Engaging the Bible in Mission Theology Scholarship: Bryant Myers' Walking With the Poor
This post is a book review of: Bryant Myers, Walking
With the Poor: Principles and Practices of Transformational Development
(Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Press, 1999). The book was revised and updated in 2011.
I originally published this review in Transformation 18.1 (2001): 62-64.
Bryant Myers, Vice President for International
Program Strategy at World Vision International, seeks to bring together three streams
of thinking and experiences in this recent work: (1) the theories, principles
and practices of the international development community, (2) the theories,
principles and practices of the Christian community involved in
transformational development, and (3) a biblical framework for transformational
development. As such, the book is
primarily theoretical, with a few examples from practice occurring more in the
last three chapters. Nevertheless, one
quickly appreciates how the author’s understanding of field practice has shaped
his evaluation of various theories on poverty and development.
The book is a good primer for Christians involved
in development work. The novice will
learn of several key theorists in the last two to three decades, David Friedman,
Robert Chalmers, and Jayakumar Christian in particular. Myers builds on such theorists, presenting
his own view of ‘transformational development’ throughout the book but in
particular in ch. 5: ‘Toward a Christian Understanding of Transformational Development.’ The various lists, tables and models provide
grist for many discussions in development, and they will also prove useful in
missions in general as well as in ethics.
The book also offers a good starting point for discussion about the
character of holistic transformational development practitioners and the
principles which guide them (especially ch. 6), and about planning and
evaluating such work (ch. 7).
Something of a theology of development emerges
over the pages of this book. The key
notions are: (1) holistic worldview:
holding the spiritual and material together not only in ministry but in our
very understanding of the world as beyond scientific explanation and human
activity, finding a place for spiritual power and encounter in our outlook on
life; (2) transformational development:
development work with a goal beyond giving material aid, seeking to see
material, social and spiritual transformation (thus the twin goals of
transformational development are a changed people--a people with a new identity
defined by life in the Kingdom of God (they are children of God and their ‘true
vocation [is] as faithful and productive stewards of gifts from God for the
well-being of all’ [p. 14]--and just and peaceful relationships; (3) Christian witness: a witness to the good
news of a relationship with Christ which goes beyond oral proclamation
(evangelism), involving witness by life, word, deed, and signs (of God’s reign;
ch. 8 focuses on this issue); (4) personal
and social evil/personal and social gospel: sin and salvation are not only
applicable to the individual, they are also social, addressing economics,
politics, culture, and the church as an institution (e.g., poverty is seen as
‘a system of disempowerment [in society] which creates oppressive relationships
[which involves holding the wrong values in relationships] and whose
fundamental causes are spiritual’ such that the poor lack freedom to grow); (5)
revelation: revelation from God
rather than our own observation through the social sciences must also be a part
of development work, thus prayer, fasting, meditation and so forth are
important alongside proper training in the social sciences for the development
worker; (6) a narrative approach to (a)
Biblical reading and (b) sociological encounter: (a) a Biblical
understanding of Scripture should primarily be a narrative reading of the
Biblical story/stories, and (b) in development work the narratives of
development workers and the communities with which they work involves both an
encounter and convergence of stories.
The subtitle of the book highlights Myers’
interest in ‘principles’ and ‘practices’ of transformational development. The principles are four: (1) ‘the ownership
of the development process lies with the people themselves’, which primarily
means appreciating their own story, spiritual self-understanding, and knowledge
about how to survive; (2) ‘Management-by-objectives’ does not work with social
systems; emphasis on vision, values and evaluation will better enable people to
learn their way towards transformation; (3) Empowerment is the goal of
participation; and (4) Participation must build community.
The practices of transformational development
focus on people. In particular, people
are to be understood as created in the image of God capable of becoming
children of God. Using the work of
others, Myers offers something of a tool kit for the practice of development
work: (1) understanding development less in terms of needs and more in terms of
social analysis, particularly through Mary Anderson’s and Peter Woodrow’s
analysis of vulnerabilities and capabilities; (2) Participatory Learning and
Action (PLA); (3) Appreciative Inquiry (David Cooperrider), with its assumption
of health, vitality and life-giving social organisation in every community; (4)
how to evaluate the work; (5) other critical issues, such as listening to women
and children, pacing the work properly, giving proper attention to the
spiritual dimension of development work.
