Previous Post – History in Perspective
When I first began working as a missionary in an urban context in the late 90’s, it was on The Drive in Vancouver (which is Commercial Drive to the uninitiated). Given the moderate climate, there was a very active on-the-streets community among the homeless. My walk to work each day took me past 5 or 6 regular pan handlers. As a naive country boy, growing up in a forested, riverside home 10 miles from the small town (where we knew everyone), I smiled and said hello every morning. Sometimes I would give change or share my breakfast, but usually just said hello & exchanged a few words.
Again, this was not some noble character of shining through, but rather just my lack of familiarity with city life. It was only when Wind Dancer, the panhandler I came to know best, said to me:
“You’re a strange white man. Most people don’t even see me.”
I laughed as walked on, thinking he making a joke. After all, how could people literally “not see” him when he is sitting right there on the side walk, talking to them and holding up a clever sign (which might read, “Will Take Verbal Abuse For Cash”). Of course, after a few more months of living in the city, I understood what he meant: People choose to not see what they didn’t want to see.
That is what makes the title and subject of Arloa Sutter’s so fitting: “The Invisible: What the Church Can Do to Find and Serve the Least of These” (Wesleyan Publishing House). Arloa is founder and Executive Director of Breakthrough Ministries. From the publisher:
The poor are always with you; yet there are times we just can’t see them. They are the hungry. They are the thirsty. They are those within our own churches who would never acknowledge their need. How can we begin to practically seek and serve the invisible in our midst?
In this powerful book, Arloa Sutter will open your eyes. Through her own compelling stories and those of many others, she sensitively examines the hard issues of poverty through real-life examples, theological and philosophical models, and offers practical direction. With wisdom and first-hand knowledge from her own established ministry to the poor, Sutter will help you see afresh and take action to meet the needs of those not only around the world but in your own neighborhood.
Look and see the invisible like you’ve never seen them before. Then, capture God’s heart to become a part of helping those whom the world considers “the least of these,” but whom Jesus called his “brothers” (Matt. 25:40).
I was pleased to be able to interview Arloa about the book. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Jamie Arpin-Ricci: The title of your book, “The Invisible”, speaks powerfully to the experience of many people on the margins. What first opened your eyes to see “the invisible” around you?
Arloa Sutter: In my book I tell stories about my early “eye opening” experiences of seeing “the invisible”. I first began noticing people on the margins when I came to Chicago as a student. I visited people in a medicare nursing home and met Emma. I didn’t realize until Emma passed away, that I was the only person in her life and I wondered how many more, like her, were struggling alone. I talked with a homeless woman named Beatrice for a long time in a coffee shop and heard her story. I also taught Sunday School in the Dearborn projects on the south side of Chicago and experienced the sense of hopelessness there. It broke my heart and stirred me to want to take action.
JAR: Why do you think there is an increase of interest among Christians for issues of justice, such as poverty?
AS: I think the Church is beginning to understand that justice and care for the poor is pervasive throughout Scripture. People are traveling to developing countries more often and coming back with the images of poverty in their minds, stories and experiences. There has also been more attention given to issues of poverty in the media through celebrities like Oprah and Bono and show like American Idol. The younger generation of Christians is much more in touch with justice issues and passionate about taking action.
JAR: Why was writing this book so important to you? What do you hope readers will walk away with from it?
AS: I hope people who read the book will come to recognize that care for the poor is not an option but core to what it means to be a Christian and that they will become familiar with the teachings throughout Scripture about caring for the poor in dignifying ways. I hope they will see that God loves them and has a plan to use them in being the hands and feet of Christ in the broken places of our world for their own good. I want them to know that caring for the poor is an adventure, not a burden and that it is in coming alongside struggling people that they will most profoundly experience the love and power of Christ. I want them to know that there are meaningful actions they can take to make a real, lasting impact on ending poverty.
JAR: Many people who give themselves fully to share life alongside “the invisible” seem to pay a pretty high price, often under-resourced and too few in number. Why do you think this is? What can be done about it?
AS: I think the Church, in general, has become consumeristic and has lost touch with the things that Jesus illustrated in the story of the Good Samaritan as most important, to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Americans have been caught up in the American dream of owning more and more stuff and have made financial commitments that have locked up much of their resources in homes, cars rather than being taught the values of self denial and sacrifice. Many of us live in isolation from those who have been beaten down generation after generation in our inner cities and in developing countries throughout the world.
JAR: Which books/writers have been most influential to you with respect to the focus of this book?
AS: I have learned a lot from Bryant Meyers. I especially like his book “Walking with the Poor”. It is full of very helpful advice. For those just starting out I would recommend Bob Lupton’s little book, “Theirs is the Kingdom”. It is so well written and subtly provocative. I also like “Code of the Street” by Elijah Anderson. Someone who grew up on the west side of Chicago said he felt like that book deconstructed him because it gave such an accurate picture of his background.
JAR: Any future books by you on the horizon?
AS: I am working on a book about serving, about how we become fully alive when we learn what good works God prepared in advance for us to do (Eph. 2:10) and throw ourselves into service.
JAR: Tell us something about yourself that we would never know without you telling us.
AS: I am a certified scuba diver and love to camp and backpack. And most of all, I have two beautiful grandchildren who I adore!
JAR: Thanks Arloa
Buy the book today!
“The Invisible: What the Church Can Do to Find and Serve the Least of These”
