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Embracing the Poor
By Steve Oliver
Clarens, South Africa
 The apartheid system of ‘separate development’ was an awful curse on the nation of South Africa. Institutionalised separation kept the various racial groups isolated from one another, causing deep division and hostility. One’s skin colour determined what form of lifestyle you could enjoy and what privileges you had as a South African. It was within this environment that I grew up in an exclusively ‘white neighbourhood’ of Cape Town. Schooling too, was along racial lines – separate and disproportionate in possibilities, depending on your race. This was my starting point.
Having been shaped by this ungodly system, I would never have thought that God would choose me to work predominantly among the poor in rural South Africa and Lesotho. Now, twelve years after leaving Cape Town and having planted a few churches across the central parts of this beautiful nation that have all greatly impacted the poor, I would not choose to be doing anything else! The poor have truly changed us and blessed us.
A defining moment in many of our lives was that day in Brighton ’98 when our late friend and leader, Simon Pettit, thundered from the conference platform, ‘If we are going to see the masses caught up into the church, then we must remember the poor!’ That moment changed much of what we do and how we do it within Newfrontiers. We have learnt many lessons since that remarkable day and in this article I seek to share these lessons, especially with other leaders.
Understanding God’s heart for the poor
My longing for us as a movement is that one day our corporate testimony would be equivalent to that of Paul’s as he stood before King Agrippa in Acts 26 and declared, ‘I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven.’ Simon Pettit clearly imparted God’s call to us, and my passion is to see that throughout our ranks we are obedient to that call. Already we have made great strides, as it is difficult to find a Newfrontiers church that does not have some form of ministry among the poor.
Understanding God’s heart for the poor will help us to fulfil our calling. I have found Psalm 113 particularly inspiring. It speaks of a God who is not distant or aloof but who is actively involved and aware. In verse 6 the Psalmist shows how God ‘stoops down’ from His throne room to look on all He has made. What catches His eye? The poor. Not only does He notice their plight but He immediately acts on their behalf, raising them up from their lowly and desperate place (‘the ash heap’). He lifts and embraces them, and goes on to seat them ‘with princes’, co-equals, people of significance and stature. This is truly good news for the poor!
If these are our Lord’s ways with the poor, then how can we not follow with the eagerness of Paul? As the numbers of poor grow daily in the world, we too need to be proactive in seeking out, embracing and establishing them. This is the heart of God: let us emulate Him.
No room for neglect
The parable of the rich man and Lazarus has further provoked me. In Luke 16 we find the rich man living in his daily luxury. At his gate lies a beggar named Lazarus in a pitiful state. The rich man does not oppress Lazarus nor even cause him any harm. But we find later, as he gives account before God for his life, it seems that he is held accountable for his lack of concern or neglect! Oppression is clearly hated by God and stated so in Scripture, but it does seem that He holds neglect in equal disdain.
This motivates me to think that each and every church needs to participate in and not be unconcerned or neglectful about our calling. Lazarus was not on the rich man’s property, he was outside his gate. Yet clearly there was an expectation of him to have a sense of responsibility and concern for Lazarus, even though one could argue that he was the responsibility of the ‘social services’ of that day. Let us not respond out of guilt or coercion but with great joy to what God has entrusted to us even if it does mean embracing suffering ‘outside of our property’.
Paul’s view of the poor
The poor were not a threat to Paul but a source of joy. His eagerness is clearly evident in his response to the apostles in Jerusalem (Gal 2: 10). This was rooted in his theology of what Christ had accomplished on the cross. To the Colossians he wrote, ‘there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, Barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all’ (Col. 3: 11). Paul is saying that reconciliation through the cross does not apply only to Jews and Gentiles but covers every station and culture in life. The Greeks were learned and accomplished; the Jews had their traditions and culture, while the Barbarians were a despised people who spoke their own language and not that of Greece or Rome. Scythians were feared, mocked and despised, and obviously the slaves had no rights of their own. Yet, to Paul they were all equal and there was no room at all for any distinctions or prejudices within the church; each was in Christ and Christ in all.
This understanding of the finished work of Christ is demonstrated in Paul’s letter to Philemon, in whose household was a slave, Onesimus, who ran away. Paul appeals to Philemon to receive Onesimus back ‘not as a slave but as a dear brother’. This is the true outworking of Paul’s theology. It is a remarkable application of Christ’s victory in creating in himself one new man.
