by Robert Linthicum
Mercy ministry? Good. Micro-enterprise development? You bet. Disaster relief? Of course. Social action? Uh, you mean political involvement? Isn’t that social gospel liberal stuff?
InterVarsity Press, P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426, 2003, 216 pages, $14.00.
—Reviewed by J. Nelson Jennings, Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri.
Mercy ministry? Good. Micro-enterprise development? You bet. Disaster relief? Of course. Social action? Uh, you mean political involvement? Isn’t that social gospel liberal stuff?
Robert Linthicum has been tackling this last evangelical reaction for years. At the beginning of his 1991 book Empowering the Poor, and at the outset of his more recent video series People of Power, Linthicum uses the same powerful anecdote from his own experience. He ministered to an inner-city African American teenage girl, viewing her issues strictly as individual—until he could no longer deny the systemic injustices that lay behind her heart-breaking struggles. That experience forever changed Linthicum’s understanding of community transformation.
In his latest book, Linthicum builds on previous works and offers an extensive theological and biblical rationale for why Christians should care about improving communities.
The book has two parts, one biblical-theological and one more experiential. Whether through the biblical examples of Nehemiah or Jesus, or contemporary examples from Detroit or Nairobi, Linthicum always urges Christians toward practical action. His “Get On with It!” epilogue and appendices with specific information on organizing networks and resources complete the book’s push towards implementation. The goal is to be doers and not simply hearers of the call to community transformation.
Evangelicals will find Linthicum’s biblical and experiential appeals compelling. This is not mere social activism at work. It is a serious challenge to those who love Christ and the Bible to follow Jesus in his redemption of people and their communities. Linthicum calls for courageous and practical action. Christians who are ready to take on the challenge will find this book a welcome, unsettling threat to their ignorance, comfort and indifference. Read at your own risk.
Check these titles:
Myers, Bryant. 1999. Walking with the Poor: Principles and Practices of Transformational Development. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books.
Jayakumar, Christian. 1999. God of the Empty-handed: Poverty, Power and the Kingdom of God. Monrovia, Calif.: MARC Publications.
Perkins, John. 1995. Restoring At-risk Communities: Doing It Together and Doing It Right. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books.
Copyright © 2004 Evangelism and Missions Information Service (EMIS). All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced or copied in any form without written permission from EMIS.
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