THE REAL SOCIAL JUSTICE WARRIORS

“He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free, the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked” (Psalm 146:7-9).

We are currently staying at my dad's in Langham, SK

This blog post departs from describing our ongoing adventure developing our land on Pincushion Trail and attempts to share with you our experience spending time with the amazing souls that comprise the global workers (formerly known as missionaries) of the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region. These are Romans 12:1 people who daily offer their bodies as “living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God,” for whom “true and proper worship” means giving up wealth, convenience, status, health, and family in service to the least among us. In November, we spent a full week at the LAC regional retreat in the Dominican Republic hearing miraculous stories of God’s intervention and provision to the poor, oppressed and marginalized in the majority world through the tireless efforts of Christ followers who have taken seriously the call to social justice. We spent a further two and a half weeks serving with Everyday Ministries based in Nagua, DR, learning what it is like to live in a country with a far lower standard of living than Canada in order to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Now the DR isn’t a totally poor country – it has one of the largest middle classes in all of Latin America – but the government and middle class Dominicans seldom lend an ear to the voices of their poor and forgotten. This is the case in most developing countries. Corrupt governments and politicians who are looking only to line their own pockets and increase their own power turn their backs on the disadvantaged. The people that the global workers we know serve are often those that NO ONE else is helping. They do not go in with a God or white savior complex or colonialist attitude as some choose to assume; in fact, they get little or no recognition for the work they do and the lives they change. They work behind the scenes in humility, investing in lives and transforming communities for years to come.

This piece of writing is my response to I Chronicles 16:8 which says, “Make known His deeds among the peoples . . . talk of all his wondrous works.” If you are reading this, you are one of my people. I seldom share on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter where many re-post messages from BIPOC or other identity activists. My intent is not to disparage the good work that Canadian activists are doing but to address the misinformation that is perpetuated when Christian “missionaries” and the church are disparaged by those who ignore the work God is enacting around the world.

These social justice warriors are the unsung heroes of our time. Many of you will know that Hebrews 11 lists the ancient heroes of the faith and details what they were commended for. The parallels between the Biblical heroes and the heroes I am talking about are remarkable. To paraphrase, the writer of Hebrews praises the ancients for: understanding that God spoke the universe into being out of nothing, for being obedient to God, pleasing God, believing and trusting God, obeying God’s calling, and believing God’s promises. What did the ancients accomplish? They parted sea waters, felled city walls, saved populations, conquered kingdoms, administered justice, shut the mouths of lions, extinguished fires, escaped execution, routed foreign armies, brought the dead to life, endured torture, beatings, imprisonment, and lived destitute lives (v. 29-37) as they actively pursued God’s calling. Verse 38 concludes: “The world was not worthy of them.”

Hebrews 11 ends rather cryptically: “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect” (v.39-40). I understand that to mean that God’s purpose for his followers remains incomplete and that today’s saints have the opportunity to perfect the work that was begun by the ancient heroes of the faith. I am grateful to have witnessed this work continuing in force as justice is brought to the forgotten corners of our fallen world by global workers who uphold the cause of the oppressed.

In one country, there are no medicines or vitamins available to the common people, but our global worker is procuring antibiotics from Canada and the U.S. and bringing them in by any means necessary to save lives. She is shipping in food containers, some from Canadian Gleaners, a Christian non-profit that collects produce and processes it for distribution to developing countries in the form of dried vegetables. Her main focus right now is caring for the elderly poor because supports for them do not exist. She is trying to buy a lot and house to turn into a home for the elderly and she has established a taxi business to generate funds. She plans to add a sewing business in the hopes that the home will eventually become self-sufficient.

In another country, global workers built and operate a non-profit community center working to heal lives of families by helping to break the cycle of abuse, neglect, poverty, lack of education, unemployment, and illness. The center offers parenting classes, family counselling, sports and dance programs, tutoring, ECE training, sewing and baking co-operatives, and mental health and neurological diagnosis and treatment. If not for this one amazing couple, the people in this community would not have any of these services.

In an island nation, global workers focus on supporting a network of pastors in small communities. They are in the process of building a beautiful conference center, complete with dormitories for pastors and churches to host events, hold training and education sessions, run sports and youth camps, and house volunteers who come to help. They have established a seminary to equip and empower the national leadership. They also build houses for the poor, run a child sponsorship program, offer English classes, and transform the lives of women through their Girls of Destiny and Women of Destiny programs which teach women about their identity in Christ and build their confidence and self-esteem.

In one of the poorest countries in the world, another ministry works in a destitute settlement on the outskirts of the capital city. They run a sponsorship program for over 300 children which covers school fees, uniforms, backpacks filled with school supplies, and a monthly food parcel for their families. They are welcomed into the public schools to teach Bible classes, they run after-school tutoring and English programs, and they install water filters in homes to ensure safe drinking water. Currently they are in the middle of a building project, partnering with a local pastor to build a church and community center on the mountainside.

In addition to lifting up the oppressed, bringing some hope and dignity into their lives as Jesus did, global workers are the conduit by which Christians in Canada equalize some of our wealth and privilege. God calls these heroes out of the Canadian church, and the church partners with them, donating millions of dollars annually to fund relief and development initiatives among the rejected and exploited. So despite all the things wrong with the North American church, many congregations are responding to the voice of the Holy Spirit (who advocates for the marginalized) and fighting for social justice in places where the concept doesn’t even exist.

One more example: One of the things we did while in the Dominican Republic was hold eye clinics and gift prescription eyeglasses and reading glasses to people in poor communities. The American company that developed this system was experiencing roadblocks in identifying the people in the majority world who needed them most. As soon as they brought in a pastor with connections to faith communities, their distribution network exploded! They discovered one of contemporary society’s best kept secrets – that the evangelical church is the body that has feet on the ground in the darkest, most broken corners of the world. If you want to help the neediest people on the planet, find out where Christian organizations are working.

Indeed, those who are motivated by the gospel are unique because they care for body, soul and spirit, which brings holistic healing that leads to transformed lives and communities. Our global workers invest in the national people; instead of "doing for," they "do with," coming alongside local leaders and aiming at making their initiatives self-sufficient. However, today’s heroes of the faith labor largely unheralded, unposted, untweeted. Please join me in paying tribute to them this Christmas. Like the ancients, like Jesus himself – the world is still unworthy of them.

Love and blessings for this Christmas season,

Rick and Cheryl

P.S. If any of you are interested in getting involved in supporting development work like I have described, either through donations or short term volunteer service, ask us about opportunities. We can let you know what is going on in each location and help match you up with a ministry that touches your heart.