Heart, head, hands

2011 Books Issue | The best books on fighting poverty focus on holistic social action | Amy L. Sherman

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From a biblical standpoint, a stellar book on poverty fighting will contain wise, practical counsel at the level of heart, head, and hands. It will confront us with God's unstinting passion for the poor and oppressed and urge us to rend our hearts and get personally engaged (heart). It will eschew simplistic policy prescriptions, stretching us to think hard about macro- and micro-economics, history, international relations, cultural and worldview issues, and the appropriate role of government (head). And it will reveal effective, practical action steps that individuals, congregations, businesses, and nonprofits can take that produce genuine, lasting transformation (hands).

Alas, no such perfect book exists. In the past five years, the hands-down winner that comes closest is When Helping Hurts (Moody, 2009) by Brian Fikkert and Steve Corbett. It offers a careful, accessible theology of holistic social action, crisp analysis of the multiple factors contributing to persistent poverty, and "how-to" strategies based on rich, on-the-ground experience in addressing both domestic and international poverty. This book teaches churches how to move from relief-oriented and often paternalistic responses to more relational, long-term, development-oriented initiatives conducted not for the poor but with them. If you've only time to read one book on the topic, this is it.