The Shape of Love

I speak to churches about Circuit International and its work with communities in Shan State, Myanmar. Our purpose includes reducing poverty and the vulnerability to human trafficking that difficult circumstances can create. I care deeply about that work, and I want people to understand why it belongs within my commitment to following Jesus.

Yet a short presentation cannot make room for every question. Someone may want to know whether we speak about our faith, how practical help relates to the gospel or why a community’s ability to make its own decisions matters. These are substantial concerns, even when the conversation begins beside a table of tea and biscuits.

My response has sometimes been more defensive than helpful. Compassion seems so central to Jesus’ life that I can struggle to understand why anyone would wonder about its Christian significance. But my conviction is not an explanation. The person asking deserves more, and so do the people whose lives we are discussing.

The Shape of Love grew from the attempt to give that explanation properly. This popular edition brings the central questions into shorter chapters and more familiar language. I want it to be a book someone can read without training in theology or development, while retaining the care those subjects require.

We begin with people and the circumstances in which they live. We then return to the Gospels and ask how Jesus’ words and actions should shape the relationships we make. From there, we consider the ordinary decisions through which help becomes useful, controlling, dependable or disappointing.

Shan State is the setting because it is connected with my work. Its people are not merely illustrations for a Christian argument. They have their own histories, religious commitments and hopes. A truthful account of helping must recognise the knowledge and activity already present before an outside organisation arrives.

Two sources also connect directly with my working history. Before I started Circuit, I established the Shan Healthcare Training Programme through Partners. Sharon Bell later examined that programme in her doctoral research. Her findings include both encouraging developments and criticisms. I have tried to make room for both, without treating the study as an evaluation of Circuit’s present work.

Robert Kilpatrick’s doctoral thesis on peace-building is another important source. He acknowledges assistance from me through Circuit International with research access and technical questions. That connection should be visible to readers. His research contributes useful insights and questions; it does not certify the effectiveness of the organisation I support.

The biblical discussion centres on Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. I have tried to let their demands and difficult passages remain part of the conversation. Jesus cannot be reduced to a convenient supporter of the approach I already prefer. The Gospels speak about belief and discipleship as well as compassion, and they challenge those giving help as well as those receiving it.

Where I use imagined situations to explain a problem, I identify them as such. They are not disguised reports about particular families, workers or organisations. The personal connections described here come from my own role and the source material. Other people’s private stories are not mine to invent.

The reading notes at the end identify the main sources and biblical passages. Readers who want to examine the argument more closely can follow them without having to negotiate a reference in every paragraph. Contemporary circumstances change, especially amid conflict; this edition draws on the research assembled for the book in September 2026.

My hope is for a conversation in which conviction and humility can remain together. We can believe something strongly and still listen carefully. We can value an organisation and still ask whether its work is helping. We can speak about Jesus and respect the freedom of someone who answers differently.

I hope these pages make that conversation easier to begin, and more useful when it becomes uncomfortable.

Stuart Corlett