Redemption and lift
Sociologists decry the weaknesses of single-parent families, but how many of them speak out against the socially-acceptable sins that made them common? Historically, repentance and conversion, not social programs, have been the only effective solution for a myriad of problems such as child abuse, child exploitation, poor working conditions, low incomes, high unemployment, alcohol and drug abuse and teen pregnancy. God helps a father to stop drinking and start working, God helps the father’s employer to provide job training and increase wages, God helps the employer’s teenaged daughter to seek love from himself instead of boys. Social scientists have even coined a term for the phenomenon: “redemption and lift.”
July 26th, 2009 at 8:43 am
Please elaborate on your final sentence. Which social scientists, and
when? I have the phrase as early as 1970, but not from a social scientist.
Thank you.
October 21st, 2009 at 7:41 am
True, Donald McGavran, who coined the term “redemption and lift,” was not trained as a social scientist, but as an educator. But his work as a leader of the Church Growth Movement was largely applied sociology, based on his original field research.
November 6th, 2009 at 9:43 pm
Has there ever been any empirical evidence that “redemption and lift” is a reality. There are many examples of poor sectors of countries that have had genuine revivals but no lift. The redemption and lift philosophy has been used to reject the idea of getting involved in holistic ministry.
November 7th, 2009 at 7:10 am
[...] reading my post Redemption and lift, Tim McIntosh asked: Has there ever been any empirical evidence that “redemption and [...]