GP2: Good Practice by Good Practitioners

Growing as Good Practitioners

We think that our goal as good practitioners is not primarily growth.

Rather the goal is doing what is helpful in a "right" way.

Here's a few final thoughts on GP2.

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As Christian practitioners, doing what is "right" is intertwined with our desire to be pleasing to God. And doing what is "right" is in line with clear, solid ethical commitments and one's sense of "duty". See some of the earlier blog entries for more information/discussion about ethics. Plus stay tuned for an expanded article on "ethics and human rights in member care."

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We know so many mission/aid workers and member care practitioners, who in their commitment to please God and serve humans, end up in some dire straits. They seem to "bear on their bodies the wounds of Christ," as Paul said of himself in Galatians 6: 17. And so many bear wounds on their souls too.

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Well-done.

Thank you for your examples of good practice!

We are heading to California now to talk more about such things.

GP2: Good Practice by Good Practitioners

Growing as Good Practitioners:
Staying in Touch with Stress and Yourself

"Good" practitioners develop their character (virtues and resiliency) and competence (skills and knowledge), as part of their ethical commitments to do good and to provide quality services. Growing as good practitiners also means that we stay in touch with our inner world, stress levels, and the need to give/reveive feedback and support from trusted friends and colleagues.

Here is a tool that we have found uselful to help monitor our stress levels as well as the stress levels of mission/aid workers. It helps us stay in touch with how we are doing in the face of the demands of work, expecialy in "field" contexts. This tool is used by the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and many other organizations (from the booklet Managing Stress in the Field, 2001). The booklet is very helpful and available to download for free at:

http://www.ifrc.org/cgi/pdf_pubshealth.pl?stress.pdf

Short Questionnaire on Stress

Instructions: Rate each of the following items in terms of how much the symptom was true of you the last month.
0 = Never 1 = Occasionally 2 = Somewhat often 3 = Frequently 4 = Almost always
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___1. Do you tire easily? Do you feel fatigued a lot of the time, even when you have gotten enough sleep?
___2. Are people annoying you by their demands and stories about their daily activities? Do minor inconveniences make you irritable or impatient?
___3. Do you feel increasingly critical, cynical or disenchanted?
___4. Are you affected by sadness you can’t explain? Are you crying more than usual?
___5. Are you forgetting appointments, deadlines, personal possessions? Have you become absent-minded?
___6. Are you seeing close friends and family members less frequently? Do you find yourself wanting to be alone and avoiding even your close friends?
___7. Does doing even routine things seem like an effort?
___8. Are you suffering from physical complaints such as stomach aches, headaches, lingering colds, general aches and pains?
___9. Do you feel confused or disoriented when the activity of the day stops?
___10. Have you lost interest in activities that you previously were interested in or even enjoyed?
___11. Do you have little enthusiasm for your work? Do you feel negative, futile, or depressed about your work?
___12. Are you less efficient than you think you should be?
___13. Are you eating more (or less), smoking more cigarettes, using more alcohol or drugs to cope with your work?

Total Score: (Add up scores for items 1-13)
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Interpretation: No formal norms are available for this measure. Based on the content of the items, a score of 0-15 suggests the delegate is probably coping adequately with the stress of his or her work. A score of 16-25 suggests the worker is suffering from work stress and would be wise to take preventive action. A score of 26-35 suggests possible burnout. A score above 35 indicates probable burn out.

Based on “The Relief Worker Burnout Questionnaire” in Coping with Disaster (1999) by John H. Ehrenreich.

Reflection and Discussion

1. Based on the above tool, what are some of the main areas of stress for you?

2. What are a few things you could do to help deal with such stress?

3. Who do you know that would benfit from using this tool?

GP2: Good Practice by Good Practitioners

Growing as Good Practitioners:
Practicing Positive Psychology

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On-line Tools

Here is a link to some on-line tools from the field of "Positive Psychology".

http://www.authentichappiness.org/

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These tools are free, and mostly include self-report inventories. One of our personal favourites is the "VIA Signature Strengths Questionnaire". The link for this tool is found on the home page. It measures 24 important character strengths, categorised in terms of six "virtues."

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These tools are easy to use and can be quite enjoyable! They can help you in our self-understanding and hence personal growth. They can also be used as part of our member care work with mission/aid workers. Note: You need to register on the site in order to have access to these tools. Registration is quick and easy.

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Articles

Also on the home page of the above site, you will see a link to some articles.

1. One article reviews some research on the effectiveness of "Positive Psychology". The quote below is from this article and it briefly describes what this field is about.

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2. This field or "Positive Psychology" ("the science of happiness") has also been featured as a cover story on Time Magazine (January 17, 2005). We are grateful to Dr. Martin Seligman and his colleagues who have heped to pioneer this new and devloping field in psychology.

