After World War II, European nations, Japan, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States mushroomed into technologically sophisticated societies. At the same time, however, a new spirit of nationalism was growing within the colonies of Britain, Spain, the Netherlands and France. Many new nations were born, some taking their zeal for independence from the very nations that had controlled them. But these new countries had minimal financial and technical resources at their disposal. No matter how hard they tried to catch up, advanced nations surged ahead at an accelerating rate. By 1961, the gap between what was called developed nations and underdeveloped nations had grown wider than before the war. Recognizing that polarization between the rich and poor countries was growing more intense, the United Nations issued a declaration:
"On December 19, 1961, the United Nations designated the period of the 1960s as the Development Decade, an era of unprecedented activity designed to reverse the process which widened the gap between the rich and poor nations. The need was recognized, plans were made and activities started ... "
Between 1961 and 1970, rich and poor nations across the globe still grew further apart, and as the world witnessed political, social and economic upheaval, the Church heard the voices of underprivileged people cry out for justice. How should the Church respond?
It seemed that massive foreign aid programs administered by governmental or ecumenical agencies could lower the rising incidence of death and disease but could not reverse the process of degeneration in underdeveloped countries. In addition, the kinds of ministries in which the United Presbyterian Church was then engaged were not capable of totally responding to that cry.
Nevertheless, the Church's history of mission showed that for the past 150 years, various governing bodies and their agencies had often interpreted Christ's commands to teach, to preach and to heal through developmental ministries, which emphasized an individual's moral right to fulfill his or her own potential. The concept of self-development was as old as the Church itself. It simply needed to be brought to the forefront and applied to the modern dilemma.
The Church interpreted "power" as the ability to control one's destiny. But the forces which alienated rich nations from poor ones worked within advanced countries as well. The concept of a self-made person, choosing his or her own path, was vital to the Church, but as a social reality seemed little more than a dream.
Why? In technologically sophisticated societies, the ability to take the reins of one's life into one's own hands was too often inhibited by a tyranny of poverty and discrimination, a tyranny which was theologically no more acceptable to the Church than that of despotic governments. It was morally demeaning for Christians to stand by and watch millions travel down the road to despair.
In a period of great insight and inspiration, the 1970 General Assembly launched a project that strongly recognized this fact of ecclesiastical reality. In order to get the program started, the Board of National Missions provided $1,250,000 to implement the work of the National Committee on the Self-Development of People, until monies would be coming in from the One Great Hour of Sharing offering. |
