Linking Arms, Linking Lives: How Urban-Suburban Partnerships Can Transform Communities (Paperback)

~ (Author), John M. Perkins (Author), Wayne L. Gordon (Author), F. Albert Tizon (Author)
Key Phrases: urban projects, suburban partners, suburban entities, City Team, Advance Memphis, Southwest Philadelphia (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product 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.

From the Back Cover

Step across the urban-suburban divide and make a difference today In Linking Arms, Linking Lives, four respected ministry leaders offer solutions that have already transformed communities and have potential to allow many more people to fulfill the biblical call to compassion and justice. Here they make a compelling case for how partnerships that cross the urban-suburban divide can minister to the poor. "This work, with sensitivity and insight, exposes what nearly always lies beneath the surface of urban-suburban partnership attempts. The authors 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, and Against All Odds "A beautiful invitation to bust out of the ghettos of wealth and poverty and reimagine the world together. The harmony of 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 Cortés Jr., president, Esperanza "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 Ronald J. Sider is president of Evangelicals for Social Action and professor of theology, holistic ministry, and public policy at Palmer Theological Seminary. John M. Perkins is cofounder of the Christian Community Development Association and director of the John M. Perkins Foundation for Reconciliation and Development. Wayne L. Gordon is cofounder of the Christian Community Development Association and lead pastor of Lawndale Community Church in inner-city Chicago. F. Albert Tizon is assistant professor of evangelism and holistic ministry at Palmer Theological Seminary and director of Word & Deed Network of Evangelicals for Social Action.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Baker Books (October 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080107083X
• ISBN-13: 978-0801070839
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #190,733 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a dense volume packed with information crucial to anyone working to make a difference in poverty-stricken areas, March 4, 2009

By	FaithfulReader.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

One of the most enduring stereotypes about American society is the one that profiles urban and suburban communities along a strict set of demographics. The authors of LINKING ARMS, LINKING LIVES dispel long-held assumptions about those demographics and show how, by understanding the realities of the areas in which they minister, Christians in the cities and the suburbs can cooperate to bring about much-needed social change.

"The last twenty-five years or so have made a mess of the urban-suburban landscape. Where do cities end and the suburbs begin? Wealthy suburbanites are turning cities into suburbs, and poor urbanites are turning suburbs into inner cities," the authors write. But many of the poor still live in the cities and the wealthy in the suburbs --- meaning that they live in closer proximity than they have in decades. And that presents a real opportunity to see poorer neighborhoods transformed into productive communities.

Making that transformation a reality is the purpose of the book, and the key concept driving that purpose is partnership, a concept reflected in the writing partnership of the four authors.

After describing the need for transformation and the need for Christians to participate in that, the authors turn their attention to the biblical call to "radical community" --- the kingdom of God, a countercultural society characterized by a distinctively different relationship between the rich and the poor. That was the ideal for the people of God throughout biblical history, from Genesis to Revelation, and it continues today with the Great Commission.

After laying that groundwork, the authors define three of the foundational principles of community partnership --- deep reconciliation, authentic relationship and collaborative action --- and outline the dos and don'ts of such a partnership. Among the dos: do begin with existing relationships, do foster interdependence, do commit long-term. Among the don'ts: don't forget to love God, don't become a burden, don't forget to play.

The fruit of the hard work of community transformation extends beyond the benefit to the neighborhoods themselves: "Urban-suburban partnership may have its challenges, but the kingdom fruit that it can potentially bear --- theological, sociological, cultural and practical --- make the endeavor worthy of our affirmation and our uncompromising commitment," the authors write. The partnership fruits translate into the personal transformation of the partners themselves."

The book's 13 chapters provide numerous examples of partnerships that have succeeded, as well as some that didn't. The final chapter offers a step-by-step action plan for emerging urban-suburban partnerships.

All four authors have been active in community transformation on a practical level. Ronald J. Sider and F. Albert Tizon are professors at Palmer Theological Seminary and executives with Evangelicals for Social Action. John M. Perkins, director of the John M. Perkins Foundation for Reconciliation and Development, and Wayne L. Gordon, pastor of Lawndale Community Church in inner-city Chicago, are co-founders of the Christian Community Development Association.

LINKING ARMS, LINKING LIVES is a dense volume packed with information crucial to anyone working to make a difference in poverty-stricken areas in cities and suburbs. Its authors know firsthand what it means to live and work among the poor; theirs is no abstract, theoretical challenge to the church but a get-to-work and get-dirty proposal. Though some readers may have preferred a more condensed volume, the book is a must for workers in the field.

--- Reviewed by Marcia Ford

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great resource, January 12, 2009

By	Kevin Gwin (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I found this book to be a helpful guide on how to form meaningful partnerships between urban and suburban ministries.