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Quote:

"Positive psychology is an umbrella term for the study of positive emotions, positive character traits, and enabling institutions. Research findings from positive psychology are intended to supplement, not remotely to replace, what is known about human suffering, weakness, and disorder. The intent is to have a more complete and balanced scientific understanding of the human experience—the peaks, the valleys, and everything in between. We believe that a complete science and a complete practice of psychology should include an understanding of suffering and happiness, as well as their interaction, and validated interventions that both relieve suffering and increase happiness—two separable endeavors."

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Positive Psychology Progress: Empirical Validation of Interventions

Selgman, Steen, Park, and Peterson

American Psychologist, July-August 2005, p. 410

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Reflection and Discussion

1. Visit http://www.authentichappiness/

Take an inventory, do it with a friend if you want, discuss it, and grow!

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2. Read one of the articles mentioned above.

How could you use some of the perspectives/approaoches of the Positive Psychology in your member care work?

GP2: Good Practice by Good Practitioners

GP2: Going and Growing

Morality must match with capacity.

David Bornstein, How to Change the World, 2004

Capacity must match with morality.

CORE/MCA, Growing as Good Practitioners, 2009 :-)

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So let's think about what is needed for GP2:

in light of the diversity of member care providers around the world

in light of the diversity of challenges and opportunities everywhere.

1. In GP2: We go broadly to humans in need.

Going is about "crossing" into different types of areas.

Practitioners in this field must increasingly cross into multiple cultures, sectors, and disciplines.

For some, they actively integrate some of these areas.

Others primairly just try to stay informed by some of these areas.

But the interconnections and growth from "crossing" are essential.

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2. In GP2: We grow deeply as humans in need.

Growing is about our character and competence.

Practitioners in this field must continue to develop personal virtues and professional skills.

It is about being stretched, taking risks, getting more training, lifelong learning commitments, iron sharpening iron, and being refined by life's challenges and opportunities.

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Reflection and Discussion

1. I think GP2,

in the Christian faith-based sectors,

is ultimately intertwined

with laying down our lives,

as pierced pratitioners,

in order to follow

the Pierced Practitioner.

What do you think?

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2. "Crossing" leads us into new areas

(cultures, sectors, disciplines)

and it also leads us into dying daily

(sacrifice, struggles, service).

There are two types of "crossing".

What do you think?

Member Care and Doing Good IV

Now and Again--Again
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I once thought that my feet
were shod
with special ornate sandals.

Winged sandals to let me soar
as a special person.

But I was wrong.

Instead I learned that my feet
were shorn
with a common iron nail.

A wingless nail to help me limp
as a common person.

I am human not Hermes.

Pierced feet to follow the Pierced-One.
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Now and again.

Member Care and Doing Good III

Now and Again

I once thought

my feet were being washed.
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But I was wrong.
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Instead I learned
my feet were being anointed.
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For my burial.
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I was to die
for those I claimed to love.
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For colleagues.
For a field.
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For certain and uncertain friends.
For certain and uncertain enemies.

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For nothing.
For everything.
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Now.
And again.

Member Care and Doing Good II

Beauty and the Good

Sandro Botticelli, 1500, detail from Mystic Nativity

May we see beauty and do good

in spite of pain and darkness.

Courage.

Not cowardice.

“Be totally ready
to receive the gift that’s coming
when Jesus arrives [again].”
I Peter 1, The Message

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And in the meantime,

dance with angels.

Member Care and Doing Good I

The time for doing member care well, is now

A lesson from Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, stave one

Marley's Ghost visits Scrooge. (written 1843, original illustration by John Leech )

This is one of the most powerful literary stories that I know:
imploring humans to do good, deploring humans for not doing good.
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The apparition walked backward from him; and at every step it took, the window raised itself a little, so that when the spectre reached it, it was wide open.
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It beckoned Scrooge to approach, which he did. When they were within two paces of each other, Marley's Ghost held up its hand, warning him to come no nearer. Scrooge stopped.
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Not so much in obedience, as in surprise and fear: for on the raising of the hand, he became sensible of confused noises in the air; incoherent sounds of lamentation and regret; wailings inexpressibly sorrowful and self-accusatory. The spectre, after listening for a moment, joined in the mournful dirge; and floated out upon the bleak, dark night.
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Scrooge followed to the window: desperate in his curiosity. He looked out.

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The air was filled with phantoms, wandering hither and thither in restless haste, and moaning as they went. Every one of them wore chains like Marley's Ghost; some few (they might be guilty governments) were linked together; none were free.
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Many had been personally known to Scrooge in their lives. He had been quite familiar with one old ghost, in a white waistcoat, with a monstrous iron safe attached to its ankle, who cried piteously at being unable to assist a wretched woman with an infant, whom it saw below, upon a doorstep- The misery with them all was, clearly, that they sought to interfere, for good, in human matters, and had lost the power for ever.

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Reflection and Discussion
What time is it?
1. The time for doing good, is now.
2. The time for avoiding good, is now.
3. The time for confronting evil is also now.
4. The time for ignoring evil, is now.
What time does your member care clock say?

