November 27, 2000
___"People need Jesus, and they need a job," Sider stressed. ___The Willson-Addis Lectures examine "practical Christianity" and are sponsored by Baylor's Truett Theological Seminary. ___"We have seen a stunning drop--50 percent--in the poverty rolls in America in the past seven years," Sider said, noting the number of Americans who live in poverty decreased by half. The U.S. poverty level is defined as an annual income of $17,029 for a family of four. ___Despite the recent improvements, the United States still has the highest rate of poverty in the industrialized world, he said, citing 32.3 million impoverished U.S. residents and 17 percent of the nation's children living in poverty. ___Despite an extended period of overall prosperity, only in the last two years have the "bottom 20 percent" of Americans made economic gains, he said. Still, the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans own more wealth than the bottom 90 percent, and the wealthiest CEOs make more in two hours than a minimum-wage worker earns in a full year. ___The Bible presents a balanced perspective for addressing the spiritual and structural obstacles necessary to eliminate poverty, he said. ___"People are made in God's image. God wants people to work and be able to pay their own way," he noted, pointing out that Scripture advocates both private and public solutions to poverty. ___"In many points in the Bible, we see the first line of support for persons is the family," he said, citing such examples as laws in the book of Leviticus calling for families and children to care for widows. "But it seems the Bible also has a clear role for government," he added, pointing to the book of 1 Kings, which demands that rulers ensure justice and righteousness for all people. ___The balance that is required today is for both government and faith-based organizations to take on the challenge, Sider stressed. ___"There's been an amazing openness to religious faith and the role of religious agencies in eliminating poverty," he reported. "For decades, the dominant elites ignored the role of religion in eliminating poverty and its problems. But in the last five to eight years, that has turned. ... ___"One of the reasons this has changed is neither the liberal nor the conservative approaches to eliminate poverty has succeeded. We still have brokenness, violence, gangs, children born out of wedlock. This is a danger to our democracy." ___In the midst of this failure, faith-based organizations in the nation's cities have made headway in fighting poverty, he said. The key is "relational evangelism," a holistic ministry that both changes people spiritually and provides structures for helping them develop the skills and gain the opportunities to overcome poverty. ___"What we need is a new holistic vision that embraces faith-based organizations but calls on other institutions to do what they do best," Sider insisted. ___But churches can't do it alone, he added, explaining that, to make up for the government anti-poverty funds cut during welfare reform each of the nation's 325,000 churches would have to add $612,000 in anti-poverty program money to its budget. ___The application of this concept involves implementing four ideals, Sider said. ___They are: ___ A living family income. "Anybody who is able to work has an obligation to work, unless they are caring for small children," he said. "But if they work, they should not be impoverished." ___Forty percent of African-American and Latino single mothers who work full-time still live in poverty, he noted. ___Full-time workers should be able to elevate a family of four to 125 percent of the poverty level and also provide health insurance, he claimed. ___Steps necessary to achieve this goal include expanded earned-income tax credit, an improved food stamp program, an increased minimum wage, expanded dependent-care tax credit and guaranteed jobs. ___Religious organizations can help in this cause by providing job-training programs and also linking low-income workers with Christian mentors who will help them grow in faith as well as develop skills necessary to become better workers, he said. ___ Renewing two-parent families. "In the United States, children who live in one-parent families are 11 times more likely to experience poverty than children in two-parent families," he said. ___"Fatherless boys are twice as likely to go to jail as boys with fathers at home." ___Conservatives' diagnosis of this problem is "partly right," Sider suggested, noting the sexual revolution and the media's popularization of promiscuity have led to single-parent families. ___But the solution calls for a balance between church and state, he added, calling for pastors to stand strong for parents' responsibility to keep their wedding vows and for the government to provide tax credits that favor marriage over cohabitation. ___ Universal health insurance. "It's a moral outrage that 44 percent of Americans lack health care," he said. ___Christians who care about this issue should begin immediately to write their representatives and senators, telling them, "If ... you don't find a solution, we'll vote for somebody else" at the next election, Sider suggested ___ Education. "The current educational system works for some, but it fails for many," he conceded. ___Americans should "run a very good five-year test," comparing school reform and vouchers, he urged. "What does the best at training minorities and poor people will get my vote." ___Christians should be in the thick of the battle to eliminate poverty, Sider declared. ___"In the next 10 to 20 years, we will have a historic opportunity to eliminate poverty," he said. "There is so much dismay over the failure of (poverty-elimination) programs that the elites are looking at new alternatives. The churches can lead the way in eliminating poverty in this nation." ___But that will require a change of heart, he observed. "We don't have enough Christians who care about the poor. Our pastors and preachers are not teaching us what the Bible says about the poor. ___"The Bible says: God measures societies by what they do for people on the bottom. God acts in history to lift up the poor and needy. God acts in history to pull down the rich and powerful who do not express concern for the poor. ___"If we claim to be God's people and don't care for the poor, we're kidding ourselves." The Baptist Standard
©2000 The Baptist Standard
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