the orphan, and the stranger in our midst do not experience social distress, hunger, or need. James says that this is the essence of “pure and faultless” religion ( James 1:27). To simply outsource this responsibility to professional social welfare interventions of the state would not do justice to the power of creating social capital that only the local church can offer.

One of the best examples of the power of the local church to promote social capital happened in my own family. When I was ten years old, my family lost our legal status to be in the United States because my father dropped out of college after just one semester. A secretarial job offer to my mother from the South African embassy rescued our legal status and my dad returned to the industry that he knew well, selling pianos for a company in Washington, D.C.

In an economic downturn two years earlier in South Africa, my father had lost two retail music shops and a piano factory. Now he was anxious to restore everything he had lost for his wife and five children. He became an active member and expert soul winner in the Arlington Assemblies of God and flourished spiritually and occupationally. One of the businessmen at church recognized his flair for business and entrepreneurship and offered to lend him the $10,000 he would need to start his own business in Arlington.

Within a period of just a few years, this investment paid off handsomely. The business was employing a team of salesmen, administrative staff, and technical support staff. We moved from an old apartment complex to the fashionable suburb of McLean, Virginia. When my father sold the business six years later, the seven of us could return to South Africa with enough capital for him to reestablish himself and pay for our college educations. This is just one example of the power of the social capital at work in the local church.

We are thankful for taxpayer-funded programs like Social Security, Medicaid, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, previously known as the food stamps program). However, these programs are impersonal and leave many individuals lost between bureaucratic processes. We need to reclaim the care of the poor and marginalized in our communities—beginning with our church members—so that they can thrive in the dignity and loving-kindness that characterizes the family of God. This assistance needs to be expanded beyond material help, so that the local church takes responsibility to ensure that every church member flourishes in their families, work, and calling to mission.

 

The Prophetic Voice of the Church: Addressing Structural Issues

Fifth, and finally, God may call us to confront the sources of poverty and address structural evils. Robert Linthicum writes, “The power of the world’s evil is far greater than the sins of its individuals (and what is needed is) a biblical theology that would be equal to the challenge of social and individual sin of the world.”¹² Most of us would not be able to address the complex structural causes of poverty. However, we celebrate and support those who have been called to prophetically address these political and economic evils in high places. We acknowledge that their success will contribute to the goal of releasing people entrapped in poverty.

The world groans under the power of rulers who abuse their influence to launch military attacks on their neighbors or enemies. Others use their position to seize, expand, or cling to influence and power; to enrich themselves through lucrative contracts; or to grant rights to their cronies to exploit the natural resources of their nations. Unscrupulous businessmen and bankers played a major role in the economic collapse of 2008, which caused poverty to proliferate globally.

In many countries today, just as in biblical times, we find judges who ignore justice and twist the truth (Micah 3:9). Instead of standing up for the poor, they take bribes from those who are able to pay and make rulings to favor their cronies (7:3). Modern political observers refer to this as “pay to play” and it happens globally, both in political and judicial circles.

We also find that businessmen and financiers may oppress the poor and crush the needy (Amos 4:1). The description of these structural evils in biblical times is similar to today’s global economic exploitation of the poor and the shrinking of the middle class. The greedy rich levied heavy rents on the poor who were unable to make a living (Amos 5:11). They demanded more money for less produce, lied about weights, exploited foreign workers, and marketed waste products for food (Amos 8:4–6). They also exploited strangers and returning war veterans and their families (Micah 2:8–9), promoted unfair trade practices (Micah 4:13), and used their wealth to foment wars and violence (Micah 6:12).

The Bible clearly opposes these structural evils. “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never failing stream” (Amos 5:24, emphasis added). “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8, emphasis added).

After we have guided the poor through transforming encounters with the Holy Spirit and introduced them to a life of discipleship that ensures that they understand their responsibilities to their families, their communities, and to the poor, we still must deal with many structural evils that trap people in poverty. Christians who are developing a prophetic voice all over the world must address these global social justice issues. However, this is a subject beyond the scope of this chapter.13 I will simply mention some of the issues that need to be addressed:

• Abuse of power by leaders;
• Establishment of the rule of law;
• Protection of private property;
• Separation of powers (The roles of the king, judiciary, and Levitical administration were all separate from one another.);
• Forgiveness of debt that overwhelms nations;¹⁴
• Limited liability to cut off the effect of generational poverty;
• Protection of the civil rights of minorities,¹⁵ women, children, and displaced people groups.¹⁶

It is a source of great joy to me to see the global Church confronting corruption,¹⁷ crime, and injustice in their nations. Among many endeavors, for example, Christians are intervening in the trade of human lives by rescuing individuals imprisoned through sexual slavery.¹⁸ They are also working to equitably allocate national budgets to educate children and provide basic health services to the people.