Finally, since the practice of transformational development involves
Christian witness, Myers discusses the practice of Christian witness.
Myers’ establishes his reflections on poverty
upon a three-fold foundation. The most
important part of this foundation is a theological understanding, and Myers
approaches theology primarily from a narrative biblical theology. As Myers’ presents his theological
understanding in ch. 2, what emerges is a combination of narrative readings of
the Bible, more traditional theological doctrines (‘image of God’, Trinitarian
theology, incarnation, redemption), and classical Biblical theological
categories (kingdom of God). This type
of an overview is, by nature of its brevity on the one hand and wide scope on
the other, open to many criticisms or at least unresolved questions. For example, are we justified in interpreting
‘image of God’ to have to do with God’s Trinitarian being and a triune
self-understanding? Should we understand
the nature of Jesus’ ministry (e.g., in Galilee) as instructive for us today
and, if so, how do we properly interpret this?
For example, Myers believes ‘Galilee’ means ministry on the periphery
rather than in the centre of power (a not uncommon understanding of the
political status of Galilee and yet the whole argument at this point reflects
little knowledge of the socio-political realities of Galilee, such as the
significance of Galilee as a central cross-roads for an expanding
mission--hardly on the ‘periphery’). He
does not interact with the more traditional interpretation of the
non-Protestant Church along these lines: the narrative of Christ calls
disciples to imitate his life of poverty, chastity, and obedience. While I also approach Biblical theology
within a narrative framework, many hermeneutical and theological issues still
need to be worked out with greater scholarly care by those of us promoting this
approach. Myers’ use of narrative
categories is based on the belief that one’s world-view is fundamentally shaped
by stories, one’s own life is a narrative, communities have their own narratives,
and the Bible contains a basic narrative centred on Jesus and numerous
additional narratives (creation, the Fall, liberation narratives--the
Patriarchs and Exodus, the prophets’ interpretation of Israel’s story, the
Church’s unfolding story, and the eschatological story). A narrative reading of the Scripture permits
Myers to work with the following theological notions: relationships, universal
and cosmic interests, plot development, liberation and working with the poor,
holistic mission, transformational development, a continuity between the
Biblical Story and the ongoing work of the Church (without identifying Kingdom
and Church--an important point).
The Bible affords interpreters multiple and
conflicting answers to the question, ‘Who are the Poor?’ (following Mouw; cf.
p. 60). Myers’ social analysis takes the
household as the basic building block for society, with its social, political
and psychological power resources for its governmental, territorial and productive
interests (following Friedman). Poverty
is understood as more than a deficit of things; it is more than a systemic
entanglement (so Robert Chalmers) entailing physical weakness (including mental
causes due to poor nutrition, illness, alcohol, drugs), material poverty,
vulnerability (social conventions [e.g., Emmanuel Todd’s argument that cultural
potential is related to family structure], disasters, physical incapacity [cf.,
e.g., Jared Diamond’s discussion of geographical resources, social power for
exploration and domination, and immunity to germs], unproductive expenditures,
exploitation), powerlessness (by resources being kept from the poorest poor,
robbery, and paying unfair prices to the poor), isolation; it is more than a
lack of organisation and access to the institutions of social power--government
(the executive and judiciary), politics (independent political organisations),
society (the household, churches, voluntary organisations), and economics
(corporations), with its eight bases of social power --social networks,
information for self-development, surplus time, instruments of work and
livelihood, social organisation, knowledge and skill, defensible life space,
and financial resources (so Friedman).
In addition to these, poverty is also spiritual (so Jayakumar
Christian). By ‘spiritual’, Myers means
one’s self-understanding (the poor’s belief in the lies told about them and
their own delusions about life), moral poverty (absence of love, responsibility
and righteousness), and the cosmic, personal evil powers behind the individual
and social causes of poverty. Not only
so, but poverty is fundamentally ‘a result of relationships that do not work,
that are not just, that are not for life, that are not harmonious or enjoyable’
(p. 86). By ‘relationship’, Myers means
the self in relationship with itself, with the community, with the environment,
with others, and with God.
