June 2002

"Urban Poverty"

Fighting Urban Poverty: Our Illusive Mission

By Roger Johnson

To speak of the persistence of poverty alongside the mission of the American urban church at this juncture in time, we find ourselves working on several slippery slopes. Let me explain.

As of the first week in June, U.S. economic indicators are turning out to be pretty much a “mixed bag.” With an unemployment rate still sticking at 5.8 percent, and a first quarter economy “strong, but less so than initially thought” (if you like to go by headline writers), the “recovery” is far from complete. Those macro indicators translate into 79,000 construction jobs and 19,000 factory jobs lost in April alone. Some of those jobs will be “won back,” but how long it will take, and at what cost to poverty-stricken families, we can only guess.

Perhaps you’ve seen the quite familiar Department of Labor graph (illustrated right). Our government does own up to the fact that we’ve been through a recession of sorts (now that we can point to the fact that we’ve succeeded in once again making our way out of it). The tricky part (as you can see) is that we aren’t coming out of it all that fast, nor are we very far removed from the effects of the recent recession. In fact, many of us would argue that America’s cities and disadvantaged communities are still within the long reach of the tentacles of that recession, and that much work on the part of government, business and the faith communities is still needed to change the situation.

The other illusive situation operating before us is the fact that much of urban America is back to work, thanks to both the Welfare Reform Act of 1996 and some rather self-serving “employment stories” on the part of several of America’s largest fast-food chains and big-box distributors. But coupled with those employment stories is the reality that most of the “newly-employed” are forced to hold two jobs in order to make ends meet, and then without the health benefits that they may have had while remaining on state welfare roles. The book jacket to Barbara Ehrenreich’s “Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America,” Metropolitan Books, 2001, describes the present state well:

Millions of Americans work full-time, year-round, for poverty-level wages. In 1998, Barbara Ehrenreich decided to join them. She was inspired in part by the rhetoric surrounding welfare reform, which promised that a job – any job – could be the ticket to a better life. But how does anyone survive, let alone prosper, on six to seven dollars an hour? To find out, Ehrenreich left her home, took the cheapest lodgings she could find, and accepted whatever jobs she was offered … as a waitress, a hotel maid, a cleaning woman, a nursing home aide, and a Wal-Mart sales clerk. Very quickly, she discovered that no job is truly “unskilled,” that even the lowliest occupations require exhausting mental and muscular effort. She also learned that one job is not enough; you need at least two if you intend to live indoors.

Of the economy, its present and future state and its continuing impact upon the great cities making up urban America, much more can and will be said. But for now let’s turn to the city church and its mission. Many local churches have known their roles to be prophets and much more through times of economic crisis. I speak of churches which have historically had in place mechanisms for identifying economic need among their people and within their wider communities. And then I also speak of churches that have consistently displayed the courage to put in place the economic assistance and development programs that have had a strong impact upon their cities and communities when most needed. (* We’ve tended to downplay programs as some sort of Band-Aid approach to problem solving in recent years. It is now time for clear thinkers to look back and understand the value of church-based programs that actually do solve human problems.)

The situation urban churches found themselves in during the “boom-bust” cycle of the 90’s, is somewhat an example of poor planning during good economic times. While many congregations would now like to help their people and their communities, they have failed to “squirrel away” resources during the times of plenty to fund their own economic recovery programs, let alone be part of any “government-designed” systems. Fail to plan, plan to fail.

In addition, the urban church is simply feeling itself caught in the midst of much tension as to what its proper mission should be in these times. Many successful city churches have found their success centered squarely around the interior spiritual lives of their attenders, leaving issues of employment, housing, and care for the community of Christ, the environment and the wider city of God’s humanity to experts in those fields. When people are left with no safety net to fall back into, the church is their first – and often only – line of defense. Perhaps this is as it should be, and perhaps the church is once again learning much about its holistic mission in the city.

