“The church is not only ekklesia—a gathered people. It is also diaspora—a scattered-seed people,” writes Larry Peabody in his book, Job-Shadowing Daniel: Walking the Talk at Work (2010, p. 8). Like Daniel of the Old Testament book, who served God despite a challenging workplace during the Jewish diaspora, Christians today find their purpose and ministry […]
Author Glenn Barth’s personal mission is “to mobilize the church in cities and communities for the transformation of lives and institutions under the Lordship of Jesus Christ by identifying, connecting, and resourcing leaders.”[1] President of GoodCities, a non-profit organization based out of Minneapolis, MN (see www.goodcities.net), Barth uses his book The Good City to cast […]
If The Thin Book of Appreciative Inquiry teaches you how to leverage positive experience to create vision and energy for a better future, The Thin Book of SOAR shows you how to build a framework around Appreciative Inquiry (AI) so that it can be used for strategic planning purposes within organizations of any size. This […]
In her book, The Thin Book of Appreciative Inquiry,[1] author Sue Hammond provides an excellent overview of the change philosophy developed by David Cooperrider and associates at Case Western Reserve University. Through this Thin Book publication, Hammond hopes to entice the reader to delve in deeper into the world of AI. Not only a student […]
Considered to be the Official Handbook of the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA), Restoring At-Risk Communities[1] provides all the basic principles and how-to’s needed to get a ministry started. Edited by John Perkins, the “father of Christian community development,” the book is a compilation of eleven chapters written by various CCDA experts, including Perkins himself. […]
In Building Social Business, Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus of Grameen Bank presents a “new kind of capitalism that serves humanity’s most pressing needs.”[1] Our current global financial crisis is not the only crisis at hand, says Yunus, but one of a series of crises: food, energy, environmental, healthcare, social, economic and poverty. Yunus […]
In their collaborative work, Street Signs: A New Direction in Urban Ministry, authors Ray Bakke and Jon Sharpe share their personal migration story from rural roots to urban ministry.[1] Filled with lessons learned, theological reflections, and practical helps, Street Signs points towards a new way or ministering in, to and with the city. The book […]
Known for his prophetic writing in The Next Christendom, acclaimed historian Philip Jenkins proves that understanding the past is vital to knowing the present and foreseeing the future. In The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia—and How It Died, Jenkins uncovers that […]
Pope Francis, the current pope of the Catholic Church, has frequently made the news since his appointment in March 2013 because of his humble character and particular concern for the poor. In his Apostolic Exhoratation Evangelii Gaudium (“The Joy of the Gospel”), the pope encourages and inspires clergy and all believers to be more missional […]
Corrie De Boer, the well-known Filipina urban theologian and practitioner, describes author Patrick Hobbs as “a compassionate urban pastor who grapples with justice issues and the complexity of the political, social, economic, and environmental and missiological challenges of the megacity.”[1] In his book Dawn Reapers, Hobbs unpacks the complexity of ministry among the urban poor […]