Dignity Discovered through Threshold Concepts
I did not find the topic of threshold concepts particularly exciting, certainly not one I would study by choice, but I understood the idea. After numerous starts and stops, and with a bit of prayer and coaching from my spouse, I opted to illustrate my notion of concept thresholds as it applies to social services, particularly food pantries.
In Oklahoma, where I live, the poverty level is above the national average, ranking 8th highest (Shrider and Cremer 2023), which stems from and fuels numerous related challenges. My work in that space was the provision of food assistance for our most vulnerable neighbors. As a fundraiser, I performed my duties to build relationships, share inspiring stories, and invite people into our mission of feeding people. I was comfortable using the organization’s talking points because, as a well-respected and high-performing nonprofit, I trusted their research and operations experience. It was a very surface way of operating, which was my threshold barrier.
Materially poor people often feel a deep sense of shame. They feel powerless, unheard, and depressed at the inability to change their circumstances. Too often, these painful feelings are compounded by Christians misbehaving, which drives them away from faith. The troublesome knowledge came after reading When Helping Hurts by Dr. Brian Fikkert, who said, “Instead of seeing themselves as being created in the image of God, low-income people often feel they are inferior to others. This can paralyze the poor from taking initiative and from seizing opportunities to improve their situation, thereby locking them into material poverty.” (Corbett and Fikkert 2009). While providing food to people in need is indeed a short-term fix, I began to wonder if we were truly helping them or if there were unintended consequences that we were unaware of. I became concerned about sustainability and human dignity as I reconsidered our food distribution systems.
After talking with a friend, he recommended a book by former think tank president and policy expert Arthur C. Brooks called The Conservative Heart: How to Build a Happier and More Prosperous America. In it, Brooks describes four moral principles: people are assets, not liabilities; work is a blessing, not punishment; values matter most in lifting people up; and help is important, but hope is essential (Brooks 2017). Here it was! This threshold concept helped me recognize the differences and interconnectedness between material poverty and spiritual poverty.
Jesus spoke to me through two very direct and affirming experiences in the liminal space of meditating on the discovery. The first involved a brief exchange with an unhoused gentleman. At an outdoor fundraiser for my employer, I saw a man riding his bike down the street. Without much thought, I grabbed a donut and held my arm out for him to “grab and go” as he rode by. But instead, he stopped and motioned to me to wait. He searched the satchel attached to his bike and pulled out a simple fingernail file. Handing it to me with a nod, I understood the Holy Spirit telling my heart, “This is dignity.” He may not have had money to pay for a donut, but exchanging a fingernail file was his way of holding up his purpose to society. Harvard Professor David Perkins describes this as action poetry (Meyer and Land 2006).
The second experience was an unexpected encounter with Father Sebastian Vazhakala in Rome. After working alongside Mother Teresa for over 30 years through her nonprofit, Missionaries of Charity, Father Sebastian developed Missionaries of Charity: Contemplative Brotherhood, enabling priests to do similar work. During our 30-minute conversation at his kitchen table in a homeless shelter, he shared, “You can feed people, shelter them, and even give them a place to rest each night. But unless you address their spiritual poverty, none of those things you teach them will stick” (Fr. Vazhakala, Personal Communication, November 2021). In other words, unless you help people find dignity in a higher power, Christian or otherwise, the everyday life skills learned won’t stick because they won’t hold the core value of dignity, what people ultimately seek. They want to be loved, respected, and have a purpose on this earth.
Learning is a continuous cycle. Getting too comfortable living with a surface perspective is easy until a barrier is identified. A curious person would seek to address troubling knowledge, leading to a breakthrough – the threshold concept, followed by rest in liminal space. And soon, the cycle repeats.
About the Author
Jennifer Eckert
Fundraising director, people connector, believer in second chances, fights poverty, supports justice reform, lives a life integrated with Matthew 25.18 responses to “Dignity Discovered through Threshold Concepts”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Jennifer,
I enjoyed reading your post. Partly, because Chris and I volunteered with an organization in Los Angeles, years ago, that housed and helped women with basic needs (food, clothing, healthcare and mental health) — the Downtown Women’s Center.
