When Helping Hurts: Alleviating Poverty Without Hurting the Poor. . .and Ourselves [Paperback]

Brian Fikkert (Author), Steve Corbett (Author), John Perkins (Foreword)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Churches and individual Christians typically have faulty assumptions about the causes of poverty, resulting in the use of strategies that do considerable harm to poor people and themselves.  When Helping Hurts provides foundational concepts, clearly articulated general principles and relevant applications.  The result is an effective and holistic ministry to the poor, not a truncated gospel.

A situation is assessed for whether relief, rehabilitation, or development is the best response to a situation.  Efforts are characterized by an "assest based" approach rather than a "needs based" approach.  Short term mission efforts are addressed and microenterprise development (MED) is explored.

About the Author

Steve Corbett is the Community Development Specialist for the Chalmers Center for Economic Development and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics and Community Development at Covenant College.  Previously, Steve worked for Food for the Hungry International as the Regional Director for Central And South America and as Director of Staff Training.  Steve has a B.A. from covenant College and a M.Ed. in Adult Education from the University of Georgia.

Brian Fikkert is an Associate Professor of Economics at Covenant College and the Founder and Executive Director of the Chalmers Center for Economic Development at Covenant College.  Brian received a Ph.D. in Economics with highest honors from Yale University, and a B.A. in Mathematics from Dordt College.  Specializing in Third World Development and International Economics, Brian has been a consultant to the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the United States Agency for International Development.  He has published articles in both leading academic and popular journals and has been a contributor to several books.  Prior to coming to Covenant College, he was a professor at the University of Maryland and a research fellow at the Center for Institutional Reform and the Informal Sector. 

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Moody Publishers (July 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802457053
• ISBN-13: 978-0802457059
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,175 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

  #5 in	Books > Nonfiction > Current Events > Poverty
  #27 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Christian Living

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book will disturb most Christians...in the best way possible, November 19, 2009

By	J. S. Wallace (Georgia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: When Helping Hurts: Alleviating Poverty Without Hurting the Poor. . .and Ourselves (Paperback)

When Helping Hurts is a compelling book that will be a significant help to the Church for years to come. The first chapter alone is worth the cost of the book and ought to be read by every church leader in every ministry category. This is not just a book for the missions committee (although it ought to be required for everyone involved in missions) or the Outreach Director, or the pastor. I think every Christian in America would benefit. Most evangelicals would be rattled.

There are several benefits from this book. Since most people read book reviews to try and determine whether they want to buy and read the book, let me mention those benefits.
It doesn't just pick on the Church or her leaders. This book is personal; it will pick on you. It was deeply convicting to me as I read it. I realized that as many times as I have been moved by stories about the fatherless and the widow, the poor and the sick, I am not purposefully living for my life, and leading that of my family, to intersect with these members of society. I have forsaken the needy by my enslavement to convenience and stuff. My house is conveniently situated away from poverty. I hardly see the needy. And then there is my busyness. All my important tasks that keep me far away spending myself on "behalf of the hungry" (Is. 58:10) are often where I find my own significance and worth. I am convicted that although I hold to the position that all humans are created in the image of God, I don't live as such. And I realize that I do have a god-complex (although every time I read that phrase in the book, my first reaction was, "No I don.....okay, I do. I do.").

The authors are not writing from lofty chairs in academia. They pen their own confessions. One of my favorites is, "I confess to you that part of what motivates me to help the poor is my felt need to accomplish something worthwhile with my life, to be a person of significance, to feel like II have pursued a noble cause...to be a bit like God...I sometimes unintentionally reduce poor people to objects that I use to fulfill my own need to accomplish something. it is a very ugly truth, and it pains me to admit it, but `when I want to do good, evil is right there with me' (Rom. 7:21)." [p. 65] They also give a number of examples that show where they blew it. This communicates not only humility, but also a sense that there's a bit of a journey involved. Helping the needy will never become neat, clean and orderly.

