Linking Arms, Linking Lives

J. Sider Ronald

Description

Among the various lines drawn between people in the church--male and female, young and old, black and white, rich and poor, Republican and Democrat--there is the line between the urban and the suburban. The stereotypes of the edgy, socially active, multicultural urban Christian and the middle-class, comfortable, upwardly mobile suburban Christian mix fact and fiction. Linking Arms, Linking Lives looks beyond stereotypes and makes a compelling case for partnership that crosses urban and suburban for effective ministry among the poor.Drawing from a growing network of development practitioners, pastors, and theologians, this book focuses on the experiences of partnership between urban and suburban entities to provide both theological foundations and practical guidelines for those who desire to partner effectively. All who want to find viable ways to help the poor will welcome this thoughtful and hope-filled book. Includes a Foreword by Noel Castellanos.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Christianity

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 01 octobre 2008
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781441201874
• Langue: English

Extrait

We are moving into a new era of urban life, an era in which the poor and rich alike live in both the city and the suburbs. To meet the new challenges, God is calling us back to biblical community to serve and to testify. Linking Arms, Linking Lives is the cutting edge of this movement. Taken seriously, this book will redefine ministry. This work, with sensitivity and insight, exposes what nearly always lies beneath the surface of urban-suburban partnership attempts. The authors, all experienced and field-tested leaders, not only show us why we need biblical community, but how . This is a field guide like none other, a book for Christians everywhere to read and carry with them.
Michael O. Emerson , Allyn Gladys Cline Professor of Sociology; founding director, Center on Race, Religion, and Urban Life, Rice University; author, Divided by Faith , United by Faith , Against All Odds , and People of the Dream
This book has teeth on it-not just vision but the tools to build the vision. Linking Arms, Linking Lives is a beautiful invitation to bust out of the ghettos of wealth and poverty and reimagine the world together. The voices that created this book are contemporary heroes of the faith whose experiences bring their words to life. May it move us closer to God s dream for our neighborhoods and world.
Shane Claiborne , author, activist, and recovering sinner, www.thesimpleway.org
Linking Arms, Linking Lives informs the Christian church on why and how we should speak to each other. It is a biblically based, practical approach to how we can unite urban and suburban Christians under Christ s lordship to do ministry.
Luis Cort s Jr. , president, Esperanza
The geography and demography of America s urban-suburban world is changing rapidly. The suburban better-off are living closer geographically to the urban poor than ever before but are also more completely separated from their poor neighbors. This separation is affecting the church, as it tends to be the church of one group or the other, but seldom of both at the same time. Being separated impoverishes both sides and undermines the ability of local churches to deal with issues of poverty, racism, and injustice.
This book is a call to partnership, to seeking out and becoming neighbors across the urban-suburban divide. Written by four giants in the evangelical engagement with the poor in the city over the last forty years, this book provides the biblical insights and practical wisdom any congregation can use to become living witnesses to the whole gospel of Jesus Christ.
Bryant L. Myers , professor of international development, School of Intercultural Studies, Fuller Theological Seminary
Linking Arms, Linking Lives offers compelling reasons, comprehensive guidance, and relevant practices for implementing urban-suburban partnerships in the twenty-first century. The experience and wisdom of these veterans of community ministry combined with a treasure trove of contemporary examples makes this book a resource-rich gift. I highly recommend it!
Curtiss Paul DeYoung , professor of reconciliation studies, Bethel University
The vast changes taking place in the city require that the church discover new ways of seeing urban mission and develop new strategies, new partnerships, and a host of new leaders to carry it out. This book has its finger on the pulse of the new global city, and every practitioner committed to God s work there will love it.
Randy White , national coordinator for urban projects, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship
Linking Arms, Linking Lives
Linking Arms, Linking Lives
How Urban-Suburban Partnerships Can Transform Communities

