Master of Transformational Development
Economics, Development & Human Flourishing
One of the biblical themes interwoven throughout this semester is the Hebrew idea of ‘shalom’ that depicts a state of holistic well-being. Studying the extent to which modern economic systems and structures contribute to a state of shalom has been a new challenge for me as I have reflected on the impact of our DME Coconut Oil Plant and the recent diplomatic switch from Taiwan to China in Solomon Islands. From the micro to the macro, it has been an interesting journey considering the impact of ‘development’ or lack of development on the well-being of communities from within my cultural context.
The Salvation Army has a long history of alleviating human suffering by demonstrating the love of Jesus Christ in practical ways. It is this mission intent that drives our social enterprise at one of our remote village churches in an endeavour to raise the standard of living and generate a sustainable income to resource our mission in the Solomon Islands. However, a quote from the reading “Reclaiming our Future: The Vision of Jubilee” has challenged the scope of my mission intentions to consider the space of shalom from another cultural perspective.
“Throughout the Torah and the economic teachings of Jesus, shalom is valued as more important to human happiness than a constantly rising standard of living” (Goudzwaard, p 183).
Remote villages have a unique rhythm of life that incorporates social and cultural values that are more centred upon maintaining a complex network of relationships than facilitating production and profitability. These relationships define daily routines, use of land and livelihood activities. To an outsider, these relationships may appear to get in the way of development when significant social and cultural events take precedence over everything else. For a task and results orientated person like me, this is something I can easily misinterpret as a cultural weakness when relationally driven disruptions compromise development initiatives. But are these ‘disruptions’ the actual point of development? Is development the servant or the master? Who defines what development looks like and its ultimate purpose? How does development promote shalom in village life? These are just some of the questions I have been pondering this semester.
I have visited a number of villages over the past three years and each time has been something of a soul-restoring experience. There is a simplicity and synergy in the rhythm of village life that reconnects you with what really matters. Yet, I find myself frustrated by the very thing that rejuvenates me. Despite the organic beauty, my cultural conditioning still sees a deficit in village life that appears to limit the development possibilities that could improve living conditions, provide education and create employment opportunities. How does one respond to such a tension? I can push harder to try and manufacture a state of shalom as a cultural outsider or I can sit with the tension long enough to discover what a state of shalom looks like for cultural insiders. I suspect this kind of relational enquiry would go a long way to answer the questions I have been pondering about the nature of development in a Solomon Islands village context. I also suspect that it may even reframe my own sense of well-being to be a little less result driven and a little more relationship orientated.
When Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10), He did so knowing what fullness of life looks like in a Kingdom culture, despite the prevailing Greco-Roman culture of His day. His sense of shalom was not defined by the dominant cultures but cast a counter-cultural vision for “a way of life that is best of all” (1 Corinthians 12:31b, NLT). Navigating the space between two cultures as Christ followers challenges us to assume a posture of humility to look beyond our own cultural ways to discover a revelation of ‘Christ in culture’ (Niebuhr 1951) to experience a deeper sense of shalom as fellow citizens of the Kingdom of God. Translating this into my role as the District Officer of The Salvation Army in the Solomon Islands invites a different approach to development. It opens the door to a mutual exploration of social enterprises and other mission endeavours that seek to find what a Kingdom-orientated fullness of life might look like in specific cultural contexts. Guiding a community towards a clear picture of a preferred reality would provide a basis for transformational development where success is measured by the degree to which it contributes to human flourishing in the village.
