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Jatau, Mutonono, Soerens, and Spradlin, OneAccord 2022: A Synopsis 69 
 

 

OneAccord 2022: A Synopsis 
 

Emmanuel Jatau, Dwight S.M. Mutonono,  

Thomas S. Soerens, and Becca Spradlin 
 

 
 

A brief overview of the Accord Network’s 2022 annual summit’s main plenary sessions and the three 

associated one-day “pre-conference intensives” of the Accord Research Alliance (ARA), Christian 

Economic Development Network (CED), and Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Alliance (WASH). 

 

 
The Accord Network held its annual OneAccord 

summit at the Ridgecrest Conference Center in North 

Carolina this past October 11-13, 2022. Here is a partial 

summary of the hot topics that kept our attention in the 

plenary presentation and the three one-day intensives.  

 
The three main Plenary Sessions were led by Brian 

Fikkert, Jayakumar Christian, and Mindy Caliguire. 

The first two are well-known in Christian Development 

circles, and Caliguire is director of spiritual formation 

at Willow Creek Community Church in the Chicago 

area.  

For several decades, Mindy Caliguire has helped 

the Christian community see the importance of caring 

for our souls, and in this session, she began with the 

warning that the most threatening humanitarian crisis 

we are facing globally is the health of our leaders’ souls, 

many of which are suffering through such common 

ailments as exhaustion and the severe depletion of their 

faith-oriented energy; in other words, burnout. When 

Jesus said “What good will it be for someone to gain the 

whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone 

give in exchange for their soul?” (Matt 16:26), he was 

talking to his disciples, not the crowd.  

Caliguire noted that a neglected soul experiences 

disconnection with God. Symptoms include anger, 

bitterness, rage, insomnia, muscle tensions, digestive 

problems, fear, panic, dread, isolation, and self-hatred. 

Well-connected souls, on the other hand experience 

joy, love, compassion, peace, hope, resilience, 

motivation, and kindness. For those whose souls are 

connected, these virtues can exist even in the direst 

circumstances. 

Ultimately, she offered the vital reminder that life 

does not really depend on us and our own resources, 

but that it arises in conjunction with our connection to 

God. No surprise then that everything hinges on 

remaining connected. Who makes the choice to 

disconnect or reconnect? We do. The soul’s well-being 

drives everything else, and care of the soul is thus 

critical.  

For his part, Brian Fikkert reviewed key lessons 

from his and Kelly Kapik’s 2019 book, Becoming 

Whole: Why the Opposite of Poverty Isn’t the 

American Dream (See CRDA review here). Fikkert’s 

main point is that so much of humanitarian aid depends 

on a theory of change that is not rooted in God’s story. 

That is because the dominant theory (or story) of 

change in the Global North derives from Western 

naturalism, which is imbibed by the humanitarian 

community and then imposed on the rest of the world. 

The main character in this story is “homo economicus,” 

a self-centered, materialistic, autonomous creature 

whose goal is consumption.  

It is true that we should cheer the fact that global 

material poverty has declined as the market system 

inspired by this story has spread, but we must also 

acknowledge that, in the most prosperous parts of the 

world, as people become materially wealthier, they do 

not become happier. Now, as globalization spreads 

Western-style markets and capitalism to the rest of the 

world, these same patterns are emerging. Along with so 

many others, Christians too have bought into this story. 

We totally emphasize the material, ritualistically praying 

to God on Sundays, but adopting the American dream 

story at the same time. Consequently, Christians too are 

ever more anxious and depressed.  

Contrast this with the biblical story that focuses on 

a relational, Trinitarian God, in whose image we are 

also made. Since those early days in the Garden of 

Eden, humans have witnessed a five-fold set of changes. 

First, a false story of change and well-being is accepted 

(many different ones have found favor throughout 

history); second, image-bearing humans become 

gradually more broken, which leads to destructive 

formative practices, broken systems, and, finally, to the 

entrance of demonic forces. The biblical solution to this 

dilemma is for Jesus to usher in the kingdom and 

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Christian Relief, Development, and Advocacy 4(2), Winter 2023  
 

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reverse this story of decline so that the story turns from 

one of increasing brokenness to one of restoration of 

our relationships with God, self, others, and the 

creation, through Christ. This is the story that Accord 

members need to adopt and do their best to spread. 

In the third plenary session, Jayakumar Christian 

promoted the construction of a theology of 

transformation, requiring us to search the mind of God. 

A theology of transformation challenges the tendency 

of so many of us to play God in the lives of others. 

When people play God in the lives of others, poverty, 

oppression, injustice, and abuse are birthed.  

Like Fikkert, Christian argued that secular 

ideologies have hijacked the humanitarian industry. We 

need to heed the message of 2 Cor 10: 4-6, in which we 

are called to demolish any ideology that does not 

properly honor God. Such a theology requires us to 

challenge the system itself with the “scandal of the 

cross,” which challenges today’s dominant worldviews. 