Member Care and Organisational Health

Signs of Organisational Health

I am back at Ards Friary, Donegal Ireland. In my mind. In my heart. I come here often. Thinking about healthy organisations. Thinking especially about healthy faith-based organisations. Orwell has been so helpful. But what are the positive examples? How did the Franciscan monks for example, such as here at Ards Friary, maintain a healthy organisational life--and a healthy community?

How rewarding it is to work in an organisation, a community, a team, a network, with these features:

1. Mutual respect among staff
2. Fair pay/compensation
3. Opportunities to make contributions
4. Opportunities for advancement and personal growth
5. Sense of purpose and meaning
6. Management with competence and integrity
7. Safeguards to protect individuals (staff and customers) from injustice
8. Responsibility for actions: owning mistakes, not blaming others or covering up
9. Honesty in communication and public disclosures: not slanting the truth or exagerating
10. Accountability for personal/work life: seeking out feedback and ways to improve, not ignoring or pretending
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Reflection and Discussion
1. How would you add to or adjust the above list?
2. What are the three core characteristics in an organisation that would make you want to be part of it and really contribute?

Member Care: Tares, Tears, and Terrors

New Testament Warnings:

Spiritual Counterfeits—Tares, Tears, Terrors

(New American Standard Bible, The Message)

Ravenous wolves.
(Matthew 7:15)
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False christs. Anti-christs.
(Matthew 24:24; I John 2:18)
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Evil men. Imposters. Deceivers.
(2 Timothy 3:13)
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Frauds. Snakes. Reptilian sneaks.
(Matthew 23: 29,33)
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Professional liars. Deceitful/crooked workers.
(I Timothy 4:2; 2 Corinthians 11:13)
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False brethren. So-called brother—wicked man.
(Galatians 2:4; I Corinthians 5:11-13)
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False prophets. False apostles. False teachers.
(Matthew 7:15; Matthew 24:1,24; 2 Corinthians 11:13; 2 Peter 2:1)
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Deceived hypocritical liars

with seared consciences and depraved minds.
(I Timothy 4:2; 2 Timothy 3:8)
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Hidden reefs, waterless clouds,

fruitless trees, wild waves, wandering stars.
(Jude 12-13)
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Don’t be naïve.
(Matthew 10:17)

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Don’t be naïve.

(Mark 14:38)

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Don’t be naïve.

(2 Timothy 3:1)

Member Care and Member Terror

Orwell in October--Part 3

The struggle of man against power

is the struggle of memory against forgetting.
Milan Kudera, quoted in the Economist, 18 Oct. 2008, p. 92
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“[1984] is a 1949 English novel about life under a futuristic totalitarian regime in the year 1984. It tells the story of Winston Smith, a functionary at the Ministry of Truth, whose work consists of editing historical accounts to fit the government's policies. The book has major significance for its vision of an all-knowing government which uses pervasive and constant surveillance of the populace, insidious and blatant propaganda, and brutal control over its citizens. The book had a substantial impact both in literature and on the perception of public surveillance, inspiring such terms as 'Big Brother' and 'Orwellian'.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four

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Big Brother can be understood as being a continuum of control.
On one end of the continuum lies subtle manipulation.
On the other end is found blatant extermination.
It can be a person, party, process, or principle.
It controls through fear and falsehood.
It distorts, deceives, and destroys.
It terrorizes to maintain power.
It is Member Terror.
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1984 paraphrased quotes

(from the 2003 edition including both Animal Farm and 1984)

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The person who controls the past also controls the future.

The person who controls the present also control s the past.
p. 119

The past was not simply altered, rather it had been obliterated.
p. 120

Commonly, if the Party was displeased with you, you simply disappeared and no one ever heard from you again.
p. 129

Orthodoxy means that you do not think and that you do not need to think.

Orthodoxy involves being unconsciousness.
p. 136

Why should you feel that something was very inappropriate unless you had some kind of distant memory that reality was actually different in the past?
p. 143

Until people become aware/awake, they will not protest their condition, and until they have protested their condition, they will never be truly aware/awake.
p. 153

No one ever escaped from the Thought Police. The victims were like corpses that would be soon returned to their graves.
p. 158

Freedom means that you can freely say that two plus two make four. If this is allowed, then the rest follows.
p. 163

The hope for society lay with the proles [common people, the proletariat]. It seemed reasonable, until you observed the rank and file walking past you in the street. Your hope was based more on faith than reality.
p. 167

We will force who you really are out of you, and then we will replace the emptiness with ourselves.
p. 332

You cannot do anything against the lunatic who is smarter than you, especially the lunatic who listens to your logical concerns fairly, and yet still acts like a lunatic.
p. 338

No, Winston, you yourself are only to blame for your dire and thoroughly dehumanized condition. This is the consequence of your having opposed the Party.
p. 347
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Reflection and Discussion
1. People play dirty.

And people in mission and member care can play dirty too.

How do you stop it?