The difficulty we find in this summer of 2002 is that many city churches now have to play catch-up and learn “on the job,” if you will. Nothing is so very wrong with that reality, except for the millions of hurting people -- unemployed and under-employed -- who need our immediate help. The private business sector is not responding, and basically on “vacation” for the remainder of the summer. Government has made its decision, long ago, not to be an agent of assistance and transformation in American life. This leaves the important stopgap measure of temporary assistance for America’s neediest urban dwellers falling to city churches and not-for-profit agencies.

In our continual quest to proclaim an authentic and effective gospel for our city, let us as church leaders and faithful lay people allow Jesus’ words regarding poor people to keep reverberating within our minds and souls. (see p. 2, Bible Study). It’s a spiritually tired and lazy leader who’ll dismiss the situation by saying, “the poor will always be with us.” Instead, let’s try naming the poor, caring for their immediate problems and then making sure – through long-term solutions – that poverty will never afflict them again.

Second, take a good look around your city (maybe you don’t have to go much farther than your own community!) and realize that poverty is a distinct reality in urban America. Look deeply into the eyes of the young mother working the morning shifts at McDonald’s the next time you stop by for coffee. She’s probably quite tired following her full-time factory job the night before. Listen carefully when the same guy comes by your church with the same “hard-luck story,” week after week. Maybe he does know you, remember his story? Maybe he’s just hoping this time you’ll take a moment to listen, and then he’ll get his “pitch” in. (Basically like preachers do each Sunday.) Poor people are all around us and they are real people. Either find them, or they’ll find you.

Finally, let poor people into your life in some way, you decide how. Do something with them, do something for them, but allow them to do something worthwhile with and for you. Teach, sing, converse, work, whatever happens at your church. The church isn’t a government line item; it’s a lively organism where people find their places with other people.

Sounds like a program for fighting urban poverty? I think so! It’s called the church of Jesus Christ in action. Give it a chance to work in our cities, and get out of the way! -- RJ

Roger Johnson, editor, CityVoices, 1242 West Addison St, Chicago, IL 60613-3825, roger@cityvoices.com

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Bible Study: Jesus Own Words Concerning Poor People

Luke 4:18,19 – “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor, He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

Luke 6:20 – “And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: ‘Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.’” v. 24 – “But woe to you that are rich, for you have received your consolation.”

Luke 12:16-21 – “And he told them a parable, saying, ‘The land of a rich man brought forth plentifully; and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns, and build larger ones; and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry,’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

These passages from the Gospel of Luke give us more than a hint as to the “upside-down” nature of economic life in the new kingdom which Jesus was bringing about. “Blessed are the poor,” in a world which despised the poor, looking to assign some grave sin in their family lineage. (Not so far from modern-day practices.) “Good news to the poor?” Can the poor really understand good news? “Woe to the rich.” Hold on Jesus! We’ve worked for our money! We deserve it! You can’t begrudge us anything, or can you?

Well, Jesus goes on to explain what he really means with his quite direct parable in chapter twelve. Now think this one through in 21st century urban terms.

Even though our young capitalist’s technology investments went belly-up long ago, his broker had wisely steered him to some productive real estate investments, coupled with the “quite-solid” bond market. He’s weathered a bad economy pretty well, up till this point. So long as his “high-end tenants” still keep paying their rents, he’s doing okay. In fact, our capitalist will soon search for more real estate development in another city where he can do more with his money, he thinks.

The problem is, he has yet to consult with his God, owner of all goods and riches as to how he should best care for this bit of the kingdom which has been entrusted to him. As a capitalist, he knows in his heart of hearts that he is only a temporary steward of this earth’s bounty and riches. But once again, the illusion of real, permanent ownership has taken over. The belief that capital must only beget further capital has won out, with little regard for material things that must be invested back with the poor, the homeless, the parent-less and those with little or no hope. Is it any wonder that Jesus did tell us how it would be difficult for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God?

But what about poor people themselves? Do they occupy such a special, prophetic role in Jesus’ whole scheme of things? If we are to believe Luke 6, the entire Sermon on the Mount, and the example of how Jesus lived and taught his disciples to live, then the poor set a kind of example of what kingdom living is about. And not such a bad example in the face of high-minded Hebrews and conquering Romans of two thousand years ago.

