Things we love about Northwest Georgia

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Urgency After Reflection

This week I faced a rather difficult situation: Do I help? ...and if I walk away, did I do harm by walking away... or did I truly help?

Through various complicated events, I came in contact with a young woman who needed help. She came from an abusive past, and was living in an abusive present. It was evident that she needed to escape, but not so clear as to where she might go. Where is safe? How could she leave the past behind when she seemed to be bringing it along with her?

Even in my attempt to do right by her, it was clear that she had not left destructive patterns behind her. Yes, she was now separate from the abusive man in her life; but had she truly freed herself from her own bondage?

At times we can feel pressured to act -either by the person asking or by our on conscience- before we have a chance to stop and think. I encourage you to do just that! God has given us His wisdom so that we can do what is right -even in circumstances that are difficult and may appear to be "gray".

The following might be a good checklist to run through before responding:

• If I do not act, will this person be in physical danger?
• If I do act, must I act in the way they ask, or is there a better (more holistic) way to help?
• What are possible outcomes of my help?
  
• Could materials given be used to do harm to the person or others?
  
• How am I/am I not loving this person in my action or inaction?
• In my response, I represent myself, my church, my Savior. Did I do I good job at that?

Of course, there are about 10,000 more questions you could ask yourself... but really, with someone standing before you and asking for your help, there is great need for urgency after reflection. You should also evaluate whether the situation is a crisis or requires rehabilitation or development.

Additionally, set up boundaries for yourself before hand.

ie. I will never give money to an individual.
I will always help a woman who wants to get off of the street.
I will always offer to purchase a meal and sit with the person who asks.
I will always pray for/with an individual who asks for my assistance.

This can be helpful when you find yourself in a bind, and may assist you in making decisions that are thought out and loving instead of ones that are selfish or made out of guilt.

Jobs for Life @ Highlands Presbyterian Church

Check out these photos from our Jobs for Life class at Highlands Presbyterian Church! I had the privilege of spending last Wednesday visiting with the class.

How Can I Help?

Responding in way that does no harm

The following are three responses for three specific situations of need. It is important to
know which is appropriate –and which is not- as this is the most common reason poverty-
alleviation efforts lead to harm.

1. Relief: the urgent and temporary provision of emergency aid. This is administered
in order to reduce immediate suffering from either man-made or natural disasters.
Dynamic: Provider-receiver (provider gives assistance to the receiver)

Seldom. Immediate. Temporary.

2. Rehabilitation: seeking to restore people and/or their communities to the positive
aspects of their pre-crisis condition
Dynamic: working with (victims participate in their own recovery)

3. Development: the process of ongoing change, moving all involved, via a promoting
and empowering process (helpers and those helped) closer to being in right relationship
with God, others, self, and creation. The goal here is that those involved are better able to
fulfill their calling to glorify God by working and supporting themselves.
Dynamic: working with (all involved become more of what God created them to
be!)

Questions to ask:

1. Is there really a “crisis” at hand? If I fail to provide immediate help, will there be
serious, negative consequences?

2. To what degree is the individual personally responsible for the crisis? (use
compassion and discretion here!) Allowing people to feel some pain resulting from
irresponsibility can be some tough love -and lead to an individual seeing a need for
lasting change! The point here is not to punish, but promote healthy learning and growth.

3. Can they help themselves? If so, a handout would completely undermine their
capacity to be a steward of the resources and abilities God has already provided them!

4. To what extent has this person already been receiving help –from you or others?
How likely are they to be receiving help in the future?

What is Love?

This past Sunday, I was privileged to take part in teaching a Sunday school class at one of our Hope for Northwest participating churches, East Ridge Presbyterian Church. The class is basically a study on how we should pursue relationships with those who are hurting, needy, and oppressed. On this particular study, we were looking at what two Scripture passages have to say about working with (and loving) the poor. One of these passages was 1 Corinthians 13. Let me just stop right here and say that what I am about to share greatly effects not only the poor and those working with them, but all human relationships.

It is ridiculously hard to love someone when you are both sinners. That said, it is impossible to love someone if neither of you are a sinner. We are all fallen creatures, incapable of living a single day without sin. Our hearts are full of all sorts of things we'd rather not let anyone see ...and lets not even mention those things that come out of our mouths! Maybe it is because of the very sin in our own hearts (yes, it definitely is), but it is so easy to see the filth in the heart of someone we love and know intimately. This makes us want to turn our backs instead of turning our cheek.

I must confess that it has taken me all of 5 days to realize that I myself have failed to do the homework that I assigned in closing Sunday's class! I asked the class to read and pray through the passage, as well as pursue a relationship with someone they did not know. I did not mention (although I hoped) that this homework also included some valuable "life lessons" for those in the class- that we might all be both humbled and convicted (and in the process, changed) by reading and praying through 1 Corinthians 13.

Oops.

While reading through the passage this morning (somewhat un-prayerfully) I was slammed by the phrase "keeps no record of wrongs". ...I mean, really? How!? Relationships hurt! They burn. Sure, we "heal", but what about that scar? What does it take to remove that ugly mark? It takes Jesus. I tell you with great confidence that there is nothing in me (nothing at all) that is capable of forgetting wrongs. But Jesus -who is in me- has the power and all-capable presence to take the very worst of wrongs away.

Fear not, for He is with you , empowering and equipping you to go out into a sinful world and love people with His love -even scary strangers- far beyond our miserable capacity to do so. Trust God, and obey. And read Isaiah 58.

Southern Rural Poverty

It is all too easy to imagine that poverty exists only in the inner-city. Television and movies often portray deep poverty as being a thing involving a poorly kept tenement building or over-populated apartment, full of rodents, roaches, and all sorts of shady characters.

But what about the country? It is a little known fact that a majority of those living in poverty actually live outside of the city. In 2002, 7.5 million people living below the poverty line were living in non-metro areas throughout the United States. In the same year, 1 out of every five children living in rural areas was considered to be poor. That is 2.6 million children. These children live at a great disadvantage as the school systems in these areas tend to be less than adequate, as do opportunities outside of the classroom including employment after graduation. For example, a county is considered to have a low employment level if less than 65% of its adult population are employed. 2002 statistics show that the most urban areas had approximately 6% of their population living in low-employment areas. In the most rural areas, 32% of the population was living in low-employment areas.

As a part of the Rural South, the northwest Georgia area must begin to address this problem. 280 rural persistent poverty counties are in the South -compared to 60 in the West and Midwest. There are none in the Northeast. The non-metro South makes up for 40% of the United States' non-metro population -and more than 1 in 4 people in this region live in counties of persistent poverty.

So what can we do? ...and what can YOU do?

• Take an active part in your local public school. -become a mentor or volunteer time in supporting teachers in whatever they find most helpful!
• Become a community advocate by showing up to local community meetings.
• Volunteer for local non-profits who are making an effort to help those in need.
• Talk with leaders in your church about reaching out to the poor of your community. Your church could start a program ...or simply build relationships with those around you!
• Support Hope for Northwest Georgia. We are here to connect churches with the poor in their communities.
• Pray. God is more than capable of redeeming any and every community for His glory!

For more info, check out the following link or contact the Hope office.

Change of start date for Jobs for Life

Highlands Presbyterian Church has pushed back the Jobs for Life start date to Wednesday, September 1st. Class will run from 6:30 - 8:30 pm every Wednesday and will run through mid-December.

Please contact the Hope office for more information or contact the Highlands office to sign up at 706.638.8940.