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2. How have people changed history or intentionally forgotten the past--lied to you and others?

Have you done the same?

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3. Listen to this song.

Consider the last line of the lyrics (below).

Relate it to your life, your work, the world.

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"Meet the new boss, same as the old boss."
The Who, Won’t Get Fooled Again, 1971
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Enjoy this unusual, shorter, acoustic version by Pete Townsend.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQUAxN9Sxdo

For a substantially rockier, longer, and spacier version,

including the mother of all cathartic rock screams (7:50), go to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rp6-wG5LLqE&feature=related

Member Care and Member Tear

Orwell in October--Part 2

We are exactly the people and organisations we have become.

[Animal Farm and 1984] can be read…as a strong preventive medicine against the mentality of servility, and especially against the lethal temptation to exchange freedom for security; a bargain that inevitably ends up with the surrender of both…
Christopher Hitchens, 2003, Introduction.

**Servility is a dysfunctional form of the servanthood extolled in the New Testament.
**Exchanging freedom for security is a dysfunctional form of laying down one’s life extolled in the New Testament.

Both involve the loss of the rights and responsibilities:

to speak and think freely

to tell the truth and to be told the truth

to require accountability and to request change.

Servility and the loss of freedom dehumanise us.

They necessitate self-deception and other-deception.

Organisations/groups tainted with such dysfunctions and which remain unchecked, increasingly become unsafe places to work.

Ultimately, these dysfunctions tear the members apart.

Let's call it Member Tear.
How endemic and/or epidemic is this in the mission/aid sector?

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Animal Farm
Note: The context for the next five paraphrased quotes involves naivete, manipulation, and lies:

1. "Loyalty and obedience are more important than bravery."
2. "You have probably only dreamed these things, comrades.
…the animals were content to think that they had made a mistake in their thinking."
3. "I can't believe that this would happen here on our farm. I don't get it. We must be wrong. I am just going to have to work harder to solve this."
4. "The animals were one again bewildered, but with the able convincing of Squeeler they once again believed that it was their own memories that were faulty."

5. "It was easy to prove to the other animals that there was plenty of food, in spite of the actual appearances."
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And now the ending of Animal Farm:
"Twelve angry voices were shouting, each of them like the other…pig shouting at man, and man shouting at pig, and pig at man again; but it had already become impossible to tell them apart. "
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Reflection and Discussion
**The essence of Member Tear is to distort the truth in a way that hurts others. Comment on this assertion.

**Pigs become humans and humans become pigs. For Orwell, this means that people can and do have the propensity to become evil and exploit others. Comment on why this propensity—Member Tear-- might be hard to understand, accept, and to change.

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Note:

"[Animal Farm, published in 1946] is an allegory in which animals play the roles of the Bolshevik revolutionaries and overthrow and oust the human owners of a farm, setting it up as a commune in which, at first, all animals are equal. However, class and status disparities soon emerge between the different animal species. The novel describes how a society's ideologies can be manipulated and twisted by those in positions of social and political power, including how a utopian society is made impossible by the corrupting nature of the very power necessary to create it." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_Farm

Member Care and Member Tares

Orwell in October--Part 1

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I am pouring over two books written by George Orwell in the mid-late 1940s: Animal Farm and 1984. Orwell’s prescience is nothing short of remarkable. Totalitarian states that prey upon the vulnerable have always been, are present now, and probably will always be. Or to blend some of Orwell’s terms with Christ’s: the poor we will always have with us….along with the pigs, the proles, and the Thought Police.

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I am also reminded of Christ’s concluding remarks in the parable of the unjust steward: "The children of this world are, in their own generation, wiser than the children of the light" (Luke 16:8). These books are a helpful balance for those who claim to be “children of the light” including myself, who are prone to emphasise the good in people and to give most folks the benefit of the doubt. I call this emphasis “wheat wisdom” as opposed to “street wisdom”, the latter which is far more familiar with the "member tares" and the “tactics of tares” in our midst, as mentioned in Matthew 13.
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So in light or Orwell and the New Testament (and even though I am really wanting to dwell much more on esthetically-pleasing things), I am thinking about hindrances for people to understand and act on truth. I am thinking about how we often conform reality to our minds and not vice versa. I am thinking that oftentimes people and groups do so intentionally and maliciously. And I am thinking about an important theme in the book of Hebrews: there is a true reality—the Kingdom of God— that cannot be shaken.
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Note that many of the comments from Orwell that will be quoted reflect the intention to enslave rather than enlighten. Stay tuned.

Member Care and Moral Courage

Your task is to be true not popular.