This book is highly biblical, both in its use of Scripture for application as well as in developing a theory of poverty that serves as the framework. You won't be able to get past a few pages at any point in the book without being confronted by biblical truth (and a helpful reference). And it does not do what many books on this subject do, namely, present steps and practices for alleviating poverty dissected from the Bible as the source of these truths or from the Holy Spirit as the source of divine power. Rather, the authors continually remind you of the authority of Scripture and our dependency on the Holy Spirit for power and guidance in the journey. One good example is early in the book, as the authors lay the groundwork for the importance of relationships in assisting the poor and sick. They take the reader back to the relationship in the Godhead, the Trinity. And from there they expand and explain how ministry flows through relationships. The poor are not going to be helped, without hurting them, if we just conduct drive-by ministry.

This book is also highly practical. The authors not only explain best practices and steps to take, but they give examples of what they might look like. And they also offer gracious critiques of benevolent practices that many of us have followed. The strange thing is that while reading many of the critiques, the thought ran through my head, "That always seemed a little unwise to me." You'll finish with not just new techniques, but will actually have an understanding of why some things work and some don't.

Many in the church will want to read this because of their local outreach. But this book is just as important for global outreach. In my job, I am continually laboring to help churches understand the importance of their short-term trips not becoming drive-by (or fly-by) ministries. Feeding the poor is wonderful. Caring for the orphan is beautiful. Both are biblical. But to be the best these ministries can be, both need to be in the context (connected to) a sustainable ministry. Biblically, you can't escape the fact that this is the church. Ministries that are conducted apart from the church die when their leadership dies (or moves, or changes strategies, or gets new vision, etc...). They are simply not sustainable. But when ministry is conducted in and through the church, there is lasting fruit. New believers are folded into that work. And when the US worker (or partnering church) leaves, the church will continue the ministry.

I don't get to read a ton of books, but this is one that has so impacted my thinking and stirred my heart, that I am encouraging everyone to read it. It's one of those books. I've got a stack of copies with me for my next journey to share with folks. I think it will disturb you too, in the best way possible.

28 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Provocative, much-needed analysis of where our attempts to help have gone wrong, July 13, 2009

By	W. C. Horst "W. Christopher Horst" (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: When Helping Hurts: Alleviating Poverty Without Hurting the Poor. . .and Ourselves (Paperback)

Thank you, Brian and Steve, for this tremendous book. So often we miss the unintended consequences of our wonderful intentions. For anyone who has been on a mission trip, plans on going on a mission trip, or is thinking about supporting missions, please pick up a copy of this book. Its thorough analysis and helpful guide to thinking through long-term issues will dramatically refine your understanding of the world and of missions.

Chris Horst
HOPE International
www.hopeinternational.org

27 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lives Changing, July 9, 2009

By	David Larson (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: When Helping Hurts: Alleviating Poverty Without Hurting the Poor. . .and Ourselves (Paperback)

Yep, I know. "Lives changing" is not grammatically correct.

Nevertheless, I use this play on words to indicate that this book is not just life changing for you, me, and other readers, but, for the millions who we can and must serve. This is about THEM and their lives, even though it starts with you, me, and our churches.

As we learn and put into practice the authors' supremely wise counsel, we will see enormous increases in the effectiveness of our ministries to a hurting world. I dare say as well that as we see these profound qualitative improvements, the quantity of our efforts will skyrocket as well - we'll want to do far more as we discover the joy of doing far better.

Thus, This Is Big. To say this is the best book ever on the subject would be, believe it or not, an UNDERstatement. That's partly because it's not only a book - it also has fabulous accompanying materials (website learning and discussion aids, courses, speakers, trainers, etc.) that will significantly help readers and churches put these "lives changing" ideas into practice.

All this is literally an unbelievable Gift from God - for the church and the world.

Dave Larson
Economic Development Consultant
Portland, Oregon