Can we end world poverty by 2030? Do we really care? And who is "we"?
In January 2016 the UN launched its 17 Sustainable Development Goals in succession to the Millennium Development Goals that had guided its philosophy for the last few years. They're ambitious, ranging from "End poverty in all its forms everywhere" through "take urgent action to combat climate change" to "achieve gender equality for all". They include goals relating to safe cities, loss of forests, cleaner seas, peace and justice.
It's an ambitious programme that reflects many Christian concerns. But so far the Church has lacked any kind of coherent response. While we might applaud it, we are semi-detached – and for many campaigners, that ought to change.
A House of Lords gathering yesterday chaired by Methodist peer Lord Griffiths brought together leaders from major denominations and development agencies for a round-table discussion on the issue. It was convened by End Poverty 2030, which is "in the early stages of developing a movement to equip, empower and engage the Church to more radically join this historic opportunity".
It was a fascinating encounter. Participants spoke of the importance of business in defeating poverty. Others spoke of a disconnect between the macro language of the SDGs, couched as they are in turgid UN-speak, and the reality of life in the local church. Others questioned whether Christians really regarded themselves as having a responsibility to combat poverty at all.
One of the most thought-provoking aspects of the meeting, though, was the scale of Christian involvement represented. There were people from the business and charity worlds. There were leaders of major advocacy and development organisations. Every strand of churchmanship was represented, from Roman Catholic to independent. For the Church, this is important.
Was there a sense, by the end of the meeting, that progress toward a unified response had been made? Not really, but perhaps that doesn't matter; it was the beginning of a conversation that so far has not been had.
So here, for what it's worth, is my contribution to it.
1. Poverty matters
Even today, in my own evangelical tradition, there are those who think it's not half as important as evangelism. We need to be crystal clear that they aren't in competition with each other. Yes, the Church should proclaim the Good News, but it should also enact the Good News. When people are ill, hungry, worn out from unrewarding labour and with stunted lives because of their lack of opportunity and education, we should care deeply and passionately. William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, said: "You cannot warm the hearts of people with God's love if they have an empty stomach and cold feet." That's as true today as it ever was. Jesus came to bring abundant life. Humans were created to flourish in body, mind and spirit.
2. See the big picture
We don't always see what we do in churches as being connected with these big SDG-type goals, though some of it already is. If a church has a debt counselling service, or a foodbank, it's contributing. If it gives to a mission agency that's active in reducing poverty or encouraging sustainable development, it has bought into the project. Some of what needs to happen is making connections between what we already do and the bigger picture. But some churches need to be challenged because they aren't doing anything. Their budgets are purely focused on evangelism and the domestic concerns of the congregation. That has to change.
3. Don't over-think it
There's no point in creating a full-scale Churches' response to world-wide problems of poverty and development. We are not, as a Church, set up to fix whole economies. As one eloquent though controversial contributor pointed out, businesses and governments are better at that – though others replied that they were good at causing the problems, too. But any idea of coordinating the work of agencies and denominations, any more than they already do, is a non-starter. The scale is too big and the impact of any re-arrangement of their work as a result would be too small.
4. Find out what's happening
There is a very useful work to be done in terms of mapping what Christians are already doing about development on to the SDGs, and encouraging churches to see their discipleship in relation to that wider picture. So far no one is doing this. If End Poverty 2030 can take this forward, it deserves every support.
5. Tell the great stories
One problem in getting churches to engage with SDGs is that these goals are simply too big. They are abstract and often rather vague. The challenge for any coordinated response is to make the problems small enough to be understandable. Another, related problem is that they are often presented as too ambitious. There are endless news stories around deforestation, climate change, gender violence and horrifying injustice. No one should close their eyes to these things, but the truth is that they become self-defeating. Climate change? It's dreadful, we know – so we don't read about it any more. Sometimes, human nature being what it is, we want to read a story because it makes our flesh creep. But we also need hope. We need to know that we can make a difference. We need stories that tell us that what we do matters.
Absolute poverty has declined dramatically in the last few decades. In 2010 there were 1.2 billion people living in extreme poverty – far too high, and representing 21 per cent of people living in the developing world. But in 1981 that percentage was more than half. Extreme poverty has fallen in every developing region in the last three decades.
That brings its own problems. It's mainly the result of rapid industrialisation in India and China. That creates ecological pressure and justice issues. But the point is that it can be done. The end of poverty is no longer unimaginable.
The goals pursued by Christians aren't set by the world, but by Christ. But these SDGs reflect the best thinking we have about what a just and prosperous world might look like. It's past time for the Church to incorporate this thinking into how it lives out its faith in the world today.
Contact End Poverty 2030 at info@endpoverty2030.com
Follow Mark Woods on Twitter: @RevMarkWoods