Yes, Jesus in his own curious way made a lot of sense to his world, just as he does to our over-spent and over-sold world today. Jesus, the Christ sums up his reversal of economies in his both strange and beautiful words in the midst of Luke’s Gospel, chapter 12:32-34

“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms; provide yourselves with purses that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

To Sum Up:

1) Listen to the poor in our society. They’re probably telling us something important in their own quiet and prophetic ways.

2) Wealth? We’re all probably as wealthy as we need to be to serve God effectively. Let’s focus on obedience and effectiveness.

3) The main point: keep your treasure and your heart in the very same place. Sell unnecessary stuff, give to the poor!

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Houses of Worship Provide Food and Shelter

Hartford, CT, November 20, 2001 - America’s synagogues, mosques and churches are already deeply involved in President Bush’s call for a new voluntarism, according to Prof. Carl S. Dudley of Hartford Institute for Religion Research, Hartford Seminary.

"The nation’s congregations provide a massive ‘safety net,’" Dudley says, citing comprehensive research on U.S. Faith Communities Today. "It’s not new. From one coast to the other, American congregations are engaged in caring ministries. Where pain is greatest, churches, synagogues and mosques respond," he said. Dudley has statistics to prove it. "Our research shows that nearly 85 percent of all U.S. congregations are engaged with soup kitchens or food pantries, with emergency shelters and clothing pantries, and with financial help to persons in need," he says.

American religious groups are deeply involved, either directly or with other local faith-based agencies, in such programs as tutoring children, providing housing for the elderly, substance abuse therapy and ministries to persons in prisons. According to Dudley, Americans "act out their faith" by collecting and distributing food and in other ways sharing the benefits of the life they enjoy."

According to Dudley, "the work of faith communities long preceded what people today call charitable choice. Our research demonstrates that congregations are already at work with governments at every level. In many situations there is a close partnership between local religious groups and business, philanthropy and educational institutions when it comes to serving people in need."

"These fluid relationships are a reflection of current practice rather than the cutting edge," he said, describing congregations serving with schools to help tutor, with police departments in mentoring teenagers, with businesses to help prepare individuals for jobs and with welfare agencies providing foster parents. "There’s an enormous amount of counseling going on in these days when men and women, even highly-placed persons, lose their employment."

Dudley calls attention to the deep involvement of historically African American congregations, especially in urban areas, where they clearly lead the way in outreach to people in need. On average, he said, African American congregations sponsor 8.7 different outreach ministries. Liberal Protestant groups come second with an average of 7.1 separate programs to meet human needs.

Dudley says that his research also demonstrates that the growing number of Muslim congregations reach out to their communities as well. "Although they are distinct in belief and faith-practices, in their social ministries they appear remarkably similar to other faith communities," he says.

For more information, contact: Dr. Carl Dudley, Hartford Seminary, (860) 509-9543, cdudley@hartsem.edu.

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PREACHING ABOUT POVERTY: 'We All Get Healed'

A sermon by Jim Wallis, Convener and President of Call to Renewal, a national federation of churches, community development and other faith-based organizations working together to overcome poverty. Delivered: January 13, 2002, at First Presbyterian Church, Atlanta, Georgia.

Let me begin with a story. It’s about a young man who was studying for the priesthood. He was nervous about his task, especially about the liturgy around that altar where he would have to do his parts and say things like, “The Lord be with you,” and the congregation responds, “And also with you.” He was afraid he would get his parts wrong and they would get their parts wrong and the whole thing would fall apart and he would be a failure as a new minister.

So on that Sunday morning, he approached the altar with great fear and trepidation. And then, he just panicked when he realized the microphone had gone dead. So they’re waiting like you are and here is this young priest tapping frantically on the microphone. He says, “Something is wrong with this microphone.” The congregation responded, “And also with you.”

