Surviving Service: Effective Response to God's Call for Justice

By Stefanie Potter

- Find your niche for helping people in need.
- Wisely pursue social justice, avoiding common pitfalls and misconceptions.
- Increase your effectiveness in missions at home and abroad.
- Grow your endurance in serving.

Stefanie Potter (LMSW, BA Religion/Philosophy) uses her experiences in social work, missions, and ministry to equip Christians who are passionate about helping people through missions or social justice work/volunteering. Stefanie has experience serving youth, refugees, impoverished/homeless communities, and abuse survivors.

“This is a refreshing book and a tool that I would offer!” - Sarah Grice, Northeastern Seminary graduate

“It’s easy to understand, biblically grounded, and yet so personal. Stefanie’s heart and life experiences are used fluidly
to teach the lessons.” - Whitney Scoville, LMSW

“Real and personable, balanced with wisdom and knowledge.
This book will be so helpful for so many people!” - Jenni Olowo, Church Missions Administrator and Nigerian missions leader

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Mar 20, 2016
• ISBN: 9781329966864

Book preview

Surviving Service: Effective Response to God's Call for Justice

Surviving Service: Effective Response to God’s Call for Justice

Stefanie Potter, LMSW

Copyright

© 2015 by Stefanie Potter

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

First Printing: 2015

ISBN 978-1-329-96686-4

Published by Stefanie Potter

Charleston, SC

www.stefaniepotter.com

Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®, Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.TM Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

Ordering Information:

Special discounts are available on quantity purchases. Please contact the publisher at [e-mail] or call 843-900-SONG(7664).

Dedication

Dedicated to Christopher.

Thank you for supporting me, willingly making sacrifices, demonstrating selfless service, and trusting God as I live out my crazy dreams and take the road less travelled in so many areas. You’re my beloved and my best friend.

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to my dream team of reviewers and editors for believing in me and what God can do through this book. Thank you for giving your time, edits, wise insights, and encouragement, so I could do this with excellence. This book is much better than my first draft because of you. I respect and love all of you!

Whitney Scoville, Licensed Master Social Worker

JenniOlowo, Church Missions Administrator and Nigerian missions leader

Sarah L. Grice, Northeastern Seminary graduate

Penelope Crompton, my amazing mother-in-law and mission trip leader

Chris Potter, my dear husband and fellow missions volunteer

Thank you to my family for supporting and encouraging me through all my adventures and projects.

Thank you to my parents and grandparents, who consistently demonstrate sacrificial love, deep caring, and hard work.

In memory of Papa and his consistent attitude of if someone else can do it, so can I. I am grateful for such inspiration to do things like this.

Preface

My heart has always been to use what I learn in social work to equip the Church in missions, ministry, and the call to social justice. In 2014, Fellowship Church in Bryan, Texas asked me to co-lead a social justice workshop at a women’s retreat. While leading this workshop, I saw the need for people with the right heart to be equipped in what they want to do to make a difference in the world. This inspired the writing of this book.

I look around the world and wonder: Is the Body of Christ fully living out its call to be the hands and feet of Christ? I am proud to say that Christ-followers are out there making a big difference in the world. But, I also see that not every Christian is acting on God’s call to seek justice. There seems to be three main reasons: not knowing the related Scripture, not trying to apply the related Scripture (out of selfish ambition or carelessness), or not knowing how to apply the related Scripture.

I think the Church has done a great job of inspiring people to act. But they haven’t always followed through on fully educating those who are ready. I attended countless social justice workshops as a teenager and young twenty-something that got me fired up to help. But they gave limited calls to action, such as: give money to this organization and spread the awareness of this problem. Awareness is a great start, but if people walk away without the tools to do anything, change won’t happen. Plus, as a poor college student (or one still paying my loans many years later), I left these workshops feeling like I couldn’t make much of a difference beyond the five dollars I happened to have in my pocket at the time.

Back then all I had was a dream of changing the world and a growing hope that God could actually work through me. After I dedicated my life to Christ, God grew in me a heart that wanted to serve others. I heard more and more about the suffering of people around the world and thought: that could be me… or my sister… or my friend. I wanted to stop being selfish and start taking God’s calling to follow Christ more seriously; I wanted to get outside of my own small-town world to make a difference out there. But besides having no idea where to start, I was terrified I’d make things worse by saying or doing the wrong things.

I am a singer-songwriter who fills my lyrics with topics about hope, justice, and compassion. I want my music to inspire people to rise up. I wrote this book to take you beyond inspiration, into action! I want to equip you, child of God, to respond effectively to God’s call on your life to promote justice for the poor and oppressed. We’re family, so we’re a team!

Notes

Perspective

This book assumes that the readers have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior, and therefore want to follow the standards set by God, as revealed through the Bible, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

If this does not describe you…

You are still welcome to read and engage with the book, keeping in mind my worldview.

I encourage you to look into Christianity, read the Bible, talk to God about it, and seek guidance from a Christian Minister and a local church. It is a life-changing decision that affects now, the future, and eternity.

