the poor

Isn't that exactly the problem!? We label a group and in doing so we marginalize them. One of the key ways of understanding poverty is the lack of choice. You can't choose to take time off work (if you have work), you don't choose the type of car you drive (the lowest cost one - even if it isn't as good), holidays don't exist, you don't have a savings account, you don't choose the schools your kids attend... you may not even choose where to live.

What is poverty? Not just locally, but in terms of our world. The globalrichlist gives a clear sense of what global poverty looks like. If you earn $50,000 Canadian a year the list will tell you that

You are in the top 3.75% richest people in the world.
There are 5,774,782,608 people poorer than you.

If the hermeneutic of the emergent church is mission, then its praxis must be centered around welcoming and serving the poor - not just the poor in spirit [how easily we rationalize this] but the economically poor.

John Scalzi over at whatever has an eye opening list of what it means to be poor.

As for the list "what it means to be poor," follow the link in title bar or lower right.