On a Life of Compassion (feat. Barry Slauenwhite) - PART 2
Please keep reading below for the second half of my encouraging interview with Barry Slauenwhite, CEO of Compassion Canada (retiring Oct 2019). To read the first half of this interview, click here.
What do you think retirement will look like for you? What are you most excited for as you move into the next chapter of life?
Let’s be clear: I’m not a big fan of retirement. I know that may sound strange, because I recently announced my retirement set for October 2019, but you need to know I don’t plan to retire. I do, however, plan to refocus. I want the next chapter of my life to be intentional and I want to use the gifts and skills God has given me for His purposes.The board at Compassion Canada has been kind enough to offer me the role of President Emeritus and my successor has generously agreed for me to serve in a part-time role in an area that is really my sweet spot – Public Ministry. I will serve Compassion Canada as a speaker and teacher, using whatever platform God gives me, to challenge Christians to understand the heart of God for the poor and to be strategic in the way they serve the poor.
In your book, Strategic Compassion, you challenge us with this question: Jesus proclaimed the good news for the poor. Have we distorted His message? Can you unpack this for us? What does the good news really look like?
In the gospel of Luke chapter 4, we read of Jesus returning to His hometown of Nazareth. As was His custom on the Sabbath, He would go to the local synagogue and because of His status as a teacher, He would usually be asked to read the Scripture and give a sermon. This day was no different. He was very strategic and focused on two things: the poor and the gospel.
He methodically read from the book of Isaiah and made a profound announcement that the reason He came to earth, commissioned by His father, was to bring the good news of the gospel. He made a powerful point that the answer to the need of the poor is not more humanitarian programs, financial incentives or even better education. Although Jesus was widely known for His food distribution programs, and famous for his medical work and His teaching, on this occasion Jesus made one thing very clear – the greatest need of the poor is for them to find a personal relationship with the authentic son of God.
In the centuries that followed, up until our present time, the Church has struggled to know how to serve the poor. Just look at the many institutions created by the Church, and the variety of mission approaches, and you will see what I’m talking about. When Jesus fed the multitudes and healed the sick, He was addressing the symptoms of poverty – not the cause. On this day in Luke 4:18, He made it very clear that the cause of poverty is a sinful nature of man, and the cure for poverty is a right relationship with God. That isn’t to say that the people living in poverty are poor because of their bad choices, it is to say that poverty first entered the world because of sin, and now everything has been impacted by that sin. Our relationship with the land we farm, our relationships with one another, our relationship with God, and the way sinful humans set up institutions and systems. For all these centuries, we have put far too much emphasis on addressing these symptoms, and not nearly enough emphasis on addressing the root cause of poverty and applying the solution of the gospel.
The good news really looks like us, as Christ followers, bringing together both the demonstration and the proclamation of the gospel. We must be about feeding the poor, healing the sick, freeing the oppressed AND we must be about the proclamation of the gospel. It is not a case of and or – it’s both! To only address the symptoms of poverty is a gross distortion of the gospel message.
Strategic Compassion has been called your life message. How is this book on poverty different from the other resources available?
If you’re like most Canadians, your knowledge and understanding of poverty come from the media, marketing messages and advertising. Far too many Christians have not taken the time to understand what God says about poverty. My book, Strategic Compassion, is all about the theology of poverty and asking: What does God have to say about poverty?Strategic Compassion is not about theories, trends, or strategies for fundraising. The book has one agenda: understand the cause of poverty and finding out how to release people from it. Over these 35 years with Compassion Canada, I have given many sermons and lectures on poverty. I have taught classes in elementary, high school and seminary. I have studied extensively – both academically and in the context of on-site learning in 61 countries – and I felt a very strong conviction from God, instructing me that in this chapter of my life, I am to make the theology of poverty my mission in teaching Christ followers how to serve the poor.
What do you think is the most important take-away from Strategic Compassion?
I think the most important take-away from the book is the simple message that money is not the ultimate answer to poverty but an encounter with Jesus Christ will have a profound impact on the here-and-now and the here-and-after of any human being that is given the opportunity to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. We are doing a disservice to Christ followers when we imply that dropping cash in the missions offering exempts us from any other obligations we might feel toward the poor.
In your career, you’ve had the opportunity to champion the next generation of leaders, including President-Elect – and Ellen’s Picks community member - Allison Alley. When you encounter young people who are passionate about fighting poverty, what do you encourage them with? What do you challenge them with?
I have a tremendous amount of confidence in the next generation and I am convinced that God is raising up an army of Christ followers of which history has never known. Today’s Christ followers are more compassionate and they are more committed to justice than any generation before them. Their tools of social media have given them a worldview unlike any previous generation.My challenge to young people passionate about fighting poverty is not to dichotomize the gospel into demonstration or proclamation – but to take a bold stand and insist that the gospel must permeate any, and every, activity that addresses poverty knowing that all the good deeds and good intentions will not have the eternal impact that God intended for His followers to have.
Barry's book is available for purchase at StrategicCompassion.ca.