The church does not exist in a vacuum; it is an integral part of the social order. To this extent, the church should be perceived as functional and relevant, in view of its place in the social order. In recent times, secular entities have been seen to display a stronger sense of social responsibility than those of the household of faith. While corporate organizations subscribe to the function of social responsibility as a code of business principle, Christian social responsibility is an extension of the church’s mandate Missio Dei. It is under-girded by Christian theology and not a commercial policy towards achieving an economic agenda.

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Caring As Part of The Social
Responsibilities of The Church
Dotun Akinsulire
M2007022
LIFE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, IKORODU

2. 2
INTRODUCTION
Longman’s English Dictionary defines care as “the process of looking after someone or
something that needs attention’; as ‘responsibility’ for [that someone or something].” Caring can
therefore be defined as showing concern, being compassionate or showing concern for others.1
It suggests human dispositions of being kind, thoughtful, helpful, considerate, compassionate,
concerned, loving, affectionate, sensitive and attentive. Essentially, caring means to have regard
for, to attend to, to have an interest in, to have concern for someone or something. Caring with
reference to the church perhaps may be viewed as an understanding of how the church has regard
for, attends to, has an interest in or shows concern for someone or something. The element of
responsibility, as indicated in Longman’s definition, is significant, because caring comes with
responsibility. That the object of caring is human makes the responsibility of social value.
Therefore caring is the basis for social responsibility. However, it is possible to be engaged in
social responsibility without caring, but it is not possible to care without being socially
responsible.
Social responsibility is an ethical theory that an entity, be it an organization or individual, has an
obligation to act to benefit society at large. Social responsibility is a duty every individual has to
perform so as to maintain a balance between the economy and the ecosystems.2
The functions of
social responsibility must be directed at advancing social goals, in improving the quality of lives
of the less privileged (those below the social equilibrium), and the welfare of the society and
environment.
CHRISTIAN SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
People are said to have a sense of social responsibility if there is awareness, a consciousness, of
the role which they should be playing in the social order in which they are living. The church
does not exist in a vacuum; it is an integral part of the social order. To this extent, the church
should be perceived as functional and relevant, in view of its place in the social order. In recent
times, secular entities have been seen to display a stronger sense of social responsibility than
those of the household of faith. While corporate organizations subscribe to the function of social
1
Microsoft Encarta, Microsoft Corporation, 1993-2008.
2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_responsibility , accessed 1/52014

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responsibility as a code of business principle, Christian social responsibility is an extension of
the church’s mandate Missio Dei. It is undergirded by Christian theology and not a commercial
policy towards achieving an economic agenda.
BASIC SUPPOSITIONS FOR CARING
Caring as part of the social responsibilities of the church rests on a number of basic suppositions
or convictions.
1. The Christian God is understood as a caring God. The proof is in God's providential care
of the world and his creation. God created the earth with man in mind. Man was created
with everything he needs readymade. Even after man’s fall, which ushered in sin, God's
providential grace was still sufficient to hold the effects of sin at bay. When it comes to
providential care, God does not discriminate. He extends this form of common grace to
all of mankind. No one is excluded whether good or bad, worthy or unworthy, saved or
unsaved. The notion of God's providential care of his creation can be seen throughout the
Bible.
2. Caring is an expression of God’s love. Love is probably the most common way of
understanding the experience of God, expressed ultimately in the Incarnation and the life,
ministry and death of Jesus. (John 3:16). The whole plan and package of redemption
interpret God’s care and loving purpose for the world and for creation.
3. Jesus as a model of caring. Jesus demonstrates expressly the caring, loving
compassionate nature of the Godhead. This is evident in his Incarnation (Phil. 2:6-8),
healing work, his concern for those on the margins of society, his sensitivity to the needs
and situation of women and the poor, and his openness to those deemed to be sinners or
outcasts. Unlike the Aaronic high priest, Jesus empathizes with the frailty and foibles of
those whose cause he advocates (Heb. 4:15). The book of Acts 10:31 summarily
describes the caring disposition of the Messiah.
4. The Missio Dei finds expression in a caring disposition. The church as the body of Christ
carries on the incarnational work of Christ in its mandate to reach the world and reconcile