I suppose you don’t have Urban Ministry Week and Urban Ministry Sunday if there isn’t something wrong. That’s why we have events like this. And indeed, there is something wrong. I had the joy this fall of doing a preaching mission in Sweden of all places, with my son Luke and my wife, Joy, who is an Episcopal priest herself. And while we were there one of our hosts said to us, we have a new effort here in the country to work on child poverty because we discovered one in 60 of our children are poor. One in 60. So I did some research. In Belgium it’s also 1 in 60 kids poor. In Germany 1 in 25. In Britain where we went right after Sweden, it’s 1 in 10. But in the United States of America, the richest nation on the face of the earth, and though we are now suffering through a recession, we have enjoyed in these last few years a time of record prosperity. Despite that, in this nation, 1 in 6 of our children are poor. And for children of color, double – 1 in 3. One out of every 3 children of color are poor.

The politicians are now saying to us – you faith-based organizations, you’re the answer to our problems. We used to be just church folks, in the streets, in the trenches, now we’re FBOs – faith-based organizations. And they’re looking to us for answers. There are no easy religious answers to hard questions, nonetheless, we are being looked to for answers. So what does the faith community have to say?

The Isaiah 58 text points us in the direction I think we need to go. I love working with students. I teach, I speak on college campuses almost every week, and I find students are volunteer-ing in record numbers. They’re tutoring inner-city kids, they’re building houses for low-income families. In fact, at Harvard my students would take off between semesters, go down to Georgia, to Americus, and join the Easter Build with my friend Millard Fuller at Habitat for Humanity. And they’d work hard for a week, then go back to Harvard and return to work. They give up a beer-drinking week in the sun and they do all this service. I have students who go to the Middle East war zones, they’ve been to South Africa, and I ask them why. Why are you volunteering more than is necessary for a balanced resume? Which they are. And as they struggle to answer, I always hear two words coming back at me – meaning and connection. They’re looking for meaning, they’re looking for connections. And our best and brightest young leaders are stumbling onto the wisdom of Isaiah. Listen to the prophet:

Is this not the fast that I choose, to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, to break every yoke. And the prophet’s call for direct personal involvement is as contemporary as if it was written yesterday, or tomorrow on the birthday of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and to bring the homeless poor into your house (or your Sunday morning church for breakfast. I wish more churches had breakfast for homeless people on Sunday morning.) When you see the naked to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin. The words are critical here – your own flesh, your own relatives, your own family, says Isaiah.

And here’s the good part. We social justice types like the parts about breaking yokes and bringing in the poor, but here’s the part that really is interesting: Then your light shall break forth like the dawn and your healing shall spring up speedily.

Oh, Isaiah, I must have read that wrong. He must have meant “then their light breaks forth like the dawn and their healing” – the folks who came for breakfast this morning – it’s about getting them healed, right? It’s about those of us who have been blessed offering a blessing to the unfortunate. That’s what we’re used to, that’s the old paradigm. That’s what we mean by social action. Isaiah got his words mixed up. But that’s what he says. Then will your light rise like the dawn and your healing will come quickly. This is about our healing, says Isaiah. It’s about our wholeness.

You’ve seen all the books and tapes about how to be whole, about how to be healed, about how to be balanced, how to be prosperous. But Isaiah is saying, save your money.

Isaiah says quite directly that the path to genuine healing and self-fulfillment is the journey that connects us to other people and especially those in the family who have been left out. When you help connect them, you get healed. The convent-ional wisdom is the opposite. It says, well, I got to get my life together, get my security straight, and then if I have some time left over, I’ll do some community service. Isaiah is saying, and the college students are finding, that the best way to get your life together is to do something for somebody else. Then will your light break forth and your healing spring up speedily.

To do it the other way is a trap, and we may never get our life together. I see this all the time. Our Sojourners Neighborhood Center is in inner-city Washington, D.C. In that neighborhood center there is a college student from Howard University, 19, and she’s tutoring an 8-year old girl from off the streets. And that girl looks up at the 19-year old and thinks to herself – she’s a black woman just like I’m going to be. She’s smart. She’s in college. She likes me, I can tell. She thinks I’m smart. She thinks I could go to college too. Maybe I will. That 19-year old looks at that young girl and thinks to herself. This kid is the best part of my week. The time that I spend with her makes my life feel like it has some meaning, purpose, direction. It’s the thing I look forward to most during the week, even when I’m busy with my studies. Because it’s what keeps me going. In fact, I want to do something in my life that makes a difference in the lives of kids like her.

