115. Poverty Alleviation and Spiritual Leadership, with Rob Gailey, author of Development in Mission

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Rob Gailey is Professor of Business and Director of the Center for International Development at Point Loma Nazarene University, as well as the co-author of Development in Mission: A Guide for Transforming Global Poverty and Ourselves.

The issue of poverty alleviation is probably one of the most challenging issues, not only for the church, but for the world in general.   As both a missionary and a business professor, Rob Gailey brings a wealth of experience and wisdom to this topic.


THIS EPISODE'S HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:

• Rob Gailey is Professor of Business and Director of the Center for International Development at Point Loma Nazarene University, as well as the co-author of Development in Mission: A Guide for Transforming Global Poverty and Ourselves.
• Rob Gailey was a missionary kid. He shares the story of encountering deep poverty, which led him to care about poverty alleviation today.
• When back in the United States with his family, Rob Gailey was considered impoverished in comparison to other Americans, but when he and his family went back to Swaziland he was considered incredibly wealthy.  That dichotomy has never left him.
• Over the past thirty years, poverty is actually going down globally.
• Rob Gailey explains what he means by transformational development, which is a holistic approach to poverty alleviation.
• It is incredibly important to listen to those whom we are trying to serve when it comes to poverty alleviation.
• Rob Gailey tells the funny and tragic story of the “gringo wall” at a mission location in Mexico—a project given to mission teams who come to serve, but aren’t willing to listen.
• Rob talks about how frequently mission teams only do busy work when they go on mission trips.
• The move of the poor from rural areas to urban areas is having a profound impact on global poverty.
• The way we vote in our own country can make an impact on global poverty.
• Rob Gailey discusses the importance of reciprocity and mutuality in the work of poverty alleviation.
• Markus Watson reflects on the importance of listening and mutuality in our local contexts, as well.
• Holistic transformation is impossible without the church.
• The church’s work of poverty alleviation needs to come from a place of deep spiritual formation so that those we serve will be drawn to Jesus Christ.

RELEVANT RESOURCES AND LINKS:

• Rob Gailey:
  • Point Loma Nazarene University Faculty page
  • LinkedIn
• Books mentioned:
  • Development in Mission: A Guide for Transforming Global Poverty and Ourselves, by Rob Gailey, Monty Lynn, and Derran Reese
  • When Helping Hurts, by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert
  • Walking with the Poor, by Bryant Myers
• Related episodes:
  • Ep 34: A Small Chu

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