A Christian Decision? Cease Aiding Refugees to Assist the Well-Off

In the News
Mark Sheerin used to work in Third World countries for World Vision, which describes itself as "a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice." One of his projects with World Vision was aimed at rehabilitating children and women who'd been victims of human trafficking and child labor.
He now works for a financial planning and wealth management firm in Atlanta, Georgia -- Sherrill & Hutchins -- where as chief operations officer and part owner, he oversees business management for the company and implementation of client portfolios.
Sheerin is a professing Christian, and he freely admits that the distance between his former work and his current employment "seems unbridgeable some days." Other days, however, "the two worlds look more similar than I imagined," he says.
In an article by Sheerin published last week in Christianity Today, he argues that that similarity is in the task of "creating redemptive spaces in a fallen and tangled world."
"If poverty is understood in terms of social constructs rather than economic ones, the playing field levels between the refugee and the investment banker," Sheerin explains.
Sheerin says that a sermon from his hometown pastor based on Jeremiah 29 helped him make the decision about the transition. In that chapter, God, through Jeremiah, tells the Jewish exiles how they should relate to the Babylonian culture in which they were forced to live. They were not to withdraw and reject the culture, but were to "seek the peace and prosperity of the city ... if it prospers, you  too will prosper." Applying this to himself, Sheerin writes, "Rather than keeping myself separated vocationally, here was a call to bind oneself to the lost in this world and to seek their holiness and prosperity."
Expanding on that, Sheerin says, "For my own life, it meant leaving explicitly Christian ministry and seeking the well-being of Atlanta by lashing myself to the mast of this city's ship. If I am to care about myself, I must by necessity also care about my colleagues, clients and the city in which I live."
Sheerin argues that the historic revivalist message of Christianity, which proclaimed the "urgency of salvation" had the "side effect of creating a message that was less comprehensive than what Jesus proclaimed."
"Jesus did not come to call the truly faithful to the mission field, the less faithful to the pastorate and the barely faithful to finance," Sheerin says.
Sheerin also cites Jesus' "mission statement" in Luke 4:18-19, and says, "Jesus came to earth not just to patch up a relationship between mankind and an offended Father, but to radically reconcile all things to himself. He came to bring redemption to institutions and individuals, to the realms of justice and law, to education and child-rearing, to farms, to cities, to finance -- to everything. Jesus came to undo the shattered world in which man stands alone and isolated," Sheerin adds.
"Believing that finance and feeding starving children both amount to good work in God's eyes still challenges me on my best days," Sheerin says. "But then I remember Jesus' mission to conquer sin and its effects in all its forms and in every place. Fighting against economic injustice through World Vision or through a financial planning firm are both mandated by God. Both tasks are valuable, both tasks seek redemption of broken systems and fallen people. Instead of digging wells, my firm walks with widows through the jungle of probate. Instead of sponsoring children, my firm partners with families through difficult, end-of-life decisions," Sheerin says.
He adds, "I now have a theology of place. I now work where I live where I worship. My job allows me to see and to seek God's restoration and un-breaking of the fall in the city where I live."
More on this story can be found at these links:
Why I Left World Vision for Finance. Christianity Today
World Vision
Sherrill & Hutchins Financial Advisory, Inc. (Click on the Mark Sheerin photo)
The Big Questions
1. Is Sheerin right? Can assisting the well-off with financial management be as much of a ministry as aiding impoverished refugees? What do you make of his statement that "Jesus did not come to call the truly faithful to the mission field, the less faithful to the pastorate and the barely faithful to finance"?
2. Bearing in mind that there are no explicit ministry aspects to Sheerin's current work in the wealth management field, in what ways can his work there be a fulfilling of his call to follow Jesus? In what ways do you see your employment as a fulfilling of your call to follow Jesus?
3. Sheerin speaks of "creating redemptive spaces" in both worlds in which he has worked. "Redemptive spaces" sounds like jargon. What do you think Sheerin means by the term? Could it be "redemptive situations in which people find themselves"? Could it be "sharing the good news of salvation"? Sheerin elaborates on redemptive spaces, saying, "... I remember Jesus' mission to conquer sin and its effects in all its forms and in every place. Fighting against economic injustice through World Vision or through a financial planning firm are both mandated by God. Both tasks are valuable, both tasks seek redemption of broken systems and fallen people." What might be an example of where redemption ought to be sought where you work?
4. When have you attempted to convince yourself that your choices are God's will because they are the thing you really wanted to do? Do you find that God pushes you toward difficult tasks? How does God confirm that you're right to pursue the work you're doing?
5. Sheerin's current work is likely to be more rewarding in terms of his personal income than was his former work, since the people he serves voluntarily pay him in the belief that his services have value. Does this affect the ministry aspect and the spiritual value of his service? Why or why not? Does the fact that a pastor of a large congregation often gets paid more than the pastor of a smaller congregation affect the spiritual value of that pastor's work?
Confronting the News With Scripture and Hope
Here are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:
Jeremiah 29:7
But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. (For context, read 29:1-14.)
We have cited this verse in several previous installments of TWW as it is appropriate to many topics related to living out one's faith. We're using it again here because it's a verse Sheerin specifically mentioned as supporting his decision to work in finance instead of in international aid.
The verse is from a letter the prophet Jeremiah wrote to the people of Judah shortly after they were exiled in Babylon, telling them that the exile would last a long time and that they should not only resign themselves to a long stay, but should actively seek the welfare of the land where they had been taken. They were actually to work for the good of Babylon. They were not to forget who they were or where they came from, but neither were they to think of themselves merely as short-term visitors with no stake in the well-being of Babylon.