Popularity contests are not truth contests.
Your true being brims over into true words and deeds.
Luke 6, The Message

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Transparency is understood to be a key part of good governance. The ideal seems to be that the more a company discloses about what is happening within it, the less chance there will be for misconduct, and the greater chance there will be for effective performance. Yet companies can and still be deceptive and commit fraud even if they disclose what they are required to do so legally. Two recent examples are Enron and Parmalat. They disclosed all kinds of of data per statutory requirments in the United States and Europe. However both companies deceived the public about what was really going on in their businesses. The issue was certainly not transpparency. Rather it was honesty--telling the truth.
paraphrased from The Myth of Transparency, Zachary Karabell, Newsweek July 14, 2008, page 47

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Reflection and Discussion
**Think of a time when telling the truth was very costly for you personally.
**Think of a time in the near future when telling the truth may also be very costly.
**Do you have the moral courage to be more true than popular?

Member Care and Moral Courage

Recreancy: Cowardly Betrayal

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Deus lux est et tenebrae in eo non sunt ullae

I John 1:5

Who among us has the moral courage:

to be a light--for relational reality

to be a bridge--for relational resiliency?

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Who has the moral courage to truly love:

to confront the recreancy

the lies the fraud the political stealth the cover ups the cheap discrediting the dirty money the scapegoating the pseudo unity the demonic acquiescence?

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Who in our member care/mission community will take the risk?

Our wounds will not go away.

Member Care and the Body of Christ

Tu nobis victor Rex, miserere.

This is undoubtedly my favourite painting in El Prado museum. It was done by Antonello Da Messina circa 1476, oil on panel. The most striking aspect for me is the beautiful yet anguished face of the angel, grieving over the broken, beloved Christ.

I too grieve. I grieve for the broken, beloved member care body of Christ. I grieve when inflicte it with injury, either by ignorance or by intentionality. This can change.

Quomodo cantabimus canticum Domini in terra aliena?
Si oblitus fuero tui Hierusalem oblivioni detur dextera mea.

Adhereat lingua mea faucibus meis si non meminero tui

si non praeposuero Hierusalem in principio laetitiae meae.

Psalm 136 (137) 4-6 Latin Vulgate

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Reflection and Discussion

1. How can the mission/member care community develop the additional capacity it needs in order to protect and promote the health of the Body?
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2. Sometimes people acknowledge how they have participated in the wounding of the Body, through ignorance and/or intentionality. They apologize and they offer restitution. They are genuinely contrite and they change their ways. Give a few examples.
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3. When we love and heal the Body, we love and heal Christ. Comment on this statement in light of this verse: “…the church is Christ’s Body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” (Ephesians 1:23).

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If we were blind, we would have no sin;

but since we say, "We see," our sin remains.

John 9:41

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Tu nobis vicor Rex, miserere.

Member Care and the Body of Christ

Remembering Humans--Works of Art

Barajas Airport, Madrid--20 August 2008

This week we remember the victims of the airline tragedy in Madrid. We also remember their families and friends. It is not time for us to reflect on Renaissance art, but rather to mourn humans who are works of art.
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Dios nuestro ten piedad de nosotros

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Adveniat regnum tuum.

Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo et in terra.

Member Care and the Body of Christ

Agnus Dei qui tollis peccata mundi

miserere nobis.

We are looking at "wounds" in the Body of Christ. We are relating specific paintings of Christ's "passion" from El Prado Museum in Madrid, to the mission/member care world. The level of health/dysfunction (wounds) in our own communities will be reproduced in the communities that we seek to strengthen and form.

The painting below, The Descent from the Cross, was done around 1435 by the Flemish artist Rogier van der Weyden. Who among us also has the moral courage to request and to hold and to care for the broken Body?

Reflection and Discussion
Lamb of God you take away the sin of the world, have mercy on us.
Is there something within your sphere of influence that needs justice and mercy? Mercy with justice brings healing--for our communities and those we seek to support/form.
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We will not prosper if we cover a transgression.
But if we confess and forsake our transgressions, we will find mercy.
Proverbs 28:13

Member Care and the Body of Christ

Hoc est corpus meum quod pro vobis datur.

Luke 22:19

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A few months ago I had an eight hour layover at the Madrid Barajas Airport. Rather than simply waiting for my next flight, I jumped on the metro and headed for El Prado, one of the finest museums for European art from the 12th--19th centuries. As I strolled through the ornate, expansive halls, I was particualrly struck by the many images of Jesus Christ among the over 1,300 paintings on display.

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The painting below is one of my favourites and depicts the Last Supper. It was painted around 1560 by the Spainard Juan de Juanes. As I look at it again now, I am thinking about the Body of Christ, the central theme of this painting. It is beautiful!

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Yet I am wondering...wondering why those who say they are disciples of Jesus continue to break His body through their lies, stealing, and gross mistreatment of others. These are sad stories. His dear Body--of which the mission and the member care community are members--continues to be broken. What a mixture of the mostly laudable and the sometimes loathful!

--”What are those wounds between your arms?”
--“Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.”
Zechariah 13:6

Reflection and Discussion

The Body of Christ is amazingly beautiful. People through the ages, like the apostles depicted in the above painting, are in awe of it. One of the apostles however appears to be indifferent at best, and would soon further betray the Body. Think of some ways to apply this comment--and this painting--to the mission and member care communities.

