In the last 15 years there has been huge growth in social action projects established by churches. The rise of Food Banks has probably been the most high profile example but there has also been a massive increase in Church-run Night Shelters and debt advice services.
These newer initiatives have joined well-established projects which have been run by other churches for generations. The West London Mission, where I work, is a good example. We began our work in 1887 and back then we ran Food Depots, clothing banks, soup kitchens as well as Thrift Clubs to help people save money and a ‘Poor Man’s lawyer’ to give free legal advice. Today, we employ over 70 people and run a wide range of services for people affected by homelessness, addictions and other personal problems.
The big challenge
It cannot be disputed that Churches are very good at establishing social action projects. The big challenge is how these projects maintain a Christian ethos and continue to be explicit carriers of Christian hope. I know of so many organisations, both large and small, which were birthed with a strong Christian basis but have now left it behind. In our secularised times, faith often becomes just a slightly embarrassing footnote of their history.
Sometimes faith fades due to a lack of passion or commitment or a key person leaving “We used to be more overt about faith but it doesn’t really happen anymore.”
Sometimes it is due to fear, especially to do with losing resources. “It would not go down too well with our funders if we were too Christian.”
And sometimes faith just become fossilised. “A Vicar chairs the committee but there is no real connection with the church.”
Dis-integration
In these ways that faith becomes so easily dis-integrated from social action and a chasm opens up between the church and the projects it has started. The homelessness field in which I work is littered with examples because so many homelessness charities were originally started by churches.
The split can often lead to power struggles, bitter disputes and eventual messy divorces between the church and the social projects it has formed. Often both sides end up poorer for the separation.
Relevance of faith
Its tragic because community projects often provide the best witness to faith in a sceptical world. Most people have a lot of respect for genuine care and compassion in action. Often it makes much more sense to them than a church service.
Also, faith and spirituality are so relevant in bring hope to people and tackling poverty. In my field, this was the powerful findings of last year’s report ‘Lost and Found: faith and spirituality in the lives of homeless people’ which showed how important and relevant faith was to those on the margins.
Ambition
The growth of social action provides the church with some great opportunities. But we must learn the lessons from the past and not allow social activism to secularise the church or neuter its message. It is for God’s sake that we are seeking to make a difference.
Christian social activists should have strong ambition to integrate faith and spirituality alongside their practical work. This is not simple or easy especially when working with vulnerable people. It does not mean being coercive, inappropriate or forcing anything on anyone. But it will mean being courageous, creative and confident about how the relevance and importance of our faith.
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If you are interested in how faith connects to social action then you might be interested in joining me at this weekend at the beautiful Scargill House in Yorkshire. I am leading this weekend with a couple of great friends who I have worked with in recent years.
For God’s Sake Make a Difference: Friday 27 February to Sunday 1 March 2015
Justice and righteousness are at the heart of God’s character. How much does the Church reflect these characteristics? How do we hold together practical and spiritual care? How do we develop an authentically missional social action?
Jon Kuhrt (West London Mission), Annie Kirke (London Diocese Missional Communities) and Paul Reily (Scargill Community and formerly of Housing Justice) explore the theology and practice of social action and ask what this has to do with the Kingdom of God today.
For all the details and how to book in please see the Scargill website.
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Grace + Truth 
That’s interesting, maybe some of it is a reaction to the “sing for your supper” 19th century approach? Any kind of Christian content tends to be looked upon as “preying on the vulnerable” by the world doesn’t it?
I wonder if the somewhat Epicurean world-view we’ve taken on from the culture surrounding us has had an impact too (I’m reading “Surprised by Scripture” by Tom Wright which explains what I’m on about better than I can!), the idea that there is/should be a gulf between God, who made the world then withdrew, and the world He made. I’ve found that this view, of God not being particularly engaged with the world, to be fairly prevalent. It is not a view I share.
I hope your weekend has a good impact.
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A fascinating blog John. I must say that as Street Pastors we are both a social action project and overtly Christian in all that we do. It is something I noticed fading a little and so I have ensured that we ask people if they would like a prayer after any interaction, a suggestion usually taken up in high volumes.
Also i am a trustee and fundraiser of street spirit which helps feed and clothe rough sleepers (we are looking to expand in the future but we are still a baby organisation at the moment) every Saturday. It is a non religious, non political outfit and we were recently criticised because we weren’t Christian enough!!!
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This question of dis-integration is not just in Christian work in this country. It is also current in many people’s attitudes about overseas cross-cultural mission. Development work, which is truly God’s work of showing His love to others, has replaced evangelistic and church planting work in people’s minds as to what ‘mission’ is all about.
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Why do you think this is Ralph – is it a loss of confidence in the verbal expression of the gospel?
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I think there are many reasons, but that loss of confidence is one of the factors. I don’t think it is just in the verbal expression of the gospel, but possibly in the gospel which is seen as a means to make things nice for me rather than an obedient response to a salvation won by supreme sacrifice. Salvation is seen in material terms, hence the need to deal with material aspects of life first. We need to seek for greater spiritual insights into what is going on around us – to learn more from our brethren in Africa.
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Dear Jon,
This is great – and congrats on being invited to do this Scargill w/e. If Nikki would like to go with you – or do something else, the youngsters could come here for the w/e.
Much love – Dad
_____
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Also I was thinking about this some more and it seemed pretty relevant to “The Prophetic Imagination” by Walter Bruggemann (I’m sure I’ve spelt that wrong), a book our mutual friend James W lent me recently, has a lot to say on this subject. Essentially that by helping people we are criticising the current regime and that such actions can become prophetic of God’s coming kingdom (Prof B explains it infinitely better than me). It’s a short and good book.
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