I was also reminded of a dissertation I just finished editing. I encourage you to look for her paper online once she defends and it gets published. Her name is Marci Jackson. She works in Dallas, TX for a city agency that works with the houseless community. She referenced Dr. Brian Fikkert.
And, I think you hit the nail on the head. At one point you wrote, “They want to be loved, respected, and have a purpose on this earth.” That was the one thing we learned in our volunteer experience. To offer dignity. To help a person feel seen and acknowledged means the world to them. It’s no secret that downtown Los Angeles has a very large houseless community, and although the number is vast and overwhelming, they become so invisible.
In Oklahoma, what barriers do you need to overcome to help your community “see” the impoverished so they don’t feel so ashamed? Because, I’m guessing you have learned that many become houseless not by choice. It is often not a substance abuse problem, but more about the fact that they live paycheck to paycheck and life happened and suddenly they have lost their home.
How do you help your community understand the threshold concept of that message with regards to the impoverished?
Thank you, Nancy, for your reply and your service to those in need. So many Oklahomans live paycheck to paycheck despite working multiple jobs. The rise in rent across the nation is immediately felt in low-income states, which is compounded by other struggles. I am still in prayer over how to apply this learning topic to my area of interest. I suppose if it was an easy topic, we’d already have the answers, but I do believe progress forward is happening now. With God’s help, the stage is being set for success.
Jennifer, thank you for your thoughtful blog post. “When Helping Hurts” was the catalyst for the Servant Leadership style Kari and I adopted in North Africa. Fikkert’s book put excellent language to concerns I had regarding humanitarian aid in Africa. I completely resonate with your statement, “I became concerned about sustainability and human dignity as I reconsidered our food distribution systems.” This is something that has concerned me too. However, I believe large nonprofits in North Africa are starting to recognize something is not working.
How does this dignity-building, empowerment. and sustainability manifest in your work within the prisons? I can imagine there are many complexities.
Hello, my friend. I’m so glad to hear of your lessons learned from Dr. Fikkert. Did Kari ever hear a response from the note I sent him Re: her NPO? It’s funny how God puts the right lessons in front of us at the right time. In prison, my position of dignity is one of learning from those who are there. It’s an authentic perspective because I always come out better than when I went in. Last night I was in a men’s facility with several ministry partners. We broke off into small groups for discussions about the faith curriculum topics. The table I was at had such a rich conversation. I felt like I was in God school, and I made sure they knew I saw them as my teachers. One was a former firefighter, one was previously a successful business owner, one was a chaplain. Two of them were former high-ranking military officers. I asked what they would want the outside world to know about them, and the response was, “We’re not the monsters the media portrays us to be.”
Wow, there is so much here to explore further — a complex subject that needs more focus for sure but im glad to know you are doing the work. Thank you for sharing this valuable lesson. I really do appreciate the way in which you explored dignity as a threshold concept and ill be eager to see how this impacts your NPO. Or if you already have an idea do share 🙂
Jennifer,
Dignity really is something that is so important. I often encourage volunteers to find ways that they might “need” the help of the refugees whom they are helping. For instance, last year, I had to replace some drywall thanks to frozen Minnesota pipes. I could have done it alone, but instead I asked a refugee friend who did not have a job yet to assist me. He was thrilled and so thankful that he had something to offer. Dignity is a powerful thing.
You mentioned at the end, “followed by rest in the liminal space.” I feel like the liminal space is more of a confusing time, could you expand a bit on what rest in that space means to you?
I’ll jump in here as well. Thanks, Jennifer. I appreciate your heart to invest in others and show them dignity. I, too, am curious about your comment “followed by rest in the liminal space.”
What have you found has helped you find rest in that area of the unknown?
Hi friend, I’m sure you are familiar with storming and norming as natural change management processes. The liminal space is in between both of those two things. It’s the place where you do a gut check about why you believed one way and way you are changing your mind. Time and mental bandwidth to talk with God is SUCH an important aspect of this (sacred) space. Thank for asking! Be well.