Here is a brief description of what I mean by accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior: When God created the world, it was good, and people had a close relationship with Him. God put us in charge of caring for and developing the world, but we chose to disobey God and do things wrong. As a result, the world is messed up and we do not have a close relationship with God. Humanity has chosen to do things our way (selfish and wrong) instead of God’s way. The natural consequence of choosing our way is death: physically dying and being separated from God (and therefore any goodness) forever. Thankfully, God sent His son, Jesus, to accept that consequence on our behalf. After dying to pay the price for our disobedience, Jesus came back to life, conquering death forever. Those that trust what Jesus did for us will not have to pay for their wrongdoing, but will live forever in a spiritual body, with God (despite the physical body dying). They are considered part of God’s family, and God’s Spirit comes to live inside of them. God’s family enjoys a close relationship with God and trusts Him. God’s family chooses to do what is right in His eyes, joining Him in making the world right again.

Many people have strong opinions about helping people: who is responsible for it, how it should be done, etc. Opposing political perspectives can play into any discussion, and cause heated debates. When learning from people or discussing problems, it is good to explore their deeper assumptions behind what they’resaying. The most important thing to me is figuring out what God has to say about an issue, and how I can live accordingly. Scriptures can be interpreted differently (or misinterpreted), so it’s important to research controversial subjects (a variety of Bible commentaries help), and know that only God can claim to know the absolute truth about everything. Join me in constantly exploring, learning, and growing!

Language use for easier reading

I use pseudonyms and fictitious people in this book. For any given name, any resemblance to someone’s situation is purely coincidental. It is not meant to refer to any particular person with that name.

I use feminine nouns and pronouns instead of saying him or her, etc. when the person in that situation could be either male or female. I use masculine pronouns for God, reflecting Scripture’s and general society’s pronoun use for God.

I give labels to people such as survivors, victims, ex- convicts, beggar, impoverished, homeless, etc. I chose to do so to simply the reading of this book. I actually prefer to refer to those in need as people who have experienced… or something similar. This keeps their humanity in the forefront, so we think of them as whole people rather than a charity case. It also serves to not allow their experiences to define all of who they are. It frees people to be themselves, integrating all parts of who they are and what they’ve experienced.

Endnotes and References

I used some endnotes for further explanations, definitions, and references. I recommend reading the definitions and further explanations in the endnotes to develop understanding.

Although I include some information I garnered from academic study and my professional work, this book is not intended to be academic or professional in nature. The intention is to give a perspective on what I’ve found to be helpful approaches to my work and ministries. I write to empower and equip the average person, so she can confidently help the people she encounters in her communities or mission work. My anecdotal evidence is not given as professional advice, but as a small part in guiding readers in the right direction. I assume no liability for results obtained, or loss or damage incurred, as a result of application of any data or information presented herein.

I’ve included some theories, references, and links for further research. This neither indicates that I’m endorsing any of these in particular, nor that I totally agree with everything they state. They are simply places and ideas I’ve found in my research.

All Scripture references will be quoted from the New International Version. Even if you’ve read these passages before, I recommend that you read them again in the context of this book. You never know what the Lord may want to show you this time!

Any photos included are owned by me or used by permission, and fall under applicable copyright laws.

Introduction: My Story

Like many middle-class suburban-American kids of the ‘80s and ‘90s, the only thing I knew about poverty was the starving children in Africa my mom reminded me of to guilt trip me into finishing my dinner. (To which I’d always reply, go ahead and send it to them!). I knew I was supposed to be thankful for what we had, but I didn’t care much other than that.

I first became interested in social justice as a ministry major in college. As I studied the Scriptures in-depth, I felt drawn to the countless passages where God expresses His heart of compassion for the poor and oppressed.

A friend told me that the one experience I should have in college is to go on a mission trip. I took her advice and went on a mission trip to Roatán, Honduras. Roatán is a mile-wide island in the Caribbean that shows a stark contrast in lifestyles. One half of the island is filled with rich tourists and fake luxury. The other half is filled with locals living in poverty and natural beauty.

I became the first person in my family to visit the developing world.

Like mission trips tend to do, visiting Roatán opened my eyes to how most of the world lives. I saw orphans with nothing but a bed and a chair at the dinner table. I saw shoeless kids hoarding the stickers we gave out. But I also experienced passionate party-like worship, kids who gave love freely and had no personal space inhibitions, and an AIDS clinic where nurses worked tirelessly to bring hope to the afflicted. One shop owner I chatted with said, I like when the Christians come; they come to help the people. I decided then that I want Christians to leave that good impression wherever we go.

Helping others felt so good that I got addicted to these experiences, participating in or leading disaster relief, home repair, and other mission trips around the US as much as possible.

A year after college, I joined my boyfriend (now husband) on a trip with his church to the Haitian outcasts of the Dominican Republic. This trip rocked my world. The Dominican Republic (DR) is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, second only to Haiti (its only neighbor on the Caribbean island called Hispaniola). Haiti is in such bad condition that Dominican headhunters persuade Haitians to come work in their sugar cane fields, giving promises of a better life. Life on the bateys, however, is not