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Engaging the Poor: Leveraging Local Poverty Assistance Programs to Prepare for Global Engagement

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Engaging the Poor: Leveraging Local Poverty Assistance Programs to Prepare for Global Engagement LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY Engaging the Poor: Leveraging Local Poverty Assistance Programs to Prepare for Global Engagement A Thesis Project Submitted to the Faculty of Liberty University School of Divinity in Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Ministry by Darren Hercyk Lynchburg, VA 02 March 2020 Copyright © 2020 by Darren Hercyk All Rights Reserved ii Liberty University School of Divinity Thesis Project Approval Form ____________________________________ Dr. Adam McClendon Thesis Project Faculty Mentor Doctor of Ministry Program Director ____________________________________ Dr. Rod Dempsey Faculty Reader iii THE DOCTOR OF MINISTRY THESIS PROJECT ABSTRACT Darren Hercyk Liberty University School of Divinity, 2020 Mentor: Dr. Adam McClendon With globalization, there has been an explosion in travel by academic institutions and the church. For the church, this growth has been in short-term mission trips. Unlike traditional missionaries, most short-term travelers are untrained or lightly trained laypersons. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to understand how local poverty assistance programs could be leveraged to prepare the church today for global engagement. This study provided ten church volunteers with training that included a Scripture overview of the poor, the multidimensional factors of poverty, reducing harm in poverty programs, and the skills for affirming dignity during an interview. Following the training, each church volunteer participated in two interviews with individuals receiving assistance at a local food program. The open-ended interview questions were designed to understand the food program recipient’s personal story, physical and social needs, and faith background. Data collection from the interviews and subsequent analysis through coding resulted in multiple themes, including the willingness of individuals to share their stories, the humanization of the poor, changed stereotypes, and the value of working with the local poor. The transferability of local experiences on global engagement and topics that deserve more in-depth study are discussed. iv DEDICATION I thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for His blessings which are too numerous to count, including the opportunity to see the Imago Dai in uncommon places. I thank my parents for their unwavering love and encouragement throughout my life. I thank my wife, Lori, and our children for their love, support, sense of adventure, and willingness to make sacrifices. I pray my family will find joy in reading this Thesis Project and see the contributions they made in service to the least of these. To God be the Glory. v Contents Chapter 1: Introduction ...............................................................................................................1 Ministry Context ................................................................................................................4 Problem Presented ...........................................................................................................11 Purpose Statement ...........................................................................................................11 Basic Assumptions ...........................................................................................................12 Definitions .........................................................................................................................12 Limitations and Delimitations .......................................................................................16 Thesis Statement ..............................................................................................................16 Chapter 2: Conceptual Framework ..........................................................................................17 Literature Review ............................................................................................................17 Multidimensional Nature of Poverty .....................................................................17 Poverty and Culture ...............................................................................................23 Psychological Effects of Poverty ...........................................................................25 Spiritual Effects of Poverty ....................................................................................26 Assessing Poverty ..................................................................................................27 Experiential Learning on Poverty ..........................................................................28 Eliminating Global Poverty ...................................................................................31 Theological Framework...................................................................................................34 The Dignity of the Poor .........................................................................................35 Terms for the Poor .................................................................................................36 Old Testament Protection for the Poor ..................................................................37 Old Testament Provisions for the Poor ..................................................................39 vi New Testament and the Poor .................................................................................42 The Slave and Servant ...........................................................................................45 Final Judgment and the Poor..................................................................................46 Categories of Poverty in Scripture .........................................................................48 Motivation from Scripture .....................................................................................50 Theoretical Framework ...................................................................................................51 Three Sectors of Society ........................................................................................51 Interventions for the Poor ......................................................................................52 Bridging the Strata of Society ................................................................................55 The Power of Stories ..............................................................................................57 Summary ...........................................................................................................................59 Chapter 3: Methodology.............................................................................................................60 Original Research Design and Methodology .................................................................61 Original Recruitment of Heritage Participants ......................................................63 Revised Research Design and Methodology ..................................................................64 Revised Recruitment of Heritage Participants .......................................................65 Heritage Participant Pre-Fieldwork Interview and Training ................................66 Fieldwork: Heritage interview of Parkview Participant .......................................72 Heritage Participant Post-Fieldwork Interview .....................................................73 Data Analysis Procedures ......................................................................................75 Chapter 4: Results.......................................................................................................................77 Park View Participants....................................................................................................77 Heritage Participants .......................................................................................................79 vii Theme One: Getting to Stories ......................................................................................80 Repeatable Process.................................................................................................81 Multidimensional Nature of Poverty .....................................................................83 Cross-Cultural Experience .....................................................................................84 Theme Two: Humanizing of the Poor ...........................................................................85 Humanizing Experience .........................................................................................86 Getting Beyond Stereotypes ..................................................................................88 Solidarity and Subsidiarity .....................................................................................91 Theme Three: Needing a Christ-like Attitude..............................................................93 A Lifestyle with the Poor .......................................................................................93 Avoiding Projects and Programs ...........................................................................95 Theme Four: Affirming the Dignity of the Poor ..........................................................97 Creating a Dignified Experience ............................................................................97 A Gift .....................................................................................................................99 Summary of Findings ....................................................................................................100
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