RONALD J. SIDER JOHN M. PERKINS WAYNE L. GORDON F. ALBERT TIZON
2008 by Ronald J. Sider, John M. Perkins, Wayne L. Gordon, and F. Albert Tizon
Published by Baker Books a division of Baker Publishing Group P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287 www.bakerbooks.com
Printed in the United States of America
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
Linking arms, linking lives : how urban-suburban partnerships can transform communities / Ronald J. Sider . . . [et al.].
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ).
ISBN 978-0-8010-7083-9 (pbk.)
1. Church work. 2. Church and social problems. 3. City churches. 4. Suburban churches. I. Sider, Ronald J.
BV4400.L56 2008
253.09173-dc22
2008024302
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture is taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture marked KJV is taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
Scripture marked NIV is taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION . NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
Contents
Acknowledgments
Foreword by Noel Castellanos
Introduction: Personal Words from the Authors
From Ron Sider, Theologian
From John Perkins, Community Organizer and Reconciler
From Wayne Gordon, Pastor
From Al Tizon, Missionary
Part 1 Where We Do It: The Evolving Urban-Suburban Landscape
1. Location and Beyond
Part 2 Why We Do It: The Biblical Demand for Partnership
2. The Call to Radical Community
3. The Call to Spirit-Empowered, Holistic Mission
Part 3 How We Do (and Don t Do) It: Principles and Practice of Partnership
4. Partnership Essentials
5. Dos and Don ts for Both Urban and Suburban Groups
6. Dos and Don ts for Urban Partners
7. Dos and Don ts for Suburban Partners
8. Partnership Fruit
Part 4 How Others Have Done It: Practical Models of Partnership
9. Leap of Faith: Urban-Suburban Churches in Partnership
10. Expanding to the City: Urban-Suburban Parachurch Organizations in Partnership
11. Beyond Profit: Businesses in Partnership
12. Hall of Faith: Ordinary Saints in Partnership
Part 5 Almost Ready to Do It: Looking Ahead
13. First Steps (or Just Do It!)
Conclusion: We Can Do It!
Appendix 1: Memorandum of Understanding
Appendix 2: Resources for Kingdom Partnership
Notes
Bibliography
Acknowledgments
This book testifies to its very subject-partnership. It could not have been written without the many partners who made it possible, the most obvious being the partnership between the four authors. What you have in your hands is a book that took several years of face-to-face meetings, conference calls, and email correspondence between Wayne Gordon, John Perkins, Ron Sider, and Al Tizon, sharing their experiences and stories of partnership with one another. The fact that one of us pastors an active growing church (Wayne), and the others teach seminary courses (Ron and Al), run non-profit organizations (John and Ron), and fly about the country speaking here and there (all of us), this project could have easily been relegated to the back burner.
But the importance of understanding effective ministry partnership for the twenty-first century compelled us to press on.
John, Ron, and Wayne agreed on the approach, outline, and basic content via emails and conference calls. Al then spent considerable time talking face-to-face with each of the three as well as doing other research for the book. He then wrote the first draft of the book and carefully incorporated the others suggested edits. John, Ron, and Wayne gratefully acknowledge Al s central role as the person who wrote this book. But Al acknowledges in turn that he could not have done it without the other three, because they provided much of the raw data for the book from their vast and varied ministry experiences.
So if any oversights, gaping holes, or glaring mistakes exist, blame should go to all four!
As the authors of this book, we want to thank the many practitioners, churches, organizations, and businesses that were willing to share their experiences of ministry partnerships across the urban-suburban divide. They are the ultimate heroes in this story. If this book manages to inspire others to serve the poor via urban-suburban partnership, the credit goes collectively to those who go before them. Thanks also to Perry Bigelow, who not only encouraged us to write this book but also gave the necessary financial resources to make it possible. Many thanks go to Helen Davis, a student at Palmer Theological Seminary, who served as special assistant to the project, doing much of the nitty-gritty administrative work, as well as making important editorial suggestions. Bob Hosack at Baker Books demonstrated much patience with us in seeing this project to completion, and for this we also extend our appreciation.
A partnership with which this book does not deal directly, but which certainly underscores all other partnerships, is the one we enjoy with our wives. John and Vera Mae have been married for fifty-seven years, Ron and Arbutus for forty-seven, Wayne and Anne for thirty-one, and Al and Janice for twenty-seven. Together, we represent 162 years of marital and ministry partnership! We dedicate this book to these, our life partners; for without them by our sides, we simply cannot do what we do, preach what we preach, and write what we write.
John M. Perkins, Jackson, MS Ronald J. Sider, Philadelphia, PA Wayne Gordon, Chicago, IL Al Tizon, Upper Darby, PA February 2008
Foreword
When I arrived in Chicago from San Jose, California, in 1990 to establish a church in the Mexican community of La Villita, the inner city was the place to minister. In fact, twenty years ago when most of us thought about ministry to the poor, we thought immediately of the urban cen