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mankind to God. It could be said that the ministry of reconciliation of the church is
embedded in the ministry of caring. Thus the church is called to serve with compassion in
the way Christ did, where the qualities of the compassionate church include an
involvement in the world and its problems.
NEW TESTAMENT TEACHING ON CARING
1. Believers should love all men, even those who choose to be enemies. God sends good
blessings (sunshine and rain) on the evil (Mt. 5:43-48). He provides rain and fruitful
seasons even upon those who have rejected Him (Acts 14:17).
2. Judgment will be on the basis of moral treatment of the needy, etc. (Mt. 25:35-40).
In the great teaching on the judgment, Jesus shows that men will be judged on the
basis of their treatment of the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and
the imprisoned. It is commonplace to put great emphasis on doctrinal purity and
certainty. It is right to do so. But, this must not be done to the neglect of showing
human compassion.
3. Jesus commended the Samaritan who took care of the needs of the man who fell
among robbers (Lk. 10:30-36).
4. Barnabas sold a tract of land in order to assist the needy at Jerusalem (Acts 4:36-37).
5. Dorcas abounded in “deeds of kindness and charity, which she continually did” (Acts
9:36, 39).
6. Paul showed by example that Christians should work hard and help the weak. He
quotes Jesus as saying “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:34-35).
7. The household of Stephanas are commended because “they have devoted themselves
for ministry to the saints.” Others are urged to help in such work (1 Cor. 16:15-16).
8. Christians are admonished to do good to all men, and especially to those who are of
the household of the faith (Gal. 6:10).
9. The Christian is to labor in order to be able to share with those who have need (Eph.
4:28).
10. The Christian is to assist dependent widows (1 Tim.. 5:16).
11. Christians are to do good, be rich in good works, generous, ready to share (1 Tim.
6:18).
12. Pure religion includes visiting orphans and widows in their distress (Jas. 1:26-27).

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13. The faith is dead that fails to provide the needy with basic necessities (Jas. 2:15-18).
14. Christians must love in deed and truth, being willing to assist those in need with this
world’s goods (1 Jn. (1 Jn.3:17-18).
CHURCH SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN HISTORY
According to Pittman & Rene3
long before the birth of the profession of social work, the Church,
as a living model of Christ, concerned itself with meeting the needs of hurting, oppressed and
marginalized people. The historical involvement of the Church in social ministries was prior to
the Reformation4
. In the first three centuries of the Christian era, Christians amazed the world
around them with the extent to which they ministered to the needs of others, especially those
who had no one else to care for them. The early Church took on the major task of caring for
abandoned and orphaned children who had been left on waste heaps to die, taking them into their
own homes or creating fondling homes for nurturing these little ones, left abandoned. They
sought to ransom slaves, some even by voluntarily placing themselves in bondage. Some others
advocated for the abolition of slave trade5
. New converts who had to leave “debased”
occupations to join the fellowship (e.g. gladiators, actors, prostitutes) were given work by rich
Church members or were provided support from a communal6
.
Following the Biblical mandate, Christians have historically created institutions to meet human
needs. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Church groups formed voluntary
societies, often as the result of spiritual awakenings that were commissioned to meet the social
needs of those in their communities. During this time, and into the twentieth century, Bible
believing denominations formed “helping societies” or agencies to formalize their commitment
to social action and meet the needs of the “least of these.” Problems of hunger, slum life,
3
Sharon Pittman and René Drumm, “The biblically grounded framework for social work” 4th Symposium
on the Bible and Adventist Scholarship, Riviera Maya, Estado Quintana Roo, Mexico, (March 16-22, 2008) 4
4
E. G. Hinson, “The historical involvement of the Church in social ministries and social action”.
(1988).233-241.
5
William Wilberforce led the parliamentary campaign against the British slave trade for twenty-six years
along with Thomas Clarkson, including Granville Sharp, Hannah More and Charles Middleton, (all Christian
activists) until the passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807.
6
Hinson

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unemployment, mental and physical illness, and disabilities, as well as prison reform and caring
for widows and orphans became efforts tackled by Victorian women eager to live out their
personal faith in action7
.
Traditional Protestant thought held that the salvation of the individual would lead to social
improvement, and so social improvement was never considered an end in itself. This social
activity of the Church at this period was perhaps what gave rise to the Social Gospel. The ideas
of the Social Gospel were different. Adherents came to believe that many individuals were a
product of their hostile environments and could only leave sinful lifestyles and habits if they
were extracted from the social and economic challenges that had driven them into sin in the first
place. Conversion and life in the Church, therefore, had to offer something better than sin and
addictive habits, as well as alleviate the suffering that drove men and women to such despair. As
a result of this reasoning, individual salvation was important but considered secondary to social
reform, which would convert multitudes into God’s kingdom. Salvation of the individual, then,
stood as an important byproduct of working for a literal kingdom of God on earth. Working for
social improvement, the Kingdom of God on earth, then, was the thrust of the Social Gospel
movement8
.
Biblical fundamentalism was another parallel theological framework promoted by the turn-of-
the-century Churches that challenged the Social Gospel movement. Fundamentalism arose from
a radically different impulse than the Social Gospel. Early in the 20th Century certain prominent
Christians began to see the Bible as a historical text rather than a revealed truth. The Bible,
according to these so-called "higher critics," had evolved over time and simply reflected the
views of the men who wrote it. Fundamentalism rose within the Church to combat this modern
view of the Bible. The names came from a series of pamphlets called "The Fundamentals,"
published in 1912, which outlined the bedrock truths that all Christians should believe. Out of
these movements the church crafted formal outreach efforts desired to fulfill the mandate for
7
T. Smith, Revivalism and social reform: American Protestantism on the eve of the Civil War. Gloucester,
MA. (1976)27
8
S. Ahlstrom Theology in America: The major Protestant voices from Puritanism to neo-orthodoxy.
Indianapolis (1967), In: Bobbs-Merrill.

