Customer Reviews

Make Poverty Personal: Taking the Poor as Seriously as the Bible Does (mersion: Emergent Village resources for communities of faith)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ash Barker and his family live smack dab in the middle of the urban poor of Bangkok, Thailand, where they are loved for their activism, listening and care. The stories of this revolutionary book are interspersed with solid theological content. As you read, you will be forced to examine your presuppositions about consumerism, the majority world, AIDS, and your own parochialism! A solid read by a solid guy.

Doug Priest

Ash's book is a lot like Ron Sider's classic, "Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger". Ash's writing and life reminds me of a young Tony Campolo, but from Australia living in Bangkok.

The combination of personal stories, imagination and serious biblical study makes this a must read for Christians. It is also a great read for non-Christians as it takes seriously the spiritual dimensions of poverty.

And the great thing is that Ash writes not from the hallowed halls of academia or the rose colored glasses of a church office, but he writes from an unairconditioned office in the middle of Klong Toey slum. His stories have the ring of truth to them because they are real.

This would be a great book to do as part of a small group study.

Read Make Poverty Personal about 2 years ago. As I look back now I recognise that it has had a massive impact on my life. Through it, and similar material which I have read since, God has turned my life on it's head.

It's still an ongoing quest to get my life realigned with biblical principles but I recognise the reading of Making Poverty Personal as the starting point. Thanks Ash!

I have mixed feeling about this book... in the future I may read it again and see if I like it better than '3 stars'. Certainly the subject matter is important, and that is why I purchased this book from Amazon, esp. when I saw that it has personal and group study questions at the end of each chapter (which are all excellent btw) and suitable for small group study. I also liked (well, maybe 'liked' is not the proper word) the examples the author, Ash Barker talks about his experiences (wife and baby included!) of teaching living in the Klong Tuey slums of Thailand teaching the poorest of the poor in this part of the world and learning from them as well. (I wish that he had talked even more about these experiences) The weak part of the book is all the rest of the text - the Biblical basis for being advocates for the poor, and combatting greed (my words). Perhaps it is just that I've found this same type of material better stated within other books I've read on poverty and the Bible, but it just seemed that Barker was not clear and/or long-winded and the material about the Bible not presented all that interestingly. (Remember that I was reading this book for use in a small group setting... so I know that very long chapters - esp. Barker's one on the prophets condemnation of not caring for the poor - would lose folks' interests. Part of the book's problems may be that is not laid out in an interesting way... with way too many Bible references imbedded IN the text instead of being made into side / footnotes

Make Poverty Personal: Taking the Poor as Seriously as the Bible Does is an absolutely critical read. This became real to me when it was sitting on my desk and somebody walked in, saw it, and said, `That's your problem. You think about the poor too much.' First, I didn't know I had a problem. And second, I feel compelled to live like Jesus did - at the intersection of community and compassion. By following the arc of the Biblical narrative, from Exodus to Eschaton, Barker leads a sweeping expedition that will inspire and challenge. In addition to the sound Biblical exposition, Barker's personal experience and deep conviction appear on every page. He is not an academic speaking from a distance; but he and his family have served the poor with their very lives. He is not only responding to urgent and overwhelming needs; he's thinking about what the Bible really has to say.

This book was very thought provoking and enlightening. The author brings out important points of Jesus' mission and who he came to minister to, which is the "poor." Once we understand this need, then our light will truly shine. A timely book.

Excellent book for churches to have are considering an improved response to poverty in their communities & beyond. The needs of the person who lives in poverty is often misunderstood. Respect should be at the top of the agenda to be helpful. Consider this book for a study group in your church.

This is the best book Ash has written.

Challenging, personal, and hopeful that others will help the poor personally