(by Wendy McMahan on OCTOBER 2, 2014 in CHURCH, WORLD POVERTY)

On the day I met Steve Corbett, he warned me about mold.

It was September 2001, shortly after I had been accepted into the Hunger Corps program of Food for the Hungry (FH). Steve had just left his position at FH to join the faculty at Covenant College, and he had agreed to mentor a new FH missionary. To this day, I’m grateful that I was selected to be his mentee.

I was preparing to go to Pucallpa, Peru. Steve had been there, so I asked for some advice.

“It won’t be easy,” he said. “It’s beautiful, but it’s really hot and humid.”

“Any packing tips?” I asked.

“Just don’t pack too much if you’re not planning to stay forever,” he replied. “Even your books will smell like mildew after a few months.”

He was right, of course. To this day, 12 years after my return from Peru, the Bible that I took with me still evokes that scent!


When Helping Hurts

Steve Corbett has been right about a number of things over the years. In 2009, his book When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor… and Yourself, co-authored with Brian Fikkert, debuted and quickly swept through the Christian development world.

I was among many development professionals who recognized the genius of the book.  The principles that Corbett and Fikkert espoused came from already existent development classics such as Bryant Myers’ Walking with the Poor, but they simplified and contextualized the message for a mainstream Christian audience.

It didn’t take long for church leaders to embrace the book. Once I had struggled to help churches to understand the biblical approach to development, but after this book released, I regularly met pastors who had already studied and understood the concepts employed by FH.


Short-Term Missions

Since When Helping Hurts was released, thousands of US churches have reconsidered their approach to missions among the materially poor. Many have been led to ask, “Should we even send short-term mission trips?”

In their latest book, Corbett and Fikkert tackle the question of short-term missions.  Helping Without Hurting in Short-Term Missions is available in a leader’s guide and a participant’s guide.

Last week, I had the privilege of sitting down with Steve Corbett for an interview on the topic of short-term missions. In the audio interview, he shares principles that can guide any short-term team participant. Visit the Poverty Unlocked page to hear more!

I’m grateful for the role that my friend Steve Corbett has had in helping American Christians to understand poverty from a biblical perspective. And I’m reminded of his extensive wisdom every time I smell my Bible!