In this season of life, we are realizing just how connected we are. There is a tension between those of us who have been forced to slow down and those of us who have been overwhelmed in our vocations over the last couple of weeks. Books can be a place of respite. And we, at Mountain T.O.P., have a few suggestions for you: whether you find yourself with extra time to dig deeper or are looking for a place to rest your weary soul.
How Toxic is Your Charity?
Toxic Charity: How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help (And How to Reverse It), by Robert D. Lupton
Alongside When Helping Hurts, Toxic Charity is one of the first books in a missions-focused library. The book looks critically at the compassion industry and its unexamined outcomes that can “be hurting more than helping.” It’s not that charity is wrong; charity serves a specific context. And most of the time, charity does not fit into short term missions.
How does this reflect on the work of Mountain T.O.P.? Our longstanding philosophy of partnership with families and communities (instead of for) is the basis on which we invite groups in short term missions. We are able to lend our social capital out to people who come to serve. Participants are invited into the homes of families in our service area with open arms because they wear the wood chip name tag. “Oh, you are with Mountain T.O.P.,” is a frequent greeting and welcomed label we often hear.
Holistic compassion needs strings attached so that our unintended consequences and negative outcomes come to light. We believe that everyone has an asset to give, and when we pool our assets we can create something greater than if we were engaged in one-way giving. The needs in the Mountain T.O.P. communities are mostly about development, and as Lupton says, development is an “empowering philosophy that begins with the strengths (not problems) that poor communities already have and then builds upon those strengths.”
A Primer in Short Term Missions
When Helping Hurts, by Steve Corbett & Brian Fikkert
“...What gifts do you have? - affirms people’s dignity and contributes to the process of overcoming their poverty of being. And as they tell us of their gifts and abilities, we can start to see them as God does, helping us to overcome our sense of superiority; that is, our own poverty of being.” - When Helping Hurts, p.120
When Helping Hurts is a primer in so many things related to short term missions. It’s a framework for understanding poverty. It’s a soul-check for privilege. It’s a wealth of knowledge for doing missions with dignity. And it should be our first stop if service is important in our lives, both domestically and internationally.
The book walks us through the why questions - why is there poverty? - and offers sound principles in poverty alleviation. The practical strategies are important for any short term missioner or person leading mission trips. The book closes with ways to get started in helping without hurting, including resources about asset based community development.
We suggest this book as a beginning point for groups participating in any Mountain T.O.P.’s programs. And when you come to camp, don’t be surprised to hear or experience principles from When Helping Hurts.