I Was Hungry

K. Everett Jeremy

Description

Hunger is one of the most significant issues in America. One in eight Americans struggles with hunger, and more than thirteen million children live in food insecure homes. As Christians we are called to address the suffering of the hungry and poor: "For I was hungry, and you gave me food . . ." (Matthew 25:35). However, the problems of hunger and poverty are too large and too complex for any one of us to resolve individually.I Was Hungry offers not only an assessment of the current crisis but also a strategy for addressing it. Jeremy Everett, a noted advocate for the hungry and poor, calls Christians to work intentionally across ideological divides to build trust with one another and impoverished communities and effectively end America's hunger crisis. Everett, appointed by US Congress to the National Commission on Hunger, founded and directs the Texas Hunger Initiative, a successful ministry that is helping to eradicate hunger in Texas and around the globe. Everett details the organization's history and tells stories of its work with communities from West Texas to Washington, DC, helping Christians of all political persuasions understand how they can work together to truly make a difference.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• USA
• États-Unis

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 20 août 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781493418305
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 4 Mo

Extrait

Cover
Endorsements
“An urgent, biblically grounded summons to Christians to end the tragedy of contemporary poverty in America. Everett uses gripping personal stories to show both the wrenching agony of that poverty and also how it is quite possible to dramatically reduce it. Biblical. Factual. Practical. Engaging.”
— Ronald J. Sider , author of Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger
“I watched Everett emerge as a force for change for the poor and hungry in my own community. Everett understands the importance of systemic change, solidarity among disparate voices, and power from below that challenges superficial ideals from above for confronting one of America’s most heinous social issues. Now, years later, I have the joy of walking alongside this prophetic voice who is making a difference for the hungry of our neighborhood and nation.”
— Jimmy Dorrell , founder, Mission Waco/Mission World; pastor, Church Under the Bridge; president emeritus, Texas Christian Community Development Network
“We need this book! There are good books telling us why Christians should serve the poor, but they often leave one asking, ‘How?’ And there are good books that tell how a person or ministry has served the poor, but one wonders, ‘Would that really work in my community?’ In I Was Hungry , we learn how to actually serve the poor by seeing how serious Christians are doing just that in their own contexts.”
— Todd L. Lake , Belmont University
“There is a considerable difference between being aware of our neighbors’ needs and taking practical action to meet our neighbors’ needs. Everett has devoted himself to bridging the gap through his leadership with the Texas Hunger Initiative, his own personal acts of service, and now through his words in I Was Hungry . For those wanting to participate in the daily service of praying ‘on earth as it is in heaven,’ I Was Hungry is a good place to begin.”
— Andrew Greer , singer/songwriter and cohost of the Amazon Prime show Dinner Conversations with Mark Lowry and Andrew Greer
“Everett makes us see that ‘other America’ made up of needy people that is often invisible to those of us who live in our so-called affluent society. More important, he explains and demonstrates from his own experiences what we can do to minister to those who live there, whom Jesus called ‘the least of these.’ This book challenges us to act.”
— Tony Campolo , Eastern University
“Confronted with America’s hunger disaster—and its cultural, institutional, and spiritual causes—Everett asked, ‘How can I help?’ The Texas Hunger Initiative (THI) became his answer. I Was Hungry tells this remarkable story as well as the story of the gospel remarkably working its way through the world. Readers of this terrific book will find themselves asking, ‘How can I help?’”
— Jonathan Tran , Baylor University
“In this book, which is full of practical wisdom and insight, Everett shares what it looks like not only to address hunger but also for Christians to partner together with their neighbors for the common good. Anyone who is interested in loving their neighbor, in feeding the hungry, and in being the church in and for the world should read this book. Everett is one of my heroes, and the stories and insights here capture much of why this is true.”
— Myles Werntz , Hardin-Simmons University
“By the end of this book, readers will understand that they have a mentor and colleague in Jeremy who will help guide their own efforts to make their communities hunger free, as well as a friend who will help them guide their own personal spiritual journeys for a more just world.”
— Ambassador Tony P. Hall
“ I Was Hungry is a beautiful account of what our country needs more of: strong commitment to the common good, all through the lens of love. The pages are filled with enthralling stories that bring to life the realities of those struggling with food insecurity and poverty. It is God’s voice that I hear throughout this poignant book. Hunger and poverty are problems we can make a serious dent in, and Jeremy helps us see how our mental models, perspective on God’s rich abundance in our world, and a ‘with, not for’ plan of action can move us toward this goal as a nation.”
— Heather Reynolds , Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO), University of Notre Dame
“Everett is one of the most talented people I have ever worked with and one of the finest people I know. He is also one of the country’s leading experts on reducing food insecurity. This book is Everett at his best: drawing on his wealth of knowledge and experience, telling stories, and bringing people together to reduce hunger and poverty.”
— Victor J. Hinojosa , Honors Program, Baylor University
“Everett does more than preach about the spiritual values our country so desperately needs—he lives them. On every single page, the honesty and authenticity with which he shares his journey yields inspiration for living a life that matters .”
— Billy Shore , founder and executive chair of Share Our Strength
Half Title Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
© 2019 by Jeremy K. Everett
Published by Brazos Press
a division of Baker Publishing Group
PO Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.brazospress.com
Ebook edition created 2019
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4934-1830-5
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations labeled NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
Published in association with Creative Trust Literary Group, 210 Jamestown Park, Suite 200, Brentwood, TN 37027, www.creativetrust.com.
Dedication
To Amy, Lucas, Sam, and Wyatt. The loves of my life.
Epigraph

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” Then he will say to those at his left hand, “You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.” Then they also will answer, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?” Then he will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.” And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
Matthew 25:31–46
Contents
Cover i
Endorsements ii
Half Title Page iii
Title Page v
Copyright Page vi
Dedication vii
Epigraph viii
Foreword by David Beckmann xi
Acknowledgments xiii
1. Disaster: What I Learned from a Hurricane about Tackling the Hunger Disaster in America 1
2. Broken Streetlights: Finding Our Commonality amid Crisis 16
3. A Priest and a Prostitute: It Really Does Take Nearly Losing Your Life to Find It 25
4. The People: Finding Citizenship in the Right Kingdom 40
5. The Desert: Moving from Mind-Sets of Scarcity to Abundance 53
6. Organize: How a Shared Response Can Create Scalable Solutions to Our Communities’ Greatest Social Challenges 67
7. The West Side: Once You Engage a Community, Fear Cannot Hold Out against Love 85
8. Politics: Searching for Consensus amid a Landscape of Contention 103
9. Together at the Table: The Texas Hunger Initiative’s Story of Organizing a Systemic Response to Hunger 118
10. Justice: Our Cultural Moment to Find Common Ground for the Common Good 136
Notes 147
Index 155
Back Cover 160
Foreword
Once I started the first chapter of this book, I had a hard time putting it down. Jeremy Everett is a great storyteller. And the overarching story of this book is God’s call to Jeremy—to all of us actually—to end hunger.
I love the following story from Jeremy’s student days. Late one night he watched an old movie about a young man named Francesco who felt called to give away all his possessions to people in need. Jeremy was captivated by Francesco’s story even before he realized that the movie was a