07. Helping, Hurting, and Questioning the American Dream with Dr. Brian Fikkert

Ethical Evangelism

Feb 13

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Overview

Brian and Lauren discuss what has changed in missional movements since publishing his monumental book, When Helping Hurts. The two have a riveting conversation about economic structures, how financial capital can work against mental health, and how the Western world can learn some of its best lessons from the Majority World. In this episode, you will be challenged to think about how globalizing capitalism can come at a cost to communal societies.

“The greatest story ever is God’s redeeming story, and it’s bursting forth into this world, and ushering in a new creation.”

“You can’t build community out of a story that says: It’s all about you, and you consuming more. That story doesn’t work.”

“We are trampling over some of the best features of the Global South and we’re destroying community, and that destruction of community is what’s ruining Western civilization, it’s gonna ruin these folks as well.”

Guest Bio

Dr. Brian Fikkert is the founder and executive director of the Chalmers Center for Economic Development, a research and training center that is dedicated to helping churches and missionaries to declare the kingdom of God by bringing economic development and spiritual transformation to the poor.

Brian also serves as a professor of economics and community development at Covenant College. Brian received a Ph.D. in economics with highest honors from Yale University, and a B.A. in mathematics from Dordt College. Specializing in Economic Development and International Economics, Brian has been a consultant to the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the United States Agency for International Development.

He has published articles in both leading academic and popular journals and has recently co-authored the book When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty without Hurting the Poor…and Yourself (Moody Publishers). Prior to coming to Covenant College, he was a professor at the University of Maryland and a research fellow at the Center for Institutional Reform and the Informal Sector.

He, his wife Jill, and their three children live in Chattanooga, Tennessee where he is an active member of New City Fellowship Presbyterian Church (PCA).

Episode Highlights