From being a runaway slave, Onesimus becomes highly valued by Paul as a messenger and attendant, and Paul requests that Philemon releases Onesimus to continue to serve him in his ministry. What a turn around in this young man’s life! Commentator and writer, F F Bruce, speculates that Onesimus was possibly the same person who became the overseer (bishop) of the church in Ephesus. If correct, what an amazing story of the outworking of Paul’s doctrine!
We would do well to embrace Paul’s radical stance of theology that enabled him to raise the poor from the ‘ash heap and seat them with princes’. As leaders, we must give no place to distinction or prejudice; church must be a place that is good news for the poor.
Together on a mission
As I have stated previously, Simon Pettit’s word compelling us to ‘remember the poor’ had a deep and lasting impact on my life and ministry. For some time I held the opinion that God had called us to serve the poor through the alleviation of poverty. I came to realise that this is only half the story.
During a prayer time with some friends commissioned to seek God on behalf of the poor, God spoke to us very clearly. His word and our subsequent insight have deeply impacted and changed the way in which I relate to the poor. As I have said, I viewed our role to serve the poor through releasing them from poverty. Then God spoke to us:
‘I have called you to serve the poor, by not only releasing them from the evil effects of poverty, but also empowering them to participate as co-equal members of the body of Christ, its ministry and mission to the nations.’
This word changed the way I interacted with the poor. I have been passionate about working hard to see the poor released from poverty and all of its evil effects, and I have been diligent in building them into the life of the church, but now God had lifted the bar! I believe we must also see the poor as potentially a remarkable resource, which will enable us to fulfil our calling and desire to reach many nations. I have often found the poor to be a mobile people, and also amazingly adaptable to other cultures and practices.
As we embrace our mandate to the poor, receive them into our churches, empower them and equip them, we will be able to release them into the nations. My greatest joy has been to release to other churches some of those who could be described as having been on the ‘ash heap of life’. From humble beginnings many poor have responded to opportunities afforded them and have become co-equal participants in our mission. Johannes Nlapho is one who came from a background of violence and desperation, but has now spent the past year serving an apostolic leader in Zambia and the DRC. Very recently we rejoiced to see two of our younger leaders leading a weekend conference entitled ‘New Testament Leadership’ in a neighbouring town. Both Petros Mokoena and Fusi Mokoena come from extremely humble beginnings but are now able to impart truths with skills that are valued by us as a movement.
Paul proved through Onesimus and others that, through the right discipleship and given the right opportunities, the poor can achieve mighty things in God. With current globalisation, more and more of the world’s population are on the move. We can therefore expect many more foreigners to show up at our churches, of which a great majority will be poor. If we respond to them as Paul responded to the runaway slave Onesimus, we are likely to plant and resource many more churches around the world. What extremely good news it is for the poor that they can participate in our mission to the nations!
Preparing the body
I serve out of a church that translates everything into five languages and sings songs from all over the world. It is made up of predominantly poor people, with only a few who contribute financially in any significant way. Some would say that it is not possible to build a true family under such conditions. I would respond by saying that it is ideal! Every time I hear someone pray in a language other than my own, it confirms to the church and to me the wonderful work Christ has done on the cross! It tells of the division of Babel being removed, of dividing walls crashing down and the establishment of peace.
With careful teaching and application, new folk can be enlightened so that they are able to embrace diversity and fully enjoy ‘God’s new humanity’ as Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones put it. When they discover this wonderful mystery of God, they find it hard to return to a homogeneous form of church!
We intentionally make space for the poor to express their gifting and provide constant discipleship with the aim of releasing them into their fullest potential. Our eldership team of six is fully representative of the various people God has called together and we include a further three young men who are currently in training. As leadership gifting is developed and exercised by young leaders from among the poor, they become a very important and effective model for others, as they see that we truly value everyone no matter their situation. We continually point out that Jesus chose disciples from among the poor and they went on to impact the entire world.
Good news to the poor
When one considers how disenfranchised the world’s poor are, what great news for them when they learn that the church is the one place where they can be truly integrated. If in fulfilling our call as a movement we can appropriate the heart of God, and not only lift the poor out of their poverty but release them into the fullness of the church and world mission, then it will definitely be good news for the poor! |
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