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Companion to the poorChrist in the urban slumsRich missionaries?COMPANION TO THE POOR Viv Grigg is a New Zealander who worked in Manila, Philippines, in the 1970s and early 80s. He became deeply concerned for the plight of the urban poor living in crowded shanties with seemingly no hope. He decided that the only real way to reach such people with the gospel was to live among the people in a slum area so as to understand and empathise with their situation. He describes in detail life in such slums with its problems, difficulties and trials. Grigg eventually formed a new mission called Servants to Asia’s Urban Poor, arguing that the best way to reach the poor is for missionaries to live in the slums. That thesis can be disputed. Foreign missionaries will always be looked upon as rich no matter where they live. What is important, and Grigg demonstrates this, is that people need to be loved. That love is the love of Christ, which gives of oneself to others and becomes involved in their lives. That comes over throughout the book. Christians in the Western world know little of the plight of Asia’s poor. Grigg wants Christians to know and become concerned and actively involved through commitment, prayer and giving. He does not avoid the tremendous problems and often the failures of working among such people. However, with all that said, the reader needs to read with much discernment. Grigg writes from a charismatic background and some of his theology needs to be greatly questioned, particularly what seems to be a very simplistic idea of the gospel. He quotes with much approval examples of those in history who have worked among the poor. Among these are St. Francis of Assisi, the Jesuit Francis Xavier, the Japanese social gospel reformer Kagawa, and Mother Teresa. He refers to them as people who proclaimed the gospel to the poor. This book was first published in 1984 and has been brought up to date. Poor editing, however, has resulted in many factual mistakes, particularly where some statistics have been updated and others have not. Sometimes this can be confusing. Yet it is still Grigg’s compassion and love for the poor of the slums that comes through, with his passionate desire to reach them for Christ and to help them live their lives in the midst of their poverty. Brian T. Ellis, © Evangelicals Now - May 2006 |