Questions: Jeremiah's text was addressed to an oppressed, captive people who were strangers in a strange land. Is applying it in Sheerin's case a proper use of the text?
Should we pray for people in the financial industry and for those who use its services? If so, what should we pray regarding those folks? Should be pray for those who criticize or denigrate those in the financial industry or who use its services? If so, what should we pray regarding those folks? If we find ourselves in any of these categories, what should we pray concerning ourselves?
Nehemiah 5:14-15
Moreover from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the food allowance of the governor. The former governors who were before me laid heavy burdens on the people, and took food and wine from them, besides forty shekels of silver. Even their servants lorded it over the people. But I did not do so, because of the fear of God. (For context, read 5:14-19.)
Nehemiah has a respected place in the history of Israel, and is seen as one who did the Lord's will. He was not primarily a spiritual leader, however, but a civic one. It was he who instigated and oversaw the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem after the Jewish exiles were allowed to return home.
Judah was no longer an independent state, but was now a district of the Persian Empire. Nehemiah was a Jew who'd been appointed governor of Judah by the Persian king, so his appointment was technically a secular one. But note how Nehemiah's faith ("the fear of God") influenced how he behaved in office. Unlike previous governors, he not only didn't use the food allowance granted by his office (which would have to be collected from the people), but he even regularly fed 150 people at his own expense (v. 17).
Question: Would you say that this was a "ministry" of Nehemiah, an example of how a disciple of God should behave when rooted in "secular" work? If not, what would you label it? What sort of opportunities are available in your line of work where you can be in ministry?
Luke 4:17-18
He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor, He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free ..." (For context, read 4:16-30.)
This is the other text Sheerin specifically mentioned. Soon after Jesus "went public," he announced the tone for his ministry by reading from the book of Isaiah in his hometown synagogue. Invited to be the reader that morning, he turned to Isaiah 61:1-2, and read. No problem with that. But then he electrified the congregation by adding, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing" (v. 21). In other words, Jesus was saying that his work was to bring the good news that included proclamation of "release to the captives."
Questions: Since Jesus did not go on in his ministry to challenge the institution of slavery, some might want to argue that he was referring more to those who were spiritually enslaved to sin, but some of his followers ever since have understood his words as a call to confront and end all forms of oppression. How might Jesus' words apply to you where you work?
Do you think the passages of Scripture Sheerin cited from Jeremiah 29 and Luke 4 support his conclusion that his vocation is to create "redemptive spaces in a fallen and tangled world," and especially in the financial industry? Why or why not?
Matthew 19:23-24
Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." (For context, read 19:16-30.)
This sort of comment from Jesus and other biblical writers has led some to think that one cannot be wealthy and be faithful to God, and it probably contributes to the idea that the financial industry cannot be a place where God is served. But that is not what Jesus was saying. He was talking about how wealth can be a stumbling block or barrier on the road of faithfulness, but he was not saying one cannot be financially well-off and still serve God.
Question: On what basis is it possible for anyone -- rich or poor -- to enter the kingdom of God?
Respond to this, from a TWW team member: "It is evident that there are rich people in the New Testament. Each house church has a rich homeowner at the head. Mary of Magdala is a rich person. Lydia is a rich person. But James does not say in his letter to make sure you look after the rich people so they don't have to suffer any more than they already do. Jesus does not say, 'Blessed are the rich for they shall have loads of cash.'"
Colossians 1:19-20
For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross. (For context, read 1:15-20.)
The words in Colossians 1:15-20 are probably the lyrics of an early Christian hymn that Paul is citing in support of his claims about Jesus as the Son of God. In the two verses quoted above, the hymn says that through Jesus, "God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things." Sheerin did not quote these verses, but he seems to be alluding to them when he said, "Jesus came to earth not just to patch up a relationship between mankind and an offended Father, but to radically reconcile all things to himself."
"All things," we suspect, means "all things." That is, even the institutions that we don't normally think of as spiritual realms, such as business, finance, politics, industry and more, are subject to the redemption Christ brings. And how does he do that? Perhaps through those faithful to him working in such arenas.
Questions: What does it mean to be reconciled to Christ? Regarding Christ's reconciling work, who benefits?
For Further Discussion
1. It's likely that the two main categories of reactions to the Sheerin article will be:
- How could he? He's just rationalizing and avoiding his calling.
- What's the big deal? God calls people to different vocations at different times, and there's no reason to believe this is any different.
Ask a class members to take the first position and another class member to take the second and have them debate Sheerin's decision. Then invite the rest of the class to comment on the issues raised by the debaters.
2. Regarding how ministry happens through one's employment, one TWW team member commented, "During the past year, the manager of the local Walmart has probably helped more poor people than the manager of the local soup kitchen." What do you understand that to mean? How does that relate to ministry and vocation?
3. From a spiritual standpoint, which is more of a ministry: assisting those who likely know they need help or assisting those who may have no idea they need help?
4. Under what circumstances are nonprofit groups the better way to address major human problems? Under what circumstances are for-profit groups the better way?
Responding to the News
If you've been thinking of your employment as "just a job" or "just a way to earn a living," this could be a good time to consider how it could also be a place where you help to create "redemptive spaces."

Closing Prayer
Show us, O Lord, how we can be your people in our workplaces. In Jesus' name. Amen.