A Powerful Warning for All Interested in Charity and Christian Service
What happens when Christian ministry and social justice lead to burnout, pride, or worse? Peter Greer knows firsthand how this can happen. Using stories from his own life and the lives of others in ministry, Greer shows everyone from CEOs to weekend volunteers how to protect themselves from the unseen hazards of doing good works and how to keep the flame of passionate ministry burning brightly. Includes end-of-chapter questions for personal reflection or group discussion.

Jesus came to seek and to save the lost, paying particular attention to the downtrodden and the poor. As followers of Jesus, Christians are called to imitate his example and reach out to those who have the least. This book offers biblical guidelines and practical strategies for reaching those on the margins of our society with the gospel of Jesus Christ. The authors - both pastors with years of experience ministering among the poor - set forth helpful "dos" and "don'ts" related to serving in the midst of less-affluent communities. Emphasizing the priority of the gospel as well as the importance of addressing issues of social justice, this volume will help pastors and other church leaders mobilize their people to plant churches and make an impact in "hard places" in their own communities and around the world.

The church in the West is rediscovering the fact that God cares deeply for the poor. More and more, churches and individual Christians are looking for ways to practice economic discipleship, but it's hard to make progress when we are blind to our own entanglement in our culture's idolatrous economic beliefs and practices.

Practicing the King's Economy cuts through much confusion and invites Christians to take their place within the biblical story of the "King Jesus Economy." Through eye-opening true stories of economic discipleship in action, and with a solid exploration of six key biblical themes, the authors offer practical ways for God's people to earn, invest, spend, compensate, save, share, and give in ways that embody God's love and provision for the world.

Foreword by Christopher J. H. Wright.

How can we love with excellence the millions of orphaned and vulnerable children in our world who have lost their parents, have no relatives to love them well, and likely will not be adopted?

In Pursuit of Orphan Excellence frames a conversation around this question through a collaborative effort involving fifteen authors from orphan care organizations around the world, bringing to the table an often-neglected component of orphan care. After discussing why everyone in the world, Christian and non-Christian alike, should care to the core about caring for orphans, In Pursuit examines a framework-from family to spiritual formation (and a whole lot in between)-of what excellent, best-practice orphan care looks like in situations where kinship care, legal adoption, quality foster care, or reunification with biological family is not possible, feasible, or likely to occur.

As you read this book, you will be invited to learn from others seeking best-practice orphan care, engage in the conversation, and advocate for orphans around the world . . . and in your own backyard.

The church of Jesus Christ finds itself at a very unique moment in history. The average Christian living in the "economically advanced countries" enjoys a level of prosperity that has been unimaginable for most of human history. At the same time, over 2.5 billion people in the Majority World (Africa, Asia, and Latin America) live on less than $2 per day, with many of these people being Christians. Ironically, it is amongst the "least of these" in the Global South that the global church is experiencing the most rapid growth. All of this raises profound challenges to the global church. How can churches and missionaries in the Majority World effectively address the devastating poverty both inside their congregations and just outside their doors? How can churches in the economically advanced countries effectively partner with Global South churches in this process? The very integrity of the global church's testimony is at stake, for where God's people reside, there should be no poverty (Deuteronomy 15:4; Acts 4:34). For the past several decades, microfinance (MF) and microenterprise development (MED) have been the leading approaches to poverty alleviation. MF/MED is a set of interventions that allow households to better manage their finances and start small businesses. From remote churches in rural Africa to the short-term missions programs of mega-churches in the United States, churches and missionaries have taken the plunge into MF/MED, trying to emulate the apparent success of large-scale relief and development organizations. Unfortunately, most churches and missionaries find this to be far more difficult than they had imagined. Repayment rates on loans are low and churches typically end up with struggling programs that require ongoing financial subsidies. Everybody gets hurt in the process: donors, relief and development agencies, churches and missionaries, and--most importantly-the poor people themselves. This book explains the basic principles for successfully utilizing microfinance in ministry. Drawing on best practice research and their own pioneering work with the Chalmers Center, Brian Fikkert and Russell Mask chart a path for churches and missionaries to pursue, a path that minimizes the risks of harm, relies on local resources, and enables missionaries and churches to minister in powerful ways to the spiritual and economic needs of some of the poorest people on the planet. The insights of microfinance can play a tremendous role in helping to stabilize poor households, removing them from the brink of disaster and enabling them to make the changes that are conducive to long-term progress. Moreover, when combined with evangelism and discipleship, a church-centered microfinance program can be a powerful tool for holistic ministry-one that is empowering for the poor and devoid of the dependencies plaguing most relationships between churches in economically advanced countries and churches in poor nations.