Member Care and Human Rights--12, Final

Divine Rights and Human Rights

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We want to close off this extended blog section with a few thoughts from our perspectives as committed Christians:

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1. Human rights must also be understood in the light of Divine “rights”. God has the “right” as our Creator, to ask us to obey Him, trust Him, and serve Him. He always does this based on His character of love, even though we may not fully understand His ways. One prime example: Jeremiah 45:1-5

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2. God is the Supreme Being who acts totally in accordance with His immutable attributes of moral goodness. God infuses moral law in the human beings that He has created. Hence our sense of morality, our yearning for justice, and our “universal” human rights are based on God. Human rights make sense because God makes sense.

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3. Member care is energised by the ethical imperative—the duty—to support our staff. Our staff have both human needs and human rights which need attention. And staff in turn seek to affirm the rights and minister to the needs of the people whom they serve.

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Reflection and Discussion

**Read though the following “affirmations” in the Christian Magna Carta in light of:

a) human rights (especially article 18 of the Universal Declaration),

b)"spiritual" rights, and

c) the commitment to support others in their search for “a productive life” (mentioned below).

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**Check out the related short video presentation too at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvNABgk_KF0

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Christian Magna Carta

http://www.ywam.org/contents/abo_doc_christian.htm

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We affirm the Christian Magna Carta which describes the following basic rights as implicit in the gospel. Everyone on earth has the right to:

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• Hear and understand the gospel of Jesus Christ.

• Have a Bible available in their own language.

• Have a Christian fellowship available nearby, to be able to meet for fellowship regularly each week, and to have Biblical teaching and worship with others in the Body of Christ.

• Have a Christian education available for their children.

• Have the basic necessities of life: food, water, clothing, shelter and health care.

• Lead a productive life of fulfillment spiritually, mentally, socially, emotionally, and physically.

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We commit ourselves, by God's grace, to fulfill this covenant and to live for His glory.

Developed by YWAM leaders, 1981

Member Care and Human Rights--11

Civil Rights--Lessons for Member Care

We recently saw the 1996 American film, Ghosts of Mississippi.
It is about civil rights—which are based on human rights—and justice.

The movie is about a famous court case in the USA involving a prominent black civil rights leader who was assassinated in 1963 (Medgar Evers). The main suspect of this hate-crime was a man known to be a real advocate of white supremacy. He was not convicted since the jury could not come to a conclusion. In fact, there were two trials, but the same conclusion: a “hung” jury and no conviction.

Some 30 years later (1993) the case was reopened (after much opposition) and retried. This time the man was found guilty, and brought to justice.

This story is an outstanding and sobering account of what it takes to see human rights upheld and to see justice done. Whether it involves supporting the welfare of mission/aid staff or publically advocating on behalf of oppressed people groups, justice can in fact be achieved. But it is not easy. Idealism and good will are almost never enough. Some lessons that come out clearly from this movie:

**1. “Ghosts of injustice” will haunt you unless you confront them. They will likely huant you even more if you confront them--until justice is done.
**2. Justice does not happen usually unless one actively pursues it.
**3. There are intentional hindrances to uncovering and disseminating “facts”: cover-ups, lost information/evidence, harassment.
**4. It takes time, patience, and professionalism, not to mention key support, for justice to be done.
**5. People are often unwilling to help: to inconvenience themselves, to threaten their livelihood, to be ostracised by others and above all to “change one’s way of life”. This is true of individuals, organisations, communities, and countries.
**6. There are some people however who cannot simply look the other way and ignore gross injustice. These people are resolutely committed to pursue truth and justice, and will not take “no” for an answer. They are willing to face extreme negative consequences, including defamation and sometimes even death, in order to act with integrity and help others.
**7. Perpetrators of injustice and their accomplices often fall into their own traps.
**8. Eventually, society and organisational ethos can change but it usually takes a lot of hard work, over time, crises, confrontation, regime changes, and new leaders to see it come about.
**9. Don’t give up. Note that today, the state of Mississippi in the USA has more elected officials who are black than any other American state.
**10. etc.!

Reflection and Discussion
1. Watch a 12 minute interview from 1996 with the widow of Medgar Evars and the Assistant District Attorney that successfully reopened/prosecuted this case. One interesting addition to the movie based on this interview is the ongoing, pervasive prayer that accompanied the pursuit of justice (watch minutes 22 through 34)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOOpsbFzqc0

2. Listen also to the special report from 2003 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Medgar’s assassination. It is done by National Public Radio’s “All Thing’s Considered.”
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1294360

Member Care and Human Rights--10

Who was Christ referring to as “the least of My brothers” in Matthew 25? The answer to this question has profound implications for mission, member care, and human rights.

