suggested reading: social justice

 

 

Ending Global Poverty by Stephen C. Smith

Recommended by Rich Nathan

 

Two out of every three people in the world live on less than two dollars a day. This is a grim statistic but hundreds of millions of people are breaking free from poverty with the help of grass-roots programs and organizations funded by regular people here and abroad. Stephen Smith gives readers the tools they need to help people overcome poverty and to determine what organizations are most effective in fighting it.

 

 

 

Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall

Recommended by Marcia Thaxton

 

A modern-day slave and an international art dealer are bound together by a dying woman's faith. Will Ron, the art dealer, be able to embrace Denver, who's been homeless for almost 20 years? Will Denver learn to trust a white man? There's pain and laughter, doubt and tears, and in the end a triumphal story.

 

 

 

 

Spirituality of the Beatitudes: Matthew's Vision for the Church in an Unjust World by Michael H. Crosby

Recommended by Don Bromley

 

Originally published in 1981 and now in a newly revised edition, Capuchin-Franciscan priest Michael H. Crosby explores the message of Jesus Christ in terms directly relevant to the late 20th century and beyond.

 

 

 

 

Under the Overpass by Mike Yankoski

Recommended by Marcia Thaxton

 

Through Mike's firsthand account, Under the Overpass provides important insight into the truths of the street and calls the younger generation of believers to take great risks of faith to bring Christ's love to the neediest corners of the world.

 

 

 

 

 

It's the Little Things: Everyday Interactions That Anger, Annoy, and Divide the Races by Lena Williams

Recommended by Ken Wilson

 

Williams, a reporter for the New York Times, speaks from experience about a range of annoying to dangerous incidences that are caused by the lack of understanding between the races. Williams examines the arenas of the workplace, public places, school, home, social settings, and the media.

 

 

A Theology As Big As the City by Ray Bakke

Recommended by Rich Nathan

 

How does God see the city? What does Scripture have to say about urban ministry? These are the questions Ray Bakke has systematically addressed, beginning with Genesis and continuing through to Revelation. Here is a biblical theology that will constantly surprise and challenge as you get a glimpse of how big God's view of the city really is.

 

 

 

Take This Bread: A Radical Conversion by Sara Miles

 

A lesbian left-wing journalist who covered revolutions around the world, Miles was not the woman her friends expected to see suddenly praising Jesus. Religion for her was not about piety; it was about real hunger, real food, and real bodies. The first food pantry she established provided hundreds of poor, elderly, sick, deranged, and marginalized people with food and a sense of belonging. Within a few years, she and the people she served started nearly a dozen more pantries.

 

 

The Beloved Community by Charles Marsh

Recommended by Ken Wilson and Rich Nathan

 

Marsh offers a portrait of the Christian faith as a set of social disciplines shaped by gratitude, forgiveness, and reconcili-ation. As well as immediate pep talks and consolations, he says, biblical religion offers peacemakers and activists a potent arsenal for imaging freedom, energizing social reform, and forging solidarity with the poor.

 

 

 

Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich

 

Nickel and Dimed reveals low-wage America in all its tenacity, anxiety, and surprising generosity--a land of Big Boxes, fast food, and a thousand desperate strategies for survival. Instantly acclaimed for its insight, humor, and passion, this book is changing the way America perceives its working poor.

 

 

 

 

 

Rich Christians In an Age of Hunger by Ronald J. Sider

 

In the 20th anniversary revision of his groundbreaking book, Rich Christians In An Age of Hunger, Ronald Sider examines the complex causes of poverty and offers concrete, practical proposals for social and individual change. The most thorough, biblical case against poverty—20 years ago or today.

 

 

 

 

 

Renewing the City by Robert D. Lupton

 

Community developer and urban activist Robert Lupton looks to the O.T. example of Nehemiah as a role model for community transformation and renewal. Lupton sees the book of Nehemiah as memoirs of an urban developer who transformed a decaying city into a place of security and vitality. Placing that story in juxtaposition with contemporary realities offers concrete models for how our own metropolitan environments can be revitalized.

 

 

Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum

 

Situations perceived as a social segregation are frequently observed at the middle school, high school, and university levels. Here, a look at the school scene leads into a deeper study of racial relations. With a combination of anecdotal material, anthropological data, and psychological insight, Tatum examines the development of racial identity.