THE LEAST, THE LAST & THE LOST:
Understanding poverty in the UK and the
responsibility of the local church
By Mez McConnell
Evangelical Press. 527 pages. £16.99
ISBN 978 1 783 973 286
There can be no doubt that this is a book that needed to be written and deserves to be read widely. It reminds me in some ways of Urban Harvest by Roy Joslin (also published by Evangelical Press and referenced by the author in this book); a before-its-time book on how to reach working-class communities with the gospel.
McConnell’s book is divided into four parts. Part one provides a carefully researched in-depth analysis of poverty in Britain. Part two explores what the Bible says about poverty. These two sections will be fairly familiar to most evangelical Christians, but the impact of having all the data gathered in one place is overwhelming and compelling.
Blistering critique
Part three is a blistering critique of the perceived inadequacy of the evangelical church’s approach to ministering to the poor in the UK. It is a devastating demolition job. The author suggests that some efforts at engaging with the poor can be an exercise in a tokenism that can do more harm than good. Food banks, debt counselling, short-term mission trips to deprived areas can create dependency, reduce personal responsibility and actually hinder the development of strong disciples. Not everyone will agree with all these conclusions, but it is helpful to be aware of potential limitations of some ministries of mercy.
Part four suggests an alternative proposal for the churches’ priorities in reaching the least, last and lost. This proposal puts the local church at front and centre of the whole task of reaching lost people in working-class areas, and training those who serve among them. The main examples come from the author’s work of planting churches among the housing schemes in Scotland (https://20schemes.com).
Caveats:
1. One can get the impression that the only thing the middle-class church in the UK is good for is the cash they give to support work in deprived areas.
2. Most of the examples in this book come, for obvious reasons, from the author’s own experience in Scotland. I would have been interested to hear a bit more about what it is like to be poor in a predominantly middle-class area. There are many such pockets of poverty on the South Coast where I live. There are similar issues attached to reaching these groups, and planting churches among them, that have similar but not identical issues to those faced by the author in the 20 Schemes in Scotland.
3. McConnell says that he is sometimes accused of having a ‘chip on his shoulder’. I guess that there is something wearing about being a ‘lone voice on this issue’. At times the stories of the author’s accounts of engagement with middle-class leaders presents a stereotype of him as a valiant hero fighting single-handedly against a bunch of middle-class softies. This might militate against the desire for the understanding and sacrificial partnership so eloquently called for in this book.
Something of the healthy partnership that does exist is reflected in the helpful Spotlight chapters dotted throughout the book, where a variety of different voices speak of the importance of raising the profile of gospel work in deprived areas.
4. This thought-provoking book will be wasted if it does not lead to a deeper engagement between middle-class and working-class congregations.
Some Christians like a good telling-off, that leads to the promise that lessons will be learned and priorities adjusted. Yet when it comes to it, little changes.
Jemar Tisby in his brilliant book The Color of Compromise, speaks of the need of an ARC to overcome racial disharmony: Awareness – Relationship – Commitment. A similar ARC is required if the UK church is to seriously engage with this book.
Caused to think
Mez McConnell’s book has made me think about how I can increase my awareness, develop relationships and make a meaningful commitment to works like 20 Schemes. Read the book, reflect on it and draw your own conclusions.