Humanitarianism with a Point
John L. Amstutz
Excerpts, from Doing Member Care Well, chapter 4

“Inasmuch as you have done it to one of these the least of My brothers, you have done it to Me” (Matthew 25:40). Few verses are used more frequently than this verse by Christian humanitarian organizations…But is unconditional humanitarianism the point of the parable of the sheep and goats in Matthew 25?...

Simply stated, the parable of the sheep and goats pinpoints the basis of judgment of the nations. Jesus, when He comes in His glory as the Son of Man, will separate the nations (ethne) of the earth into two groups, sheep and goats. The basis of this division will be their response to “the least of these my brethren.”…

A survey of commentators indicates that the majority hold “the least of these My brethren” to be oppressed and suffering humanity…But again, we ask, is such unconditional humanitarianism the point of the parable?...Who are Jesus’ brothers? Those who are hearers and doers of His word, namely, those who are His disciples who “continue in His word” (John 8:31). Such close identity of Jesus with His disciples is clearly taught in Matthew 10:40-42. "He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives the one who sent me..." Therefore, one’s response to Jesus’ disciples is one’s response to Jesus Himself and to the Father who sent Him. Is not this reality the basis of Jesus’ question to Saul on the Damascus road, “Why do you persecute Me?” (Acts 9:1-5)?. Had not Saul’s persecution of believers in Jerusalem, in fact, been a persecution of Jesus Himself? It seems so.

If this is a proper interpretation of the word “brethren,” then the point of the parable of the sheep and goats is even more pointed...Apparently the universal proclamation of the gospel of the kingdom will be accompanied by a universal positive and negative response to that proclamation in that some will show kindness to persecuted believers/disciples while others will not...Such response to Christ’s messengers indicated their response to their message and to the One who had sent them, Jesus Himself.

The implications of such an understanding of this parable are significant. First, the parable assumes the universal preaching of the gospel is not optional in the plan of God. “Missions” is not an appendage on the Church’s agenda. It is essential. A worldwide witness is the foundation for the judgment of the nations.

Second, accompanying this universal witness to Jesus Christ will be persecution. Indeed, “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (II Timothy 3:12). Opposition for one’s faith in Christ is not just for believers in the Middle East and Asia. Christ’s disciples will be “hated by all nations” because they are in all nations.

Third, the place of hospitality and kindness toward followers of Jesus Christ is no small matter, particularly toward those who are being persecuted for their faith in Him. “Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering” (Hebrews 12:3). “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another” (John 14:35). In the words of the Apostle Paul, “Let us do good to all men, especially to those of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10).

Summary Thoughts

Is it not time we free this pointed parable of the sheep and the goats to speak clearly and fully of the crucial place of the universal preaching of the gospel to every nation (ethne) and the opposition and persecution that will attend such preaching? And is it not time we free this pointed parable to speak clearly and fully of the essential need of intentional humanitarianism—member care—toward those who have chosen to suffer loss for their witness to Christ in these nations?

Humanitarianism with a point is the point, and the point is “for, inasmuch as you have done it to one of the least of these My brothers, you have done it to Me”! And never has a proper understanding of this pointed parable been more important than it is as we enter the new millennium in which the Church increasingly focuses on the final frontiers, many of which are in risky and resistant areas.

Reflection and Discussion
**Do you agree with the author’s understanding of the identity of the “least of these My brethren”? Why or why not?
**What are some of the implications of the author’s understanding of the parable of the sheep and goats, for mission and for member care?
**What has been your response to persecuted followers of Christ?

Member Care and Human Rights--9

Human Rights and Religious Liberty

Proverbs 1:3 and Proverbs 24:11,12

We were really awed by the courage and commitment of several people whom we recently met in Central Asia. These were people whose religous liberties--protected supposedly by both their national constitutions and international laws--had been seriously violated. We listened carefully to each others' stories both formally through debriefing and informally through group discussions. We explored Christian Scripture in light of human rights issues and international law--especially the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Two foundational verses for the discussions were from the book of Proverbs.

*

The purpose of the book of Proverbs:

1:3--To receive instruction in wise behaviour, righteousness, justice, and equity
*
The responsibility to help vulnerable people:
24:11--Deliver those who are being taken away to death, and those who are staggering to death, O hold them back.
24:12--If you say, "See, we did not know this," Does He not consider it who weighs the hearts? And does He not know it who keeps your soul? And will He not render to man according to his work?
*
Russian:
1: 3--усвоить правила благоразумия, правосудия, суда и правоты;
24: 11--Спасай взятых на смерть, и неужели откажешься от обреченных на убиение?
24:12--Скажешь ли: `вот, мы не знали этого'? А Испытующий сердца разве не знает? Наблюдающий над душею твоею знает это, и воздаст человеку по делам его.