It changes the dynamic – everybody is getting changed and we all get healed. That’s the promise of Isaiah. If you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom will be like the noonday. The Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your needs in parched places.

Do you have any parched places this morning? I do. Isaiah wants to get them watered. In fact, Isaiah says you’ll be like a watered garden. Wonderful image – a spring of water whose waters never fail. Isn’t that glorious? Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt, you shall raise up the foundations of many generations, you shall be called the repairer of the breach, and the restorer of streets to live in.

This is a moment of transformation for us, to make sure that all of us now are part of the healing. I don’t want to hear faith-based organizations saying, we’re running out of money. My greatest nightmare, one provider told me last week, is happening – we’ve got more needs and fewer resources.

Isaiah is our path forward. Isaiah is not talking about guilt, talking about blaming somebody else. Isaiah’s not talking about doing something for somebody else; Isaiah is talking about a vision in which all of us get healed. Too many of our kids are in trouble and need a blessing. When we bring them in, Isaiah says we all get the blessing.

Contact: Jim Wallis, Sojourners, 2401 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009, (202) 328-8842, email: sojourners@sojo.net

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PREACHING ABOUT POVERTY: ‘Let Us Break Bread Together’
Dr. Cecil L. 'Chip' Murray, Senior Pastor, First AME Church, Los Angeles, California

When empty, you won’t go wrong thinking of Jesus as a filling station.When you see others who are empty, you won’t go wrong letting Jesus use you as a filling station. John 6:9 – “We have exactly five loaves of bread and two fish.”

I. Jesus sympathizes. This is his first gift, sympathy-not preaching, teaching, healing-but sympathizing. And seeing the crowds, Jesus took pity. Sympathy starts with seeing, seeing with the soul. From there it passes to the masses. You think a cold is contagious, try compassion! The virus of Jesus’ love touches a young lad in the crowd, one who will come to see that we don’t lose what we give away; we don’t gain immortality by getting, but by giving. He gives away not part of his lunch, not much of his lunch, but all of his lunch. His mother has prepared his lunch that morning. The loaves are barley, poor folk’s bread, the food of the contemptible. The fish are the size of sardines, pickled from the Sea of Galilee, a delicacy. Here we have an anomaly-poor folk’s bread, rich folk’s meat. The shell of poverty with the inner core of plenty. This is the picture that sustains us in a world where one-third of the population have an annual income of $100, where 70 million die each year of starvation, where 400 million suffer chronic malnutrition. This is a world that hungers for the living bread, the inner resolution that drives the outer revolution.

I asked God to give me a blessing, and God asked me to become a blessing. God says, if I give you health, it is for you to lift the fallen, to rescue the perishing. If I give you wealth, it is for you to enable the poor, to comfort the homeless. If I give you education, it is not to make for better living, but for better life. If I give you power, it is for you to help the powerless. God does not equip freight trains to pull little red wagons. God does not do for us what we can do for ourselves.

II. Jesus Systematizes. God is a systems designer. God knows we accomplish nothing without a format, a design for success. Whether it’s a scheme for creation (Adam in Eden), or re-creation (Jesus on Calvary), God structures. Tell the people to sit down. Order. Segments. Aisles. Structure. Then the engineer takes inventory: “What do we have to begin with?” Jesus takes stock of what we have. The disciples say, “Nothing but . . .” Jesus says, “We have everything we need.” Remember the tiny grain of mustard seed. Remember “where two or three are gathered in my name.” Remember the bread in the wilderness. Remember your hard-time diet of oatmeal, no meal, and missed meal? Inventory. Then comes prayer. And He took the loaf and gave thanks. There is no order in your life, there is no inventory in your life unless your life is a life of prayer.

It is a sin to waste food. America’s garbage cans could feed the world. New York and California have an 18 percent hunger rate, yet 22 percent of California’s waste is food. The leftover pieces. It is not that our eyes are too big, or our hearts too small, but that our systems are too narrow-we neglect the broken pieces because we do not structure for the broken hearts.

