Dr. Joe Blosser, an ordained minister and author of To Love Our Neighbors: Radical Practices in Solidarity, Sufficiency & Sustainability, blends his background in ethics and community development to challenge traditional “helping” models.
In this Q&A, he shares the practical first steps local leaders can take to build solidarity and move toward genuine, transformative partnership in their communities.
Q: You are a faith leader with a Ph.D. in ethics. How did your extensive academic studies combine with your ministry to shape your unique approach to community development?
Dr. Joe: I’ve always been on the practical side of academics, wanting to connect the research that I was doing to the real world lives of people. I see my academic interests in my ministry coming together in the way I engage communities in strategic planning, advocacy, and thinking holistically about how we care for each other. It’s not enough to study ethics; we have to practice them.
Q: Your book, To Love Our Neighbors: Radical Practices in Solidarity, Sufficiency, and Sustainability, is such a helpful guide for building community. Was there a specific moment in your journey where you knew you had to share these insights?
Dr. Joe: The material in the book comes from over a decade of work right here in High Point. These are ideas and practices that I have been trying out or watching others do as I’ve been working in the community. The motivation to write the book really comes from wanting to share these incredible stories about how we build community with more people. I want others to see that these “radical” practices are deeply doable.
Q: Your book calls for moving past traditional charity models. As leaders attending the “Pathways to Purpose” event look to transform their work, what is the simplest way you suggest a local church or nonprofit can start shifting from a “helping” mindset to a true partnership mindset?
Dr. Joe: The first step in moving from helping to partnering is getting to know the people. For anyone serving in a food pantry, or clothing closet, or any other direct charity, the first step is really getting to know the people who show up. As we build solidarity with others by learning their full story, we can start to move from a charity model to one of real partnership.
Q: How does a community hub model—like The Bridge—help make your concepts of Solidarity and Sufficiency easier to achieve?
Dr. Joe: We cannot build solidarity or sufficiency on our own. A hub like The Bridge serves as the essential place where people come together to build solidarity across differences. Only after establishing that foundation of solidarity can we then begin to ask the difficult questions around money, what is enough, and how we take care of each other—which is the essence of sufficiency.
Q: After leaving your keynote, what is the first conversation you hope leaders will have with their teams or neighbors?
Dr. Joe: I hope the first conversation people will have helps them get to know each other better. After all, the foundational step is solidarity, and we can’t stand in solidarity with others if we don’t know them, if we don’t understand how they see the world, and we don’t understand what they need to truly thrive.
Q: What excites you most about sharing your message with the faith, education, and community leaders attending this event?
Dr. Joe: I’m excited that something I can’t even predict will come out of the gathering. There are so many knowledgeable and passionate people who are going to be attending that I’m confident new ideas will emerge and ways of partnering will develop that we could not have imagined at the start of the day. I’m most excited about what will come from the collaboration of the partners who attend.