*****

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (United Nations, 1948) is a crucial guide for our lives and work. It is a foundational document for international laws/agreements for human rights. It unequivocally recognises the dignity and equal rights of all humans and the devastating consequences to people and societies when human rights are abused. We especially noted Articles 18,19, 20. See: www.unhchr.ch/udhr and www.ohchr.org

18. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

19. Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

20. (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
(2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.
*

Статья 18
Каждый человек имеет право на свободу мысли, совести и религии; это право включает свободу менять свою религию или убеждения и свободу исповедовать свою религию или убеждения как единолично, так и сообща с другими, публичным или частным порядком в учении, богослужении и выполнении религиозных и ритуальных обрядов.

Статья 19
Каждый человек имеет право на свободу убеждений и на свободное выражение их; это право включает свободу беспрепятственно придерживаться своих убеждений и свободу искать, получать и распространять информацию и идеи любыми средствами и независимо от государственных границ.

Статья 20
1. Каждый человек имеет право на свободу мирных собраний и ассоциаций.
2. Никто не может быть принуждаем вступать в какую-либо ассоциацию.

Reflection and Disucssion
Read the UDHR document two times in the next week.
Focus especially on the Preamble and Articles 18-20.
What are some ofthe key values, rights, and terms that you find?

Member Care and Human Rights--8

Helping others can be costly--and scary and "inconvenient".

**There are consequences for defending human rights--including our own and those of others.

**There are consequences for providing member care to workers whose human rights have been violated through harrassment, discrimination, forced exile, and imprisonment.

**There are also consequences for not defending human rights and for not helping others whose rights are violated.

Recently a team of four psychologists was providing member care services to workers in an Asian country. These workers were a mixture of locals and internationals. Their perseverence and love for people were remarkable.

*

We were part of this team of psychologists. In addition to teaching on parenting skills, marriage, stress managemnet, and grief/loss, there was also teaching on surviving hardship and understanding human rights. Most of the workers had limited knowledge of national and international laws that pertained to their rights. For many it seemed that generations of "learned helplessness" had left them with little sense that soomething could be done to change human rights abuses. Many of these rights and laws were said to be interpreted in terms of the "national interests" or at least in terms of the interests of the people with the most power.

*
We listened a lot. And then we taught some. Here is a summary (part one of three) oriented for those in the faith-based community (Christian).

*****

Difficult experiences are every where, at every time, for every one. No one escapes. These expereinces include both: external stressors like persecution, harassment, and relationship conflict; and internal struggles like depression, fear, and frustration.
*
Philippians 1:1,2 and Ephesians 3:1
We are prisoners and bond-servants of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the gentiles.
We are not prisoners of governments nor of our circumstances.

Message to church in Smyrna--Revelation 2:8-11
You may go to prison but do not be afraid. Be faithful. Member care helps us to be faithful in all aspects of life--to do what we know is right—serving God and others. He will reward us.
*
Exercise: Hide a holy book for one week and what will happen to you? You will likely appreciate it more, and memorise it more! What three verses would help sustain you if you were in prison and did not have access to a holy book?

Reflection and Discussion

***What three verses (or principles) sustain you the most in your own life?

***Comment on this assertion: Ultimately followers of Christ are "prisoners" of Jesus Christ, not of anything else.

Member Care and Human Rights--7

Guidelines to Help with Advocacy

*****

There are many types of situations where persecution or discrimination occurs: imprisonment, sectarian violence, harassment, extra-judicial execution, psychiatric detention, and laws restricting religious freedom. Here are seven guidelines about how you can prepare for and respond to human rights-related crises on the mission/aid field. This material is from Wilfred Wong’s article in Doing Member Care Well (2002): "Human Rights Advocacy in Missions". To access the entire article, just contact us at: MCAresources@gmail.com
*
Overview of the Seven Guidelines
***Pray for God's guidance. If possible, get others to pray and fast about the situation and for you while you take action.

***Identify possible sources of information. Verify the information by getting independent corroboration of the facts. When a problem is starting to arise, one should start to gather the relevant facts in case advocacy needs to be used and for the purposes of informing others so they can pray.

***Discuss the issue of authorization for advocacy or whatever course of action needs to be taken, with the appropriate person. The best people to give authorization are first the person/victim, then the closest immediate family of the person, and then the leader of the church/fellowship group to which the person belongs.

***Communicate the information and request for prayer and action (if authorization has been given) to the relevant contacts in as speedy and secure a manner as possible. Follow this up with further updates as more information is obtained and as the situation develops

***Consider contacting a lawyer if a person is being detained; someone who may be already known to the person, sympathetic to the case, and able to help.

***Consider approaching any locally based people (such as sympathetic diplomats in the foreign embassies or local human rights groups) for assistance. But be sure that these people are trustworthy and bear in mind the implications this may have for your own security.

***Consider whether the person has any dependants who may need assistance as a result of the crisis; e.g., the person may be in prison and unable to provide for the families needs. It is usually better for funds to be channeled through the local church/fellowship, via the approval of the leader, unless there are exceptional circumstances,
*
Reflection and Discussion
**Who is your immediate sphere of contacts is the most vulnerable to serious human rights violations?
**What are you able and willing to do to help these people?
**In what ways can human rights violations happen within sending organizations?