Saturday, September 29, 2012
When Helping Hurts
by Steve Corbett & Brian Fikkert
I picked up this book in the hope that it would have some advice on the eternal question of what's the best way to respond to a panhandler. Of course, I didn't find a pat, easy answer. What I found instead was a book geared more towards those in church leadership whose congregations wish to offer collective aid to the poor. The authors do a very good job of presenting a holistic view of ministering to the impoverished, pointing out that poverty is more than just material wealth but also extends to the social and spiritual realms. A person helping out the materially poor can often find those same people ministering to his or her own spiritual poverty. The book encourages a Christian to be aware and repent of their own weaknesses as they seek to help others in their need, lest the wealthy person's spiritual or social poverty cause harm to those they want to help. So while I didn't get "the" answer, I did get some guidance in my dealings with the poor and homeless folk who approach me in my neighborhood.
Do check it out
LibraryThing link
I picked up this book in the hope that it would have some advice on the eternal question of what's the best way to respond to a panhandler. Of course, I didn't find a pat, easy answer. What I found instead was a book geared more towards those in church leadership whose congregations wish to offer collective aid to the poor. The authors do a very good job of presenting a holistic view of ministering to the impoverished, pointing out that poverty is more than just material wealth but also extends to the social and spiritual realms. A person helping out the materially poor can often find those same people ministering to his or her own spiritual poverty. The book encourages a Christian to be aware and repent of their own weaknesses as they seek to help others in their need, lest the wealthy person's spiritual or social poverty cause harm to those they want to help. So while I didn't get "the" answer, I did get some guidance in my dealings with the poor and homeless folk who approach me in my neighborhood.
Do check it out
LibraryThing link
Labels: CheckItOut
// posted by John @ 12:32 PM 
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