Practicing Incarnational Presence
“The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.” John 1:14 (MSG)
Ridgecrest, NC
“The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.” John 1:14 (MSG). ARDF’s Executive Director, The Rev. Dr. Jake Stum, started out his MAP talk at New Wineskins with this version of John’s Gospel. When we think about the incarnation, we are delightfully astounded by the mystery of God taking on flesh and coming to dwell with us! And this loving action of God spurs us on to take our own embodied action within our own neighborhoods!
In case you missed it, here are the highlights from Jake’s presentation.
Best Practices when Engaging the Community Around You
Understand the difference between relief and development. A crisis need requires a relief response. A chronic need requires a development response.
Maintain a posture of humility (listening and service)
Have an asset based view of the community rather than need based
A great organization that models healthy community development and incarnational ministry is Focused Community Strategies, from Atlanta GA. Their mission is to “invest deeply in one under-resourced Atlanta neighborhood at a time, building upon the neighborhood’s strengths to create a flourishing community.” They have an Oath of Compassionate Service that can help churches and individuals think through what is helpful instead of harmful when we strive to help those around us.
Oath of Compassionate Service
Never do for the poor what they have (or could have) the capacity to do for themselves. (Doing so may make us feel good, but it actually robs them of their dignity.)
Limit one-way giving to emergency situations.
Strive to empower the poor through employment, lending, and investing, using grants sparingly to reinforce achievements.
Subordinate self-interests to the needs of those being served.
Listen closely to those you seek to help, especially to what is not being said — unspoken feelings may contain essential clues to effective service.
Above all, do no harm.
Some Questions for Churches to Consider
Who are you/your church uniquely called to reach? (i.e. from School lunches to a housing LLC)
Where are there gaps in service?
If there is a need in your community not being met, consider filling it instead of duplicating efforts. Maybe your community already has many food banks but needs after school help.
Who are the most vulnerable?
What does God seem to be doing in your people/in your community? What is already stirring?
ARDF also had a wonderful Global Council Meeting before the conference started. Thank you to all who prayed for us and our leaders as the meeting took place. The Global Council approved over $1M in projects ($1,066,004 to be precise)! These projects will increase access to education, healthcare, housing, and worship opportunities. We cannot wait to tell you more about these projects as we build out our memorandum of understanding (MOU) with each partner and nail down the details of implementation. Stay tuned!
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