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helping and loving one’s neighbor. Social work was one of those professions born in the Church.
The Church became the “mother of social work”9
.
THE CULTURAL MANDATE
Recently evangelicals have turned to what they call the “Cultural Mandate” to provide a biblical
base for social action. The idea is that the Christ has actually given the church two overall and
interrelated callings: The Great Commission (Matt 28:19-20) in which believers are to go into
the whole world and make disciples for Christ, and the Cultural Mandate in which the church is
authorized to be directly involved in physical and social issues related to the planet. No true
evangelical questions the Great Commission, but the Cultural Mandate is not so clear. The
biblical teaching for the Cultural Mandate is drawn from Genesis 1:26, 28.
From this pre-Fall text has been developed the belief that the church retains the mandate given to
Adam in the Garden to subdue and rule over the earth. Michael Goheen and Craig Bartholomew
promote this thesis. They write10
,
If redemption is, as the Bible teaches, the restoration of the whole of creation, then our
mission is to embody this good news: every part of creational life, including the public
life of our culture, is being restored. The good news will be evident in our care for the
environment, in our approach to international relations, economic justice, business,
media, scholarship, family, journalism, industry, and law. But if redemption were merely
about an otherworldly salvation, (as, for example, Moody believed), then our mission
would be reduced to the sort of evangelism that tries to get people into heaven.
The debate of whether or not social responsibility should be part of the Church’s mandate may
yet be unabated, however, the Bible presents the life of Christ to illustrate how integral to the
preaching of the Gospel were His deeds of loving service. Deeds of love were no afterthought in
his life but were part and parcel of the proclamation of the Good News. The answer of Jesus to
John the Baptist’s profound question, “Are you He who is to come, or shall we look for
another?” is certainly relevant here. Jesus could have delivered an extended theological
discourse, quoting from Scripture, to prove the nature of His person and His mission.
9
F. E. Johnson, Protestant social work. In R.H. Kurtz (Eds.), Social year book. New York: (Russell Sage
Foundation.1941), p. 404
10
Michael W. Goheen and Craig G. Bartholomew, Living at the Crossroads, (Grand Rapids, Baker
Academic, 2008), p. 66.

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Rather, as recorded in Luke 7:18-23, Jesus did not give an immediate answer. It is recorded: “In
that hour, He cured many of diseases and plagues and evil spirits and on many that were blind
He bestowed sight.” Essentially, this is His message to John, this is the Good News, this is the
manifestation of love and power of God in the dramatic terms of meeting human needs. “Go and
tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are
cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them.”
CONCLUSION
Caring is an outgrowth of love. The importance of love in social responsibility cannot be
overemphasized. This is frequently enjoined in the New Testament. Christians are to love one
another. Such a conception does not come within the normal relationships within a society. It is
clearly lacking in corporate relations. The Church must be the defining change in bringing some
influence to bear on a hurting world by the power of love. Love is a pervasive force which has
supplied the motive for many far-reaching social reforms, ringing out names like Elizabeth Fry,
William Wilberforce, Mary Slessor etc. Such love produces caring acts of service to mankind.
And because service to others occupies an important place in the Christian church, the concept of
service to the wider community comes naturally. The Church sees the challenge of bearing the
burdens of others, and must seriously consider what action it should take. Social responsibility
may not be the Gospel, but it flows naturally from it.

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BIBLOGRAPHY
Ahlstrom, S. Theology in America: The major Protestant voices from Puritanism to neo-
orthodoxy. Indianapolis (1967), In: Bobbs-Merrill.
Goheen, Michael W. and Bartholomew, Craig G., Living at the Crossroads, (Grand Rapids,
Baker Academic, 2008)
Hinson, E. G., “The historical involvement of the Church in social ministries and social
action”. (1988).
Johnson, F. E., Protestant social work. In R.H. Kurtz (Eds.), Social year book. New York:
(Russell Sage Foundation.1941)
Pittman, Sharon and Drumm, René, “The biblically grounded framework for social work”
4th Symposium on the Bible and Adventist Scholarship, (Riviera Maya, Estado Quintana
Roo, Mexico, March 16-22, 2008)
Smith ,T., Revivalism and social reform: American Protestantism on the eve of the Civil
War. Gloucester, MA. 1976)
Microsoft Encarta, Microsoft Corporation, 1993-2008
Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social responsibility