The ancient Jewish custom was to collect the broken pieces to keep from taking God’s grace for granted. The belief: if you do not gather the pieces, the demons will gather you. Perhaps like the people of old, we do well to carry little baskets, so we learn how to use what we have; so we learn that if we know how to use what we have, the Lord will give us more. God can fill you when you are empty, but not when you are full-full of yourself.

To empty ourselves we must examine ourselves. Then we must find ways to correct the imbalances when we fail the examination. Claude Anderson, former Secretary of Commerce, reminds the fair-minded that every morning White Americans wake up to owning 98% of America’s wealth. Blacks have a combined net worth of less than 1%. Blacks rank high in the consumer economy, perhaps some $562 billion, making Black America the ninth richest economy in the world; but this is rich in spending, not producing. There’s room enough, there’s bread enough, there’s fish enough for everyone, if we not only devise ways to teach how to fish and how to farm, but how to own the farm, how to own the pond.

III. Jesus Saves. Jesus satisfies our deepest needs, the needs of body, the needs of soul, the needs of mind. Each needs food. Each needs the bread of life. Ho! Everyone who is hungry, come and eat. Jesus will fill you up and turn you around. Hallelujah!

Our poverty is caused by our feeding off of each other, rather than our feeding each other. Our speaking about each other, rather than speaking to each other. Since World War II, we have had 300 small wars in which 10 million people were killed. At this moment, a fourth of the world’s nations are involved in local wars. Our worst wars, of course, are within ourselves. It is well said, some people give and forgive, some people get and forget.

Our poverty is caused by our feeding off of each other, rather than our feeding each other. Our speaking about each other, rather than speaking to each other.

Dear Lord, not only do I give my bread, my fish away, but dear Lord, I give myself away. Tis all that I have to give. And thank you, Jesus, for giving yourself to me, and for me. You are living bread. Never have I seen the hungry go begging for bread as long as you are around. And never shall the hungry go begging for bread as long as I am around. Rich or poor, we have everything we need. Ours is not a question of resources, but a question of will. “Let down your buckets.” Without their knowing it, they have drifted into the fresh waters of the St. Lawrence River. So do we have what we need: the Kingdom of God is here in the midst of us. Use what you have! Let down your buckets where you are! Share what you have. Pass the blessing, please!

Contact: Dr. Cecil L. Murray, First AME Church, 2270 S. Harvard Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90018, (323) 730-9180, email: famechurch@famechurch.org

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City Congregations & Urban Poverty

When we get right down to it, city churches and the poor have been inextricably linked: in America’s history, sociology, theology, politics, present social realities and hopefully -- our future. Whenever we, the urban church, stray too far from our heritage of walking “hand-in-hand” in ministry with the city’s poor, we tend to get ourselves into trouble.

Are we then a poverty-stricken church, unable to help ourselves and those most in need? Hardly! Our God has already given us (and promised us) all the riches we need to accomplish the specific mission tasks assigned to our urban churches. However, we do live at a time in history when more is being asked of city churches than ever before. Let’s be wise and energetic stewards of our time and efforts. Let’s call both governent and private sectors to action, just as we motivate our sisters and brothers to love the poor in practical and effective ways.

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For Further Researth on --

“Low-Wage Workers in the New Economy,” edited by Richard Kazis and Marc S. Miller, Urban Institute Press, $32.50, ph: 1(877) 847-7377. Since 1994, welfare roles have dropped by more than 50 percent nationwide. More than half of these people (800,000) have moved into unsubsidized paid employment, yet the very success of welfare reform has brought another problem into stark relief; for many people getting into work doesn’t mean getting out of poverty. People who leave welfare typically find a job paying between $6 and $8 per hour, well below the income needed to bring their families above the poverty line.

“Welfare Reform: The Next Act,” edited by Alan Weil and Kenneth Finegold, Urban Institute, $26.50, ph: 1(877) 847-7377. The welfare reform debate is not over, despite declarations of success from many political commentators. This book draws on six years of research examining all facets of the new system’s impact on family structure and children, and its effect in moving welfare recipients to work. It is the most rigorous and comprehensive analysis available for determining how the new welfare system can meet the needs of vulnerable families during various phases of the economic cycle.