 

Conclusion

We cannot forget the poor. This requires that we understand that the poor are not only orphaned children in Africa, but everyone whose relationships with God, their family, other people, and God’s creation have broken down. They live without the shalom that God intended them to enjoy. Corbett and Fikkert say it well, “Jesus Christ is described as the Creator, Sustainer, and Reconciler of everything. Yes, Jesus died for our souls, but he also died to reconcile—that is to put into right relationship—all that he created.”¹⁹

The biblical approach to poverty alleviation does not move from the top down, the way politicians want us to think, but in the opposite direction. Besides providing generous assistance for relief and development, as the Bible instructs, Christians and churches also need to take an approach that involves the spiritual life. First, people need to come into relationship with God through Christ and allow His Spirit to transform their lives, which constitutes “redemption and lift.”

Second, discipleship needs to occur in the family. Parents need to create a healthy family environment where  children flourish, thus breaking or preventing the curse of poverty. Parents also need to apply sound biblical economic principles, including planning for unforeseen crisis and retirement. Where need exists, the family has primary responsibility, then the church. Unfortunately, these responsibilities have been lost in the current debate on the role of government in poverty relief. A whole-life discipleship program that clearly articulates the normal life of a disciple, must aggressively address these issues.

Third, when the family is unable to meet these responsibilities, the local church has a responsibility to fill the gap by providing help and ensuring that the poor are not hurt in the process of helping. Fourth, a healthy church can also provide the social capital or relational resources that help individuals to overcome poverty and to flourish.

Finally, the prophetic voice of the church needs to be heard clearly when social systems exploit the poor and rob them of God’s shalom. God may call some believers to serve in the area of politics in order to influence people in power and help communities to flourish.

When the church implements these steps and they prove successful, the world will proclaim, “See how these Christians love one another”²⁰ (John 13:35). In the words of the song that became popular in the Jesus Movement days, “They’ll know we are Christians by our love.” The role of the church is to bring light into a very dark world full of loneliness and despair. We do this through the proclamation of the gospel and the discipleship of our spiritual brothers and sisters.

Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden … And it (a lamp) gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:14–16, emphasis added). Just as when the Jerusalem church cared for the social needs of their community (Acts 6), I believe that today our loving actions on behalf of the poor can become the greatest impetus to church growth that we have ever seen.

 

PR

 

“Don’t Forget the Poor” by Johan Mostert is chapter 11 in Stephen Lim, ed., Your Call to Work & Mission: Following Jesus 24/7 Whole-Life Discipleship, Book 1 (AGTS, 2015), reprinted here with permission. Copyright © 2015 Assemblies of God Theological Seminary at Evangel University.
To purchase Your Call to Work & Mission: Following Jesus 24/7, go to the AGTS bookstore webpage: https://www.agts.edu/book_order_form.html

 

Notes

1. Readers Digest, March 2009.
2. Johan Mostert, “Moving from Orphanages to Community Care,” How to Become HIV+: Guidelines for the Local Church (Harrisonburg, VA: Kerus Global Education, 2011).
3. Bryant L. Meyers, Walking with the Poor: Principles and Practices of Transformational Development Principles and Practices of Transformational Development (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1999, 2011). This is a classic in Christian developmental theory.
4. Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert, When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty without Hurting the Poor . . . and Yourself (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 2012). This book helps the local church reach out to the poor in a way that does not disempower them or destroy their dignity.
5. Ibid., 59.
6. Ibid., 54.
7. In this regard, see the prophetic word that the angel gave to John’s parents in Luke 1:17. The spirit and power of Elijah will turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
8. Donald E. Miller and Tetsunao Yamamori, Global Pentecostalism: The New Face of Christian Social Engagement (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2007).
9. The obvious exceptions here are the patriarchs of old. For example, Noah’s grandfather, Methuselah, reached the ripe old age of 969!
10. In 1 Timothy 5:9, Paul considered someone who was age sixty to be old and in need of special support and care.
11. We refer to this today as “retirement” but, of course, in a biblical sense, one does not “retire.”
12. Robert Linthicum, Transforming Power: Biblical Strategies for Making a Difference in Your Community (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003), 22.
13. For an excellent reference book on a Christian response to these types of issues, see Mae Elise Cannon, Social Justice Handbook: Small Steps for a Better World (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2009).
14. See the work of the Jubilee campaign. http://www.jubileeusa.org/home.html.
15. See the work of Christians for Biblical Equality. http://www.cbeinternational.org/.
16. See the work of Exodus World Service. http://www.e-w-s.org/
17. “Bono hits oil companies at CGI for blocking anti-corruption Rules,” One Campaign, accessed May 17, 2015, http://www.one.org/us/2013/09/24/bono-hits-oil-companies-at-cgi-for-blocking-anti-corruption-rules/.
18. “Stories of Hope,” Project Rescue, accessed May 17, 2015, http://projectrescue.com/resources/stories-of-hope/.
19. Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert, 33.
20. Attributed to Tertullian, an Early Church Father.