How shall we understand ‘development’? Modernity approaches development through
social control and rational thought, which cannot overcome evil, and believes
things are getting better. But
development is not ‘saving’ through economic growth, modern medicine,
agriculture, water development, technological advance, and so forth. Salvation is only through the cross. ‘Transformation’ can also be understood in a
number of ways: to do with souls, physical bodies, mental, social systems,
violence, creation (fig. 4-1, p. 93).
Wayne Bragg argued in the development conference
called Wheaton, 1983 that transformation must include not only social welfare
but also concerns for justice. He
posited the following interests in such an approach: life sustenance, equity,
justice, dignity and self-worth, freedom, participation, reciprocity, cultural
fit (a respectful attitude towards local cultures), and ecological soundness
(p. 95).
David Korten (Getting to the 21st Century,
1991), argued for a ‘people-centred’ rather than growth-centred development
approach. Myers adapted Korten’s
argument as follows:
Growth-Centred Development People-Centred Development
Material consumption Human well-being
Wants of the non-poor Needs of the poor
Corporation or business Household
Competition Community
Export markets Local markets
Absentee ownership Local ownership
Borrowing and debt Conserving and sharing
Specialisation Diversification
Inerdependence Self-reliance
Environmental costs externalized Environmental costs internalized
Free flow of capital and services Free flow of information
Korten defines development as ‘a process by which the members of a
society increase their personal and institutional capacities to mobilise and manage resources to produce sustainable and justly distributed improvements in their quality of life consistent with their own aspirations’
(1990, 67; Myers, p. 96, italics mine).
Development work should change its focus over time from addressing (1)
the shortage of things to (2) the shortage of skills and local inertia to (3)
the failure of social and cultural systems to (4) an inadequate mobilising
vision (Myers, p. 97). These stages
involve not only a change in one’s perception of the problem being addressed
but also the time frame, scope, chief actors, role of the agency, and
management style (cf. figure 4-3, p. 98).
John Friedman’s understanding of poverty as
‘limited access to social power’ leads to an understanding of development as ‘a
process that seeks the empowerment [decision-making, local self-reliance,
participatory democracy, and social learning] of the households and their
individual members through their involvement in socially and politically
relevant actions’ (1992, 33; Myers, p. 99).
Among other things, Myers criticises Friedman for assuming that
empowered people will work towards a just end and that empowerment is not also
spiritual.
Robert Chambers (Whose Reality Counts? Putting the First Last, 1997), sees the
end of development as ‘responsible well-being’ (thus going beyond the question
of wealth and poverty), the means of development as livelihood security
(adequate levels of food for basic needs, rights to access resources, security
against shortages) and capabilities, and the principles of development as
equity and sustainability. These five
concerns in development are interdependent.
Jayakumar Christian sees development as a kingdom
response to powerlessness, much of this having to do with unmasking the lies
people believe by hearing the truth of the Kingdom of God. That is, Christian is not calling for a view
of the Kingdom of God embracing the use of force.
Myers offers his understanding of
Transformational Development in ch. 5.
(1) He begins with his understanding of stories: ‘every development
program is a convergence of stories’, the development workers’ stories, which
includes God’s story, and the communities’ stories (p. 111). In this convergence of stories, Myers is
concerned on the one hand that the community owns the story and on the other
hand that God’s story (the Biblical story as it emerges in the canon) is
clearly offered to the community as the larger story in which they might place
their own story of transformational development. Myers further describes the work of
transformational development as (2) offering a better future to the
community. This better future is defined
as ‘shalom’--’just, peaceful, harmonious, and enjoyable relationships with each
other, ourselves, our environment, and God’, having to do with the physical,
social, mental and spiritual aspects of life (p. 111). Citing Newbigin (1989, 129; Myers, p. 114),
Myers notes that this vision of a better future is understood in terms of the
Kingdom of God and not in terms of projects, programs, ideologies and
utopia. Myers also insists that ‘it is
impossible to imagine a transforming community without a transforming church in
its midst’ (p. 115)--a model of what the options are for the community as a
whole. (3) Transformational development
has the following goals: (a) a changed people (recovering true identity and
discovering true vocation), (b) just and
peaceful relationships, (c) sustainability .
