DisciplesWorld: January/February 2009

I finished the most recent issue of DisciplesWorld earlier this week. It was sad, but probably inevitable, to read in the editor's note about some of the cutbacks the magazine has made in the current economic climate, essentially shortening the print magazine and expanding some online offerings.

The current issue focuses on the "Global Food Crisis," an implicit tie-in to the February special offering for Week of Compassion, the Disciples' emergency outreach ministry. The pieces are mostly thoughtful, if a little proto-hippie, left-leaning (or, as I would most naturally write in slang, crunchy). After the cover story, there's a story about fair trade and another about the global benefits of vegetarianism.

I'm no social activist, for a variety of reasons. Partially, I'm as yet unconvinced that the implicit critique of first-world plenty -- read, excess consumption -- directly causing starvation elsewhere. My unscientific hunch is that if someone were to do a historical study, hunger and poverty have steadily decreased over human history, especially over the past two centuries. Is it still a major problem? Yes. Are current economic conditions, and agricultural practices, leading to a spike in food prices that we should be concerned about? Yes. Are you and I the cause of people going hungry? Probably not, despite the embarrassing amount of food that we consume and waste.

But the articles are thought-provoking, even if some of those thoughts are frustrations. Case in point: the cover story features an interview with the new director of Week of Compassion, Amy Gopp, which in charity I'm going to ascribe to enthusiasm. She points to joint relief efforts between faith agencies and the United Nations and says, "For once the kingdom of the world and the Kingdom of God can be aligned." Historically speaking, some of the worst atrocities occurred when the goals of the church and the political powers aligned. Augustine makes this clear -- even before many atrocities occurred -- in his classic exploration of this in City of God.

Also in this issue, the magazine begins a new regular feature called "Lean Times," which is appropriate enough. The first installment looks at economic conditions in the small town of Wilmington, Ohio. Interestingly, the approach of this story is to chronicle challenges and then suggest how a couple of people see a beneficial opportunity -- in this case, to see that any industry which replaces the shuttered plants is ecologically friendly. I don't know if this optimism is prophetic hope or pie-in-the-sky wishing.

This month's issues (and previous issues) are available on the shelf in the Narthex. Browse them when you're at church or borrow one and take it home.