As we entered the OSilas Gallery, part of Concordia College in New York, the piercing eyes and aura of Martin Luther penetrated our souls. We entered the room to take part in the Acton Institute’s Toward a Free and Virtuous Society: Rethinking Poverty conference, held from September 21 to September 23.

The Acton Institute is a Grand Rapids-based think tank whose mission is to promote a free and virtuous society characterized by individual liberty and sustained by religious principles.

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Works of the great reformer as subject were proudly displayed, including those by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472–1553), at Concordia College on loan from The Metropolitan Museum of Art. There was also a collection of Lutheran artifacts and Bibles gathered in celebration of the 500th anniversary of the start of the Reformation.

It seemed a fitting locale for an ecumenically diverse group of Christian leaders in business, ministry, politics, education, and non-profit industries immersed in deep spiritual exploration of the age-old question, “What is Man?” as well as the intersection between faith and politics as it pertains to poverty.

What followed was a tour-de-force survey of how worldly culture has often mislabeled and mischaracterized humankind and its God-given purpose. One of the results has been the perpetuation of what has become, for far too many, de-humanizing poverty.

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Participants of the conference, including myself, heard faculty lectures on anthropology, economics and government in the free society, institutions that promote virtue, the unintended consequences of government intervention, mistakes in urban ministry to the poor, ways church identity and mission speak to addressing poverty — and how to dismantle systems of poverty through relationship.

New insights supported the claim that Christians can address the needs of the poor in faithful and contextual ways through easing access to resources and opportunities for entrepreneurial growth and job creation. Neither sentimental nor paternalistic, this ecumenical, hyper-localized approach centered on how we can (and ought to!) serve with the poor. Rethinking Poverty highlights the role of subsidiarity and sphere sovereignty in addressing the systemic and individual brokenness of poverty.

Conference faculty included Michael Matheson Miller (Acton Research Fellow, director and producer of “Poverty, Inc.”), Rev. Dr. John Nunes (president, Concordia College in New York, Bronxville), Michael Craven (president, BridgeBuilders, Dallas), and others.

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Why re-think poverty? To answer this, we have to return to the beginning.

Before one can go anywhere, you must first begin with the subject of poverty — the person.

Related: The Power of Giving Others a Second Chance

In his lecture on Christian anthropology, Michael Matheson Miller demonstrated how crucial it is to get “the person” right. “While free, competitive markets are extremely important to the poor, they cannot save humanity. Only Jesus can do that,” said Miller. But in order to understand how we can serve the poor and foster systemic change that lifts people out of poverty for good, we need to know who people really are, and for that we go to the Bible.

As reasoning, free, good-but-fallen, social, and embodied beings with spiritual emotions and an everlasting destiny, humanity is “the result and thought of God,” Miller explained, and as such people cannot be treated as ephemeral or expendable. “In the long run, we’re dead, but in the longest run, we’re eternal.”

One theme cut across all lectures. While our human intentions may typically be good, all too often these good intentions have a bad, even painful, result.

“Poverty is not caused primarily by a lack of initiative or oppressive structures,” explained Rev. Dr. John Nunes. “It is caused primarily by lack of access.” Such lack of access may include technology, adequate funds, and, perhaps more likely, opportunities.

“Government programs are extremely ineffective in providing access,” Nunes argued. Alternatively, “education is the fastest path out of generational poverty.” Nunes challenged faith communities to help provide access for the poor, encouraging congregations to harness available resources for people in need.

Related: Thursday Thoughts: Learning to Understand God’s Judgment

Screened during the conference in conjunction with Concordia’s Sluberski Film Series, “Poverty, Inc.” (2014) suggested that free humanitarian aid, though offered with good intention, has done more harm than good in the struggle against poverty. The film was produced as part of the Acton Institute PovertyCure initiative. Following the screening, a talk-back was held with Rev. Dr. Nunes and Dr. Paul Bonicelli, director of programs and education at the Acton Institute. “Poverty, Inc.” encourages viewers to take the faithful steps beyond good intentions, having not only a heart but also a mind for the poor.

This is a story of restored human dignity by way of gainful employment.

Conference attendee Chris Brooks, CEO of Issachar Advisors, echoes the energy that emanated from the OSilas Gallery. “The Rethinking Poverty intensive was just that — intense!” Brooks said. “We dove deeply into the intersection of faith, economics, and poverty. We have to be innovative and bold to usher in a new age of global prosperity. It is time for the Body of Christ to lead in this space!”

Rethinking Poverty challenges us to see suffering sisters and brothers as unique human beings made in the image of God, and to be encouraged to love and serve alongside them in partnership. This is a story of restored human dignity by way of gainful employment, uplifting the institution of the family in faith.

In longing for a far-overdue end to systemic and personal oppression by the broken individuals and privileged systems of our society, we turn to God who first loved each one of us — even through all our wrongs.

Joel K. Boyd is a seminarian/pastor, businessman, musician, and writer in the greater Milwaukee area.