The story of the demon-possessed man in Mark 5:1-13 

provides four transformational principles for 

constructing this theology: 

 
1. A shift from the crowd to one person. The poor, 

oppressed, and abused are often so marginalized 

that they are not called by name. God invites us to 

the margins where each person is known by their 

name.  

2. Status quo reversal. If the poor rise, or are blessed 

or developed, the mainstream becomes disturbed. 

When we work with the poor we are in the 

business of challenging and reversing the status 

quo.  

3. He is calm and they were afraid. When the poor 

are blessed, the rich become disturbed. The poor’s 

identity should not be marred through 

dehumanization and instrumentalization. They are 

made in the God’s image, not outcasts or cursed or 

a statistic. Our presence with the poor must be an 

incarnational presence. Not necessarily geo-

graphically present. Incarnation can be defined as 

giving up what rightly belongs to one. It is an 

investment of life. Our character and spirituality 

matter. Time with God matters. 

4. Empowerment is not just about transfer of power; 

it is redefining power itself. The agent of 

transformation in this story was the demon-

possessed man. It causes us to encounter the God 

of the kingdom, to go and tell others what God has 

done for us.  

 

In addition to plenary sessions, there were three 

one-day “intensives,” each organized by one of three 

thematic groups, WASH (Water, Sanitation, and 

Hygiene) Alliance, ARA (Accord Research Alliance), 

and CED Network (Christian Economic Develop-

ment). In each of these sessions, invited speakers 

shared their ideas, after which participants talked them 

over in small groups, shared their own experiences, and 

ultimately tried to learn from each other. 

 

The WASH Alliance intensive addressed the 

theme of “Innovations in Water Delivery” in a session 

attendees referred to informally as “Revenge of the 

Engineers” due to an intentional focus on the technical. 

Even so, technically- and practically-minded people in 

the session continued to root their hopes for clean water 

and sanitation in a broader vision of God’s kingdom 

coming.  

Citing evidence from World Vision’s experience, 

Ray Norman spoke on the need to include Christian 

and Muslim faith leaders in the implementation of 

WASH programs. As trusted and credible authorities 

in communities, they are key to the successful 

implementation of health programs (Norman and 

Odotei 2019). 

Abe Wright and Michael Cook from Design 

Outreach updated their progress on fighting against a 

global epidemic of handpump maladies, noting that way 

too many handpumps around the world are broken and 

inoperable. Among the technical innovations discussed 

during the day were the following: 

 

• Remote monitoring of hand-pumps that provides 

real-time information on handpump performance 

• Solar-Powered Water System (SPWS) that include 

design tool software for designing solar water 

pumping systems.  

• Effective community water pumping stations. 

• Best practices in water well drilling. 

• Working through ever-present challenges. 

 
Thomas Soerens closed with reflections on “What 

Engineers Can Learn from Missionary Pioneers” 

pointing out that the most successful missionaries have 

always followed what today we call “holistic” or “integral 

mission” strategies. 

 

Brian Fikkert kicked off the CED Network 

intensive by challenging and encouraging participants in 

their pursuit of transformative economic development. 

Fikkert’s opening talk led into a highly 

participatory learning session that revolved around five 

communities of practice that fall under the CED 

umbrella: 1) Microfinance, Small and Medium 

Enterprises, and Impact Investing, 2) Savings Groups, 

3) Agriculture, 4) Integral Mission, and 5) Business 

Training and Mentoring.  

Group conversations were initiated by 

presentations on cases from member organizations. 

Under the theme “Innovation to Overcome Chal-

lenges in Christ-centered Economic Development,” 



Christian Relief, Development, and Advocacy 4(2), Winter 2023  
 

Jatau, Mutonono, Soerens, and Spradlin, OneAccord 2022: A Synopsis 71 
 

participants formed teams that built off of the case 

studies presented. These groups enjoyed the 

opportunity to practice using holistic, design-thinking 

principles in a session facilitated by Tabitha Kapic, 

Chalmers Center’s director of innovation. The 

Innovate curriculum she used, which is available at the 

Chalmers Center for both majority world deployment 

and main office contexts, fed into rich and sustained 

discussions among all the participants.  

As CED steering committee chair, Becca Spradlin, 

said, “God answered our many prayers for this event. 

Brian and Tabitha were incredibly intentional in their 

preparation and shared generously with participants 

from their rich, global experience." 

 

To learn about future CED events and to join for 

free, visit cednetwork.org. Special thanks to HOPE 

International for their many years of sponsoring the 

CED Network and generously providing event support 

staff to make this gathering a success! 