“Helping America’s Homeless,” Martha Burt and Laudan Aron, Urban Institute, $29.50, ph: 1(877) 847-7377. Homelessness has now been on the American policy agenda for close to two decades. Policymakers and the public may have hoped that we could have put an end to the crisis quietly. But the arrival of a new millenium has not fulfilled that expectation. With this new volume, the authors return to the problem with the most in-depth analysis of homelessness that has ever been published. They examine every aspect of the issue, from how many homeless people there are, where they became homeless, to how long their homelessness lasts. They explore the programs provided for the homeless, and how they are configured within communities. Finally, the authors look at how policymakers have approached this problem and analyze prospects for solving the crisis in the new millenium.

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CityVoices -- New Items on our Bookshelf!

Comeback Cities: A Blueprint for Urban Neighborhood Revival, Paul Grogan and Tony Proscio, Westview Press, 2000. In their widely-acclaimed study of how to bring about positive change through public-private ventures in many of America’s toughest inner cities, Grogan and Proscio have succeeded in offering hope and practical advice to anyone interested in seeing their own city make a significant rebound. CityVoices price: $10

Empowering the Poor: Community Organizing Among the City’s ‘Rag, Tag and Bobtail,’ Robert Linthicum, MARC / World Vision, 1991. Robert Linthicum, executive director of Los Angeles’ Partners in Urban Transformation, brings to bear his years of pastoral, mission, and community organizing experience to demonstrate the essential needs for community organizing among the last, least and lost. An essential, and basic book for understanding urban mission in both the United States as well as international settings. CityVoices price: $10

Welcoming the Stranger: A Public Theology of Worship and Evangelism, Patrick Keifert, Augsburg Fortress Press, 1992. Luther Seminary professor Pat Keifert uses his gifts for humor and insight into human character to accomplish the task of proclaiming God’s Word through worship. The author introduces his readers to the “public” sides of evangelism and worship, so relevant to the urban context. An important book for city churches, of all sizes, in all neighborhoods. CityVoices price: $12

Voices From the City: Issues and Images of Urban Preaching, John Nunes, Concordia Publishing House, 1999. Lutheran pastor and missionary John Nunes gleans from his years of pastoral work in Detroit, Dallas and other American cities to give ministers a glimpse of the background and tools necessary for effective communication in any urban context. In order to proclaim a strong and relevant gospel for urban America, Nunes reaches back to the classical reformation formulations which have lent strength and boldness to the gospel message. CityVoices price: $10

City of God, City of Satan: A Biblical Theology of the Urban Church, Robert Linthicum, Zondervan Publishing House, 1991. Linthicum deals in all the large categories of urban theology. Why is the city seemingly a battleground for hostile principalities and powers? In asking such questions, he helps define clearly the mission of the church in the midst of urban realities and support the work of the church in the urban world. As complete a one-volume urban theology as can be found. CityVoices pricee: $14

ChurchesThat Make a Difference: Reaching Your Commun-ity With Good News and Good Works, Ronald Sider, Philip Olson, Heidi Unruh, Baker Book House, 2002. Ron Sider heads an editorial team that brings both passion and detail to its task. That being: to dig up churches that really are doing the job in their cities. Much more could be said about any one of the several churches analyzed within the pages of this book. Tenth Presbyterian of Philadelphia is an example of an uncharacter-istically energetic church (considering it’s age, founded in 1828, and it’s tight-packed Rittenhouse Square location) conducting a vibrant ministry to Philadelphia’s street population. An entire volume could, and should, be devoted to this ministry alone. This team’s book brings lots of hope to any city pastor, or layperson who is wishing for just a little bit more to happen at their church in the way of caring for strangers, hurting people or needy within the church family. Read it soon and make the principals practical for your work. CityVoices price: $13

** Each of these books, along with other titles regularly advertised on the CityVoices website are available by calling (773) 477-8163, or by contacting Roger Johnson at roger@cityvoices.com (VISA and Master Card accepted).