Serving God Globally: Finding Your Place in International Development

Roland Hoksbergen, a longtime professor of Economics and international development at Calvin, lays out a theological framework for development work, an overview of the various academic perspectives on development, and finally a how to guide for young people looking to find their way in the field. I can't quite remember where I heard about this book (it might have been an Amazon suggestion based on my interests, darn big tech), but while I haven't settled on something by any means, some of my interests seem to be converging in this area. While it may be geared towards undergraduate students, I still found it an interesting and helpful read. To start, Hoksbergen lays out a very reformed theological justification for engaging in development work. In books like these (that often start with a Christian justification for justice based work; e.g., The Hole in Our Gospel, When Helping Hurts, The Locust Effect), the theological persuasion of the author typically shows, but they more or less seem to land in the same place. Eternal souls matter and so does temporal flourishing. That is all part of one big picture that flows from our role as partaking in the ministry of reconciliation. With theological roots in exactly the tradition Hoksbergen is writing from, it was very easy to follow his argument. I can discuss creation, fall, redemption, and restoration in my sleep, and was happy to see how this came together for this particular issue. While I have come to some different conclusions than the CRC teachings overall (ecclesiology, baptism, evangelism), I still dearly love this church and the tradition it is rooted in. One of Hoksbergen's analogies was particularly illustrative. Creation started as a perfect smooth wheel. As humans have partaken in the creation process and expanded the size of that wheel, the effects of sin have marred it and led to large dents that hinder the ability of the wheel (society) to work as it should. The spokes of the wheel represent different aspects of our world that impact how we live (spiritual, civil society, economic, governance, environment, social relations, education) and shows how development work ought to entail redeeming each of these areas so that we can work towards a smooth wheel once again (agents of redemption). Another interesting section was a comparison of contributions and limitations of four Christian traditions. The Roman Catholic Church pivoted in the late nineteenth century towards social action and a preferential care for the poor, after centuries of playing power politics. The Reformed tradition has emphasized holistic development rooted in the need for restored shalom amongst the broken creation. The Mennonites have been willing to work outside of power structures to advocate for peace and service, modeling Christlike lives while leveling with the least of these. Evangelicals have ensured that evangelism is never left out of development work, even while showing the love of Christ in temporal ways as well, and emphasized the importance of the local church in development work. Different academic views of development are considered, and this brought me back to the development course I took with professor Mahoney at NU, which I look back on as one of my favorites. Hoksbergen covers Modernization Theory (let markets work and allow poor countries to learn from the successes of rich ones), Dependency Theory (rooted in a Marxist worldview, focuses on power structures and organizing to empower oppressed people to stand up for themselves against unjust structures), Postdevelopment Theory (development is rooted in an implicit assumption that the global North has something desirable that the south actually needs; this view challenges that and contends cultures should be left alone to work out their problems for themselves, deciding what are in fact problems and using indigenous approaches to solving them), and Capabilities Theory (seeks to balance respect for local cultures and values, and finding ways to share the technologies and systems that have led to flourishing in other places; give people the capabilities to thrive and let them make their own decisions with it). Hoksbergen examines the beliefs and assumptions that underlie each approach, and then presents a distinctly Christian outlook on development, with principles I might sum up with, everyone is called to a humble and holistic journey of transformation rooted in relationships and for God's glory. The "how to" section focuses on practical guides to networking, selecting courses of study, finding programs and fellowships, and deciding whether to specialize or work as a generalist. One avenue I found strikingly missing from this, was an interaction with security. On a personal level, individuals need safety from violence, and someone must be working towards that in ways prototypical development workers cannot. On a higher level, development work must work so closely with the military and diplomatic worlds that I was surprised Hoksbergen paid no mention of them. I wonder if he knows what Civil Affairs is, and how much we learn about development and interact with NGOs and aid agencies in the field? I won't bother anyone reading this with all of my thoughts on career implications and plans, but will say that if this is an area you are interested in, this book will give you a lot to think about perhaps point you in a new direction!

This is a great book!!!

I found Serving God Globally completely by chance (it was the only copy at a discount book store, buried in the stacks). I had never heard of it, but I broke my rule of only buying books that were already on my list because it sounded quite interesting, and I saw a few names I recognized on the back cover. I started reading it over a year ago, and as happens with many books that I start reading, I got sidetracked with all of the other amazing books on my shelf. It's not that the content wasn't good--it's that I would read 10 books at a time if I could (please let me know if you figure out the osmosis trick). The last couple of months have put me at a bit of a career crossroads, and the timing was perfect for me to pick it back up. It's written to an audience of college students interested in pursuing a career in development, but the majority of it was still relevant to me, a hopeful career-changer. Along with his own extensive experience, Dr. Hoksbergen draws on the experience and writing of almost 60 others in order to demonstrate the wide array of paths and possibilities within the field of development. He lays the groundwork by concisely explaining four major development theories, and then adds a Christian perspective (including a bit of history from 4 Christian traditions). He continues on with more theory with some important principles for Christians in development, and in the second half of the book, he gets very practical. The most helpful chapter for me as I consider making a career change was Chapter 7: "The Early Years After College." I am not in my early years after college, but I have several options as I move forward in the next couple of years, and this chapter was helpful in discussing some of the pros and cons of each option. Another helpful feature were the reflection questions at the end of each chapter--they could be used for group discussion or individual journaling. Of course, he also provides plenty of end notes and resources, which could keep me reading for the next year or more. In the preface to the book, Dr. Hoksbergen talks briefly about someone whose story he would explore more in later chapters. He describes the younger version of this person, recently graduated from college, as someone "with a global vision but no clear sense of how to put that into practice." That is exactly a description of myself at the present moment, and it's what I sought to explore by reading this book. I don't have that clear vision just yet, but I have a lot more tools, knowledge, and things to reflect upon than I did before. After reading Serving God Globally in its entirety, I'm surprised it hasn't gotten more attention and become more well-known. If you are in college or have just graduated and you're even remotely considering a career in development, this is a must read. Or if you're like me and considering a career change, this may be a very helpful book in exploring your options.