Seeking Shalom

Can't believe it's been almost a year since we gathered at Northeast with our friends to take the Seeking Shalom Study by the Lupton Center.  Here are some nuggets from the study that have stayed within my heart and mind. 

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The traditional charity models provide a lot of activities and services...people have fuller bellies and a warm place to sleep at night, which are really good, but that does not change the trajectory of anyone's life.  Our common charity models have provided comfort to poverty but have not come any closer to ending poverty.  Katie Delp, Executive Directory, FCS | Focused Community Strategies

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We must remember that we all experience poverty and that we are all broken. We all need Jesus. 

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In your love, be relational not transactional!

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Being Poor is being close to death.  So, it's hard to experience abundant life. 

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You can't thrive when you're just thinking about where your next meal is going to come from. 

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Poverty is complicated. It is not a symptom of one thing. Sushma Barakoti

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A Systems Understanding of Poverty
Includes: Sustainable Employment, Strong Support Network, Safe, Affordable Housing, Healthy Neighborhood, Mental and Physical Health Care

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Everyone needs a voice at the table. 

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The Gospel has gotten all tangled up with a sense of Western White Entitlement. Walter Bruggeman

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Hope does not need to silence the rumblings of crisis to be hope.

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Material Poverty in Scripture has much more to do with ACCESS than it has to do with THINGS.  A more accurate representation of material poverty would be to define it as the experience of being UNDER-CONNECTED rather than UNDER-RESOURCED.

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Individual Flourishing
Physical Health, Family Life, Mental Health, Vocation/Work-Life, Social Relationships, Spirituality

Community Flourishing
Education, Housing, Social Services, Safety and Security, Connections to Neighbors, Business/Commerce

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In development, the community is always the first investor - Bob Lupton

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Key Words:
Mutuality
Participatory
Holistic
Mind (and Heart)
Impact

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Determine the ASSETS of a community - Don't just identify the needs!