 

The Accord Research Alliance’s focus for its 2022 

intensive was the issue of decolonization, with the 

theme being “Nothing About Us Without Us: A 

Kingdom Perspective for Sharing Love & Power in 

Evaluation and Research Practice.” Through 

presentations by Jayakumar Christian, Nina Kurlberg 

and Jo Cribben from Tearfund; video case studies that 

included presenters from both the global North and 

South from Tearfund, Sustainable Medical Missions, 

and 4Africa; and a panel consisting of Jayakumar 

Christian, Nina Kurlberg, Jo Cribbin, David Snyder 

(Sustainable Medical Missions), and Christian Marin 

(4Africa); the main points of the day were the following: 

 

1.  When used in relation to relief and development 

(R&D), the term decolonization today refers to the 

undoing of colonial rule and empire. It describes 

how colonialism continues to influence R&D 

through logics dependent on structures, systems, 

and organizational cultures developed in the 

world’s previous colonial centers. 

2. Decolonization is a commitment to giving power 

away, a commitment to the process of inclusion. 

Previously marginalized people who were the 

passive recipients of benevolence need to be 

treated as fully human and able not only to 

contribute to the discussion about interventions, 

but to lead the process.  

3. For Christian organizations, this task is especially 

complex because of the way that the world of 

humanitarian assistance has been highjacked by 

secularism. Based on 2 Cor 10: 4-6, Christians are 

called to pull down strongholds and cast down 

arguments raised against the knowledge of God. 

This means challenging structures, processes, and 

the worldviews behind them. The kingdom of God 

is based on the relationship of the triune God. We 

should therefore focus on relationships. 

Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) should not just 

be program-based, but relationally-driven, 

inclusive, and collaborative.  

4. The decolonizing approach to research and M&E 

points us toward seeking epistemic justice. 

Research must be mutually beneficial, mutually 

constructive, and justice seeking. Justice comes 

through moving to margins and decentering power. 

The process should place the voices and 

epistemologies of people from the “Global South” 

in the center.  

5. Tearfund has developed a theological framework 

for inclusion. They have also discovered 

interpreting inclusion depends on the context. 

Access, participation, and acceptance are some of 

the words researchers found people using to 

describe it. Tearfund’s theological framework 

includes the following components: 
a. Power analysis - To identify marginalized 

voices, we first need to identify where power 

sits. Where does power sit?  How is it used? 

Who sets the research objectives? 

b. Intentional listening - As we identify these 

voices, we need to make sure we are listening. 

c. Co-construction – Are we working beyond 

colonial languages? For example, who decides 

what rich, high-quality research looks like? 

Who defines such concepts as “well-being,” 

“quality of life,” or “development?”  Is our 

research explicit about the context that it is 

developed in and for?  What will participants 

gain from the research? 

d. Rhythms and practices of discernment - 

Creating spaces for colleagues to discern both 

individually and collectively. Recognize that 

discernment prayer and fasting are tools. 

e. The legitimacy of difference – Giving up 

power, and hearing from many different 

people.  

6. One risk of moving to the margins is that new 

structures of colonizing power can be established. 

New dominant voices can arise. Things can 

continue to be done in the same way, and listening 

can stop.  

 

Finally, in consideration of the role of spiritual 

metrics, Jayakumar Christian proposed the thesis that 

poverty is embedded in people's spirituality, meaning 

that sustainable impact is not possible unless spirituality 

is addressed. Spirituality is people’s articulation of 

profound issues like God’s purpose and the purpose of 

life. These conceptions are embedded in our 

worldviews. The moment a separate slice or domain 

https://chalmers.org/training/innovate/
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Christian Relief, Development, and Advocacy 4(2), Winter 2023  
 

Jatau, Mutonono, Soerens, and Spradlin, OneAccord 2022: A Synopsis 72 
 

called spirituality is created, it can be co-opted into a 

program and even relegated to the periphery. 

Spirituality needs to be at the center of the conversation, 

because it is about restoring the sense of God-imaging, 

and we should not slice off the measuring of spiritual 

impact from the whole. 

 

The presentations for the ARA and WASH 

intensives are available here.  

 

References 

 

Fikkert, Brian and Kelly M. Kapik. 2019. Becoming 

Whole: Why the Opposite of Poverty Isn’t the 

American Dream. Chicago: Moody Publishers. 

Norman, Ray and Odei Odotei. 2019. “Faith 

Integration and Christian Witness in Relief and 

Development: Reflections and Practical Guidance 

for Field Teams.” Christian Relief, Development, 

and Advocacy: The Journal of the Accord Network 

1(1): 31-43. 
 

 

Emmanuel Jatau is a doctoral student at Asbury 

Theological Seminary. 

 

Dwight S.M. Mutonono serves on the international 

council his church, Faith Ministries. 

 

Thomas S. Soerens is professor of civil and 

environmental engineering at Messiah University. 

 

Becca Spradlin is the founder of On Mission 

Advisors. 
 

https://accordnetwork.org/about/member-alliances/
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