Toxic Charity – how churches and charities hurt those they help

Books, Christian ministry, Equipping, Good Practice, Poor, Relief and Development, Social Enterprise
This is a provocative book - a 'must read' for those working among people who are poor or disadvantaged, espcially in an urban setting. But first, the church I belong to (CCK, Brighton) was live on BBC television last Sunday? This  was a one hour Pentecost service. You can watch it on this link. When helping hurts In recent months I have been recommending widely When helping hurts. As the title suggests our well-intentioned generosity may sometimes cause greater problems rather than relieving them (but not always!). It looks critically at the damage we can cause, particularly with cross-cultural ministry among the poor, and suggests how we can improve our practice. Toxic Charity Here is another thought-provoking read to make you think through your stance on how you really can…
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Foundations for Farming in India

Agriculture, Foundations for Farming, India, News, Poor
In March 2010 Mark Devaraj travelled from India to Zimbabwe to be trained in Foundations for Farming. He already had an agricultural qualification and the vision of the leaders in India was to have a ‘champion' who could train others as a means of blessing communities and opening them up for the gospel. Recently Mark had a visit from the originator and visionary of Foundations for Farming, Brian Oldreive. Mark has given me an update. The last 12 months After returning from Zimbabwe a year ago, I immediately planted a series of well-watered gardens to try growing maize using Foundations for Farming methods to see how it worked in our soil and climate. The results were really encouraging, and I went on to plant a larger area of about an…
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Fulfilling your destiny pt 4. What next?

Destiny, Equipping
BBC at CCK May 27th Before continuing with the final part of my series on Fulfilling your destiny I thought you would be interested to know that the BBC are broadcasting live from Church of Christ the King in Brighton on Pentecost Sunday morning. Those in the UK may enjoy watching or recording it. What is the application for you? In this short series I have challenged you to ‘write your history in advance' by considering where you anticipate being at various points in you life. We then looked at what a ‘calling' is before looking at the real life example of John Kpikpi as he returned from Brighton to Ghana. Now it is time to apply what we have considered in recent weeks to your own situation. Exercise 7:…
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Fulfilling your destiny pt 3. A real example

Destiny, Equipping
As I continue to help you focus on issues to consider and decisions to make in identifying and fulfilling your life's destiny I will now share with you a testimony of a good friend of mine and how he was helped in his approach to this important subject by being a member of Church of Christ the King (CCK), the Newfrontiers church in Brighton, UK. Introducing John Kpikpi John came to Brighton from Ghana to study for a PhD in zoology over 20 years ago. While at Sussex University he became an active member of CCK (called Clarendon Church in those days) and successfully completed his PhD - as well as finding a lovely wife ! On his return he planted a church ‘like CCK' in Ghana and subsequently had an apostolic…
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