Great question! Thank you for that. For me, liminal space is that in between stage of moving from a previous mindset to a new one. It is a process of questioning why I previously believed as such, and why my position has changed. Also, do I really believe this new way solidly? I guess the only time it would really matter is if I needed to defend my change in opinion. Glad you asked!
Jennifer, I understand your description of a surface, polished conversation to raise money. I know it means they may not fully understand the population you serve, it allows them to participate in the mission. Your interaction and response to the gentleman and acceptance of the nail file was where the ministry happens. It was truly helping feed him more than a donut but a blessing from God. I am inspired each time I hear of someone offering dignity and respect to someone who is unhoused. Thank you for sharing that and for your servant leadership example. “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to Me” Matt. 25:40 I think there will be other threshold learning related to people who are unhoused or food insecure. It is a population whose struggles are worn on the outside. Thanks for your post.
Thank you, Diane. Blessings.
Jennifer,
Thanks for your post, you have added two more books to my “To Read” list. As a social worker and professor, I stress to all my students the social work value of Dignity and Worth and how that relates to being created in the image of God. I appreciated your conversation with Father Sebastian Vazhakal. I am trying to process what he said in relation to the first chapter of John Stott’s book -Christian Mission in the Modern World. In this book, Stott discusses how the idea of social justice/action and evangelism are separate concepts but equally important in fulfilling the great commission. I am wondering if you have ever read the book, which I highly recommend, or watched the movie – The Same Kind of Different as Me? It details the true, yet unlikely friendship of a Black homeless man and a White art dealer, set in Texas.
Thank you, Jeff, for your work to train the next generation of social workers. That’s good stuff! I am familiar with John Stott’s book, Basic Christianity, but not the title you mentioned. It is now on my list! And yes, I did read and see the movie, Same Kind of Different As Me. I had a chance to hear the author speak last year at an event and walked away equally inspired as the book and movie. The shelter he talks about is in Dallas, which is in my work territory. I hope to meet him soon.
Hi Jennifer! Wow! How you unpacked dignity as a threshold concept was deeply touching. Affirming people and seeing them in the image and likeness of God should not be a new concept, but the norm. How you see and attempt to impart love and care to the poor warms my heart. From a personal context, my city leads the nation in extreme concentrated poverty for blacks and hispanics and this is a huge issue within our community. Thank you for leading the way and restoring hope through your post for those of us who engage daily in the work.
Thank you, Daren. Blessings!
Jennifer, thanks for sharing your journey in a vulnerable way. The Helping Hurts book certainly presents troublesome knowledge. When I read it, I was forced to deal with how our church was doing short-term missions work. It was a good but hard wake up call.
I also appreciate your recognition that we are constantly learning. We are blessed with troublesome knowledge on a regular basis. Be blessed, friend.
Bless you, Graham.
Hi Jennifer, Thanks for your post, and thanks for what you do with the marginalized. It brought up a couple thoughts. First, I provide food to people who provide food to the needy. The very first time I spoke with one of the vice presidents at the Pepsico Foundation (Food for Good), the first thing out of his mouth was, “I want to get this straight. Whoever eats food that Food for Good hands out, no matter where they are or what their situation is, the food they receive MUST bring them dignity”. I knew that was who I wanted to work with from that moment on.
The second is that my wife and I ran a ministry at the Downtown Women’s Center in Los Angeles for 8 years. First, we always created a wonderful menu, as the ladies were tired of the spaghetti and chili that everyone brought in (it’s hard to feed 80 to 160 people!) so we changed that. We also asked them to stay seated at their table, and we would serve them food, like a restaurant (instead of having them wait in line). Then, we would tell all of our volunteers to grab a plate, find a table, and sit with the ladies. It was beautiful. But what got me was how many women came to Nancy and me after the first meal saying that they did not deserve to be served like that. It broke both our hearts. (LOL, I just saw that she mentioned that, too!!)
Not really sure of a question for you, just wanted to say thank you for what you do.