Prayer, a common way to start a day of building, can unite people from different backgrounds.

Faith Diversity Strengthens Habitat's Reach
By Rebekah Daniel

Clarence Jordan, the founder of Koinonia Farm and spiritual father of Habitat for Humanity, would have had few problems simplifying the complex web of religious diplomacy that prevails today. He once told the following story:

"I was out hunting one time when I was home from college and I got lost way back in the woods. I finally came to a little clearing and there was an old farmer sitting on his porch chewing tobacco. I didn't know who he was, but I went up to him and I asked him how could I get to such and such a road. He sat there chewing and looking at me with piercing eyes. He didn't answer my question. He looked at me and said, 'I know who you are.'

"I said, 'Well, I don't think so, sir. I have never been in these parts before. I'm lost. I don't think you've ever seen me.'

"'Yes, I know who you are. You're Jim Jordan's boy, ain't ya?'

"I said, 'Yes, sir. That's right. How'd you know?'

" 'Well,' he said, 'You're just the spitting image of him.'

"He had seen in me the image of my father. I didn't put a name on my forehead, I didn't tell him my name; he said, 'image.' That identified me.

"I think when people see people of peace, of reconciliation, of mercy, of humility, of kindness, they look upon these and say, 'I know who you are. I've seen images of the Father. You're God's boy.' " *

In the same way that Clarence Jordan sought to be a man with God's interests and priorities in his heart, Habitat for Humanity seeks to mirror Jesus' compassion for people in need. But in a world made complicated by divisions among people of the same faith, as well as those of different faiths, what does it mean to be a "Christian organization"? How can people of diverse faith--or no faith at all--participate meaningfully? How does faith build houses?

	Homeowner Abdur-Rahmaan, center, works with volunteers on the framing of his Habitat house sponsored by the Interfaith Council of Columbus, Ga., September 2002. A decent house serves as a launching point from which families can address other needs in their lives.

To find answers to these questions, it is necessary to take another look at one of the most common statements in Habitat literature: Habitat for Humanity International is an ecumenical Christian housing ministry.

And to understand this statement, it is helpful to work backwards from the word ministry. As a ministry, Habitat's position is that people are first priority, before the lumber and drywall and paint. Without people and a concern for their well-being, the rest would be unnecessary.

"Habitat's true products are not the houses we count," says Mark Lassman-Eul, an affiliate support manager in the United States' Middle States region. "We only count structures because they are easy to see and number. Our legacy is changed lives."

And yet, the houses are important, too. With the phrase "housing ministry," Habitat indicates its tool of choice for ministry: a simple, decent house for everyone. A decent house serves as a launching point from which families can address other needs in their lives. Countless organizations are serving essential and effective roles in meeting the myriad concerns that must be addressed to grow healthy communities; Habitat's role is housing.

In 2002, Sayed Aziz El-Deen El-Sayed, a Muslim farmer in the village of El-Kom El-Akhdar in Egypt, faced the difficult task of providing a home for his elderly mother and younger brothers and sisters, as well as his wife and children--11 people in all. The family was crowded, their house was run-down, and El-Sayed dreamed of a decent house in which his brothers and sisters could get married. When he qualified for a Habitat house, he was relieved but concerned about where to live while the old house was torn down and rebuilt.

"While I was thinking of where we could stay until the new house was finished, my neighbor, Michael Fawzy Dawoud, immediately invited and welcomed all of us to stay in his house during the entire construction period," El-Sayed says. "And that was not all. He also helped me a lot during the construction process. During this period, we all had the feeling that we were one family. May God keep and strengthen this love between us."

Dawoud, a Christian, says, "If neighbors don't do this for each other, it would be a disaster. Today he has a problem; tomorrow, I have one. It is impossible that I delay in helping my neighbor in any situation. Regarding the issue of Muslims and Christians--there is no such issue among us. Never has anybody separated us."

Yousry Makar, national director of Habitat for Humanity Egypt, agrees that there is no such issue among Muslims and Christians in Egyptian villages. "People are really living in peace," he says. "Habitat is a way for people to express their love for one another and to show that they are living in peace."

As a "Christian housing ministry," Habitat derives its purposes and methods from the Bible. Moses taught that we are not to charge interest on loans to a brother; Habitat mortgages are interest-free. Jesus taught that we are to have compassion for those in need; Habitat volunteers charge nothing for their time and effort.

'God's spirit will call the people from the East to join hands with the people from the West, and the people from the North to join hands with the people from the South, and all will seek the other's good.'

"If you go back to the source and read and study about Jesus, you'll see that we have a good model," says Habitat for Humanity founder and president Millard Fuller. "We don't say we're a Christian organization to offend people. We say it to describe who we are."

God commands through the scriptures that we should love others as we love ourselves, leading to the "ecumenical" part of "ecumenical Christian housing ministry." Regarding faith, Habitat's position is two-fold, Fuller says. First, Habitat for Humanity is not denominational or doctrinal, but it is Christian. Second, it is not necessary to exclude Jesus to include others.

"The Bible says plainly that God's love extends to everyone," Fuller says. "If a person is in need, it doesn't matter what they believe. They're in need."

In a village outside Jakarta, Indonesia, Habitat partnered with 50 families to rebuild after a devastating flood in 2002. Aliyudin, a Muslim Habitat homeowner, was impressed with Habitat's focus on service.

"I saw that Habitat for Humanity is here to help us improve our lives and not to force us to change our faith," Aliyudin says. "When I saw that they had the local government, BMA (a local nonprofit) and Pak Hajji involved in the project, I knew they are here to bring social change. ...I hope that other people will see that Habitat comes here with a clean purpose."

Habitat affiliates all over the world have served as a neutral meeting ground for people of various beliefs to put compassion into action. A Tibetan Buddhist homeowner family in Cottage Grove, Ore., presented yellow scarves to affiliate board members at the family's Habitat house dedication, contributed Tibetan food to the celebration and accepted the affiliate's gift of a new Bible to show respect for the organization's traditions.

"It has been a wonderful experience to learn about Tibetan Buddhism and work with such wonderful, gentle people," says Jobeth Anderson, president of Cottage Grove Area HFH.

Throughout the world, from villages to megacities, Habitat volunteers and homeowners have found that the "theology of the hammer"-the belief that regardless of the differences between people, they can agree to build houses together with people in need-is going strong 27 years after Habitat for Humanity's birth.

Clarence Jordan, though he did not live to see the organizational fruit of his thoughts, accurately expressed the vision of this "ecumenical Christian housing ministry" for a world without shacks: "God's spirit will call the people from the East to join hands with the people from the West, and the people from the North to join hands with the people from the South, and all will seek the other's good."

--Rebekah Daniel is assistant editor for Habitat World.

*Editors Note: Anecdote and quote by Clarence Jordan taken from the Substance of Faith and Other Cotton Patch Sermons, edited by Dallas Lee.