Research Paper in Transformational Development

In February 2020, I commenced the first unit of the Master of Transformational Development (MTD) with Eastern College Australia. After three years of studying while serving in the Solomon Islands, I submitted my final paper at the end of April. The MTD runs for six semesters, covering subjects pertinent to international aid and development from a faith-based perspective:

1. Climate Change, Justice & Sustainability

2. Biblical Justice, Human Rights and Advocacy

3. Economics, Development and Human Flourishing

4. Doing Theology in the Context of Poverty & Injustice

5. Leadership and Organisational Development

6. Community Development

Each unit is structured with an eight-week reading period, during which you engage with an online reading cohort, a one week face-to-face intensive, and three assessment tasks, including a take home exam, minor essay and major essay (totalling 10,000 words). The major essay (6,000 words) each semester allows the student to choose a topic within the subject matter that relates specifically to their vocational context. Similarly, the final unit requires a research paper (10,000 words) addressing a key issue relating to their situation.

Throughout this course of study, I have had the privilege of studying alongside some extraordinary practitioners from a variety of sectors from around Australia, Malaysia, and Thailand, who have significantly contributed to my learning experience. The relevance of each subject matter to a Pacific context is self-evident and the Solomon Islands has provided the perfect learning environment to apply this knowledge. This has been especially true in our context of leading the growth and development of The Salvation Army in this region, with every unit being timely, relevant and insightful.

The lecturers from Eastern College Australia contributed a wealth of knowledge and expertise and were very supportive throughout the journey. I am particularly grateful to Steve Bradbury who commenced me on this journey and to Steve Bevis who took over the coordination of the MTD midway to see me through to completion.

I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to The Salvation Army Papua New Guinea & Solomon Islands Territory for endorsing my study application and to The Salvation Army Australia Territory for approving and funding this course of study. Their investment in me studying the MTD has been an investment in the expanding mission and ministry of The Salvation Army in the Solomon Islands. Finally, I want to acknowledge Ness for her unwavering support, encouragement and patience through countless hours of study and our District Team who have carried an extra load while I’ve been hidden away completing assessment tasks. In the words of Paul to the church in Philippi, “I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now” (Philippians 1:4-5).

My final assessment task was a Research Paper in Transformational Development, entitled 'Community development reimagined through the context of a Melanesian understanding and experience of ‘shalom’ at a grassroots village level.'

This paper set out to reimagine community development through the context of a Melanesian understanding and experience of ‘shalom’ at a grassroots village level by defining human flourishing and community well-being in local languages. Cultural definitions of a ‘good life’ informed a ‘Melanesian Research Methodology’ that was used to capture indigenous voices with the intention of empowering meaningful community participation in development dialogue and processes.

A review of current literature on community development highlights core principles that speak into five key insights identified by the research results, including: Deficit Mindset, Aid Dependency, Here and Now, Land is Life, and Centrality of Relationships. The discussion and application of these insights offer a critical analysis of current development processes in the Solomon Islands and suggests a more sustainable approach to transformational development in continuity with cultural aspirations for a life that is ‘stap gud’.

The research paper can be accessed and downloaded via The Salvation Army Digital Research Repository link below... 

Research Paper in Transformational Development

Spiritual Formation Journal - Chapter 6

Master of Transformational Development

Community Development

Although this semester is the final chapter in my academic ‘Master of Transformational Development’ journey at Eastern College Australia, it marks a transition in the unfolding journey of personal and professional transformation that will continue long after graduation. In continuity with Romans 12:1-2, throughout this journey I have quite literally been “transformed by the renewing of [my] mind,” spiritually, culturally, and intellectually, which has affirmed “God’s good, pleasing and perfect will” through my calling as a Salvation Army Officer to serve in a cross-cultural context and awakened within me a deeper self-awareness and sense of God’s providence in this space. The application of this transformative journey to my mission and ministry over the past three years cannot be overstated, as it has contributed significantly to the growth and development of The Salvation Army in the Solomon Islands.

As I embark on my research paper for this final subject – ‘Community Development’ – I am aware that development is also an ongoing process of transformation towards a preferred or desired state of well-being. Unfortunately, in much of the western world, a state of well-being has become defined by the pursuit of more at the detriment of the symbiotic relationships that sustain us. In contrast, the process of framing my research topic within a Melanesian understanding of ‘shalom’ has revealed that community well-being in a Pacific context has more to do with maintaining right relationships than accumulating wealth or establishing programs and projects. The richness of the term ‘shalom’ is captured well by the Melanesian terms ‘gutpela sindaun’ (PNG) and ‘stap gud’ (SI), describing fullness of life, no conflict or division, peaceful existence, love and joy in community (community well-being), holistic well-being. It is noteworthy, the lack of material wealth or modernisation expressed by these definitions. It is going to be a fascinating journey of discovery to explore how these cultural definitions influence village aspirations for development at a grassroots level and how this compares or contrasts with national and foreign development agendas.

It is the relational dimension of well-being that has spoken into my journey of personal transformation throughout this course of study while leading the growth and development of The Salvation Army in the Solomon Islands. Reflecting back on an Executive Leadership Development Program I completed a number of years ago, I recall an assessment of leadership blind spots, identifying that the gap between my stimulus and response to be very quick, which can be a real asset leading in a crisis. However, it can be somewhat of a barrier in facilitating local participation and teamwork in any leadership or community development context, which requires much more attention to the process than results. Process is the space where relationships are nurtured or neglected! It doesn’t matter how much material benefit community development promises if it doesn’t nurture holistic relationships within and between communities, with the environment and with the Creator. As a product of a results-driven culture, with a task-oriented personality and a default disposition towards problem solving, lingering too long in the messiness of process is not my natural or preferred leadership habitat. However, I find myself as an unwitting actor in some divine comedy frequently dwelling in this space in my current vocational context. And when that space creates what I consider to be unnecessary drama, I also find myself trying to change the script. Yet, it is in the state of process that a mutual transformation is actually taking place. With a growing self-awareness and appreciation for the value of process, along with the intrinsic and inviolable nature of relationships for human flourishing and community development, I am becoming a much more willing actor in the ‘dramedy’. Though, I must confess that this is very much a work in progress!

It is no mistake, then, that Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) “stresses a ‘relationship driven’ strategy that works on building and rebuilding relationships within and among community groups” (Kretzmann & McKnight, 1993). This strategy is foundational to my research methodology and is reshaping the way I evaluate and manage existing mission development projects initiated by The Salvation Army. I am looking forward to how the results of my research will inform the process of future community engagement in villages where we are nurturing mission and ministry partnerships.

“In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:4-6)

Spiritual Formation Journal - Chapter 3

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.