EM711-4 - Transformational Development

  • 0 Standard Tuition Fee
  • 4
    Credit Points
  • 0.125 EFT 
  • 8
    AQF level
  • evangelism missiolUnit Discipline

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will

A. Know and understand

  • A holistic framework for understanding poverty
  • Biblical principles of holism, social justice and transformational development
  • Principles, practices, and models of transformational development

B. Be able to

  • Analyse issues involved in the planning of transformational development projects
  • Create an integrative set of principles to guide ministry in contexts of poverty and human need
  • Evaluate contemporary examples of the Church’s response to the needs of the poor

C. Be in a position to

  • Facilitate transformative practice among members of  Christian communities 

Content

1. The causes of poverty
2. Definitions of and perspectives on development
3. Models and case studies of transformational development
4. Analysis of issues in responding to poverty in cross-cultural contexts, e.g. paternalism, colonial attitudes, ethnocentrism, lack of cultural awareness, dependency, and non-sustainability.
5. Principles of healthy transformational development 
6. Evaluating approaches to development
7. The role and responsibility of the church towards the poor and their needs 
8. The role of missionaries in helping churches engage in transformational development
9.Issues and challenges involved in planning and evaluating community development projects and possible responses

Set Readings

Prescribed

Myers, B., Walking with the Poor: Principles and Practices of Transformational Development (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2011).

Corbett, C., and Fikkert, B., When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty without Hurting the Poor. . . and Yourself  (Chicago: Moody Press, 2012).

 

Recommended

Chester, T., Good News to the Poor (Wheaton, IL: Crossway 2013).

Christian, J., God of the Empty-Handed: Poverty, Power, and the Kingdom of God (Monrovia, CA: MARC, 1999).

Flemming, D., Recovering the Full Mission of God: A Biblical Perspective on Being, Doing, and Telling (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2013)

Freeman, D., Pentecostalism and Development: Churches, NGOs, and Social Change in Africa (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012).

Freire, P., Education for Critical Consciousness (London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2013).

Gutierrez, G., and Müller, G., On the Side of the Poor: The Theology of Liberation (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2015).

Hoksbergen, R., Serving God Globally: Finding Your Place in International Development. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2012).

Kingsbury, D., McKay, J., & Hunt, J., Key Issues in Development (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004).

Lederleitner, M., Cross-Cultural Partnerships: Navigating the Complexities of Money and Mission (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2010).

Mott, S., Biblical Ethics and Social Change (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011).

Stiglitz, J., Making Globalization Work (London, Penguin, 2007).

Transformation: An International Journal of Holistic Mission Studies

Volf, M., Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation (Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 1996).

 

Classics

Lapierre, D., City of Joy (London, Arrow, 2011).