Lupton, Compassion, Justice, and the Christian Life

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Robert D. Lupton, Compassion, Justice, and the Christian Life: Rethinking Ministry to the Poor. Regal Books/Christian Community Development Association, 2007.

Referenced in: Social Ministry Among the Urban Poor, Urban Ministry

LifeandLeadership.com Summary

Robert T. Lupton is a scholar-practitioner from inner-city Atlanta who is associated with the Christian Community Development Association. In the preface, Lupton acknowledges the changing landscape of urban ministries. One chief issue is gentrification – a returning wave of professional classes (and their resources) into urban areas, resulting in displacement of the poor from the inner city to low rent apartment complexes in the inner-ring suburbs. He does not speak against gentrification, as it is necessary for rebuilding the city. He does speak against the accompanying injustice, thus his plea for gentrification with justice. The need is to “stimulate new technologies of compassion for the age of gentrification” (10) that “advocate the well-being of the community and the interests of the most vulnerable, both at the same time,” (12) to have a community that is both thriving and just.

Toward that end, this book lays out some of the issues caring people face as they try to reach out to the “least of these.” It also offers suggestions on how to best serve their needs. A major theme is a discussion on moving from betterment (doing for others) to development (enabling others to do for themselves). Here are a few examples:

A clothing store that began as a giveaway ministry actually benefited the target population more when they were required to buy the clothes at a drastically reduced price, and were also hired to work in the store and earn what they needed.
A food co-op owned and operated by the poor, that when it grows up to 30 families, gives birth to another co-op.
A mixed-income or economically integrated housing development because “low-cost housing in a low-income area reinforces rather relieves the pathology of poverty.” (59)

In addition, Lupton provides a list of ten questions that volunteers/donors want to ask ministries (but seldom do) as well as ten questions ministries want to ask volunteers/donors (but seldom do). The interaction between them helps both contribute more productively to their goals of helping the inner-city. He also provides a list of ten questions interested persons should raise about each new program to insure it will actually contribute to long-term development. Toward the end of the book, Lupton develops in more detail his theology of “gentrification with justice.” The appendix is a document written by Wayne Gordon on the “Eight Components of Christian Community Development,” which may also be found on the CCDA website.

This is an excellent resource for both veterans and newcomers in ministries to the poor. It lays out many of the new issues faced by those involved, and gives seasoned perspective as to what is and is not truly liberating to those served.

In many respects, this is a condensed version of Lupton’s earlier text, Renewing the City: Reflections on Community Development and Urban Renewal (InterVarsity Press, 2005). The difference is that communicates the same principles through rubric of the Old Testament book of Nehemiah, which he sees as the memoirs of an urban developer who transformed a decaying city into a place of security and vitality.

Another benefit of Lupton’s writings is that he is a compassionate capitalist. The philosophy of the LifeandLeadership.com section on Social Justice Ministries is that social compassion need not require an alignment with either the political/economic left or right, and that faithful ministry may emerge from many different positions along the ideological spectrum.

Readers may also appreciate a book which addresses the shifting urban-suburban landscape, the need for partnerships, and the principles of gentrification with justice. It is co-authored by Ron Sider, John Perkins, Wayne Gordon, and Al Tizon, Linking Arms, Linking Lives: How Urban-Suburban Partnerships Can Transform Communities (see summary).

From the Publisher

The urban landscape is changing and, as a result, urban ministries are at a crossroads. If the Church is to be an effective agent of compassion and justice, Robert Lupton notes, we must change our mission strategies. In this compelling book, Lupton asks the tough questions about service providing and community building to help ministries enhance their effectiveness. What are the dilemmas that caring people encounter to faithfully carry out the teachings of Scripture and become personally involved with “the least of these?” What are some possible alternatives to the ways we have traditionally attempted to care for the poor? How do people, programs and neighborhoods move towards reciprocal, interdependent relationships? To effect these types of changes will require new skill sets and resources, but the possibilities for good are great.

About the Author

ROBERT D. LUPTON has invested more than 34 years in inner city Atlanta. He is a Christian community developer, an entrepreneur who brings together communities of resource with communities of need. Through Family Consultation Service Urban Ministries, which he directs, he has developed three mixed-income subdivisions, organized two multiracial congregations, started many businesses, created housing for hundreds of families and initiated a wide variety of human services. He earned a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Georgia. He speaks at conferences and churches across the nation, and consults with similar missions.

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