(4) The process of change involves: (a) affirming the role of God in
transformation; (b) affirming the role of human beings; (c) focusing on
relationships; (d) keeping the end in mind; (e) recognising pervasive evil; (f)
seeking truth, justice, and righteousness; (g) addressing causes; (h) doing no
harm; (i) expressing a bias toward peace; (j) affirming the role of the
church. All this is reshaped into a
diagram on p. 136.
Myers examines how to work with the poor and
non-poor in transformational development (ch. 6). The principles to guide this work are: (1)
respecting the community’s story, which in practical terms means understanding
the community’s history, discerning where God has been at work in the
community’s history, and listening carefully to their whole story, including
its understanding of formal religion, folk religion, and folk science; (2)
learning the community’s typical survival strategies, including the role of
their supernatural, unseen world; (3) respecting indigenous knowledge. The practice of transformational development
should be less management-by-objectives, which assumes a linear approach to
social development, and more a ‘vision-and-values approach’, which assumes the
unpredictability of social development.
This means working with short-term planning, evaluating, and placing
priority on people rather than things.
But a people focused approach must move beyond participation to
empowerment, and it must focus on community building with the poor. The rest of this chapter describes the attitudes
of, characteristics of, formation of, and care for the holistic
practitioner. The appendix to this
chapter offers a profile of the practitioner in terms of knowledge, character,
technical skills, and attitudes of the heart (p. 167). This chapter includes more examples than
previous chapters do, although the emphasis is still theoretical.
This detailed description of the principles and
practices of the people involved in development leads to a chapter on the
learning tools to use in this work (ch. 7).
The first tool is social rather than needs analysis. The second tool looks at the various groups’
(e.g., genders, economic classes) vulnerabilities, and how to enhance their capacities. The third tool is community organisation
through networking, coalition building, action-reflection-action, leadership
empowerment, and the birth of a community.
The fourth tool is participatory learning and action (PLA). The fifth tool is Appreciative Inquiry (AI),
a post-modern tool opposed to mechanistic, problem-solving approaches and
rather appreciative of and trying to enhance the community’s forces which
organise and build it. Myers notes that
this approach has worked well in Tanzania’s World Vision: ‘Insisting on a discussion
focusing on what has worked and on when and how the community has been
successful in the past is very helpful in getting past the initial view of the
NGO as the giver of good things’ (p. 178).
The sixth tool is Logical Framework Analysis and is a management-by-objectives
approach, but when used by the community itself, not so much for problem
solving as for working out its dreams, it can be useful. It looks like this:
Objectives Objectively verifiable Means of verification Risks and assumptions
indicators
Goals:
Purpose:
1.
2.
Outputs:
1.
2.
Inputs:
1.
2.
indicators
Goals:
Purpose:
1.
2.
Outputs:
1.
2.
Inputs:
1.
2.
Seventh, appropriate evaluation is even more
important than planning. This needs to
be participatory (see the chart, p. 181) and go beyond how the problems were
faced to community building questions.
It needs to look at lasting outcomes, changes in identity, vocation,
relationships, worldview, values. It
needs to develop outwardly turned systems and structures, supporting and
enhancing life in the community for all.
It also needs to ask if those involved are doing the right thing
ethically, such as by preserving human life, working for justice, ensuring staff
safety, and preserving human freedom (so Hugo Slim; Myers, p. 187). Slim further describes a moral responsibility
framework: (1) intention and motivation; (2) capacity for doing something; (3)
knowledge and ignorance; (4) deliberation; (5) mitigation of negative effects
of our actions (Myers, pp. 187f). The
spiritual dimension of transformational development also requires evaluation
(pp. 188f). Finally, Myers notes several
additional critical issues in planning and evaluation: listen to women and
children, get the pace right, and let the spiritual come through. This chapter concludes with four appendices
showing various tools used in planning and evaluation.
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