Cup of Water, Bread of Life: Inspiring Stories About Overcoming Lopsided Christianity. - book reviews

Christian Century, May 3, 1995 by Amy L. Sherman

By Ronald J. Sider Zondervan, 186 pp., $9.99.

IN EVANGELICAL circles Ron Sider's voice has been one of the loudest calling for wholistic Christian witness--for meeting people's spiritual and physical needs. He has done a remarkable job of teaching Christians why they should engage in such ministry, and his newest book begins the discussion of how to do it.

Sider warns the reader that the book is not a "how to" manual but a collection of ten inspirational stories of church-based wholistic ministries from around the globe. Nonetheless, readers can glean practical advice and encouragement from his descriptions of innovative and effective outreach programs. Five of the case studies focus on inner-city ministry (in the U.S. and UK); the remaining five address efforts in the less developed countries.

Sider has chosen' some excellent examples, including Lawndale Community Church's work in south Chicago and Maranatha Trust/Opportunity International's work in worldwide micro-enterprise development. The ten stories are for the most part well told (organization suffers at a few points) and provide a thorough yet concise glimpse of the ministries. Among other ministries, it describes suburban-urban partnerships in Denver; high-tech youth ministry, mass evangelism and social action in England; Christian leadership development and racial reconciliation in South Africa; and community development and Christian education in the slums of Bangalore, India. The only notable omission is that there is no case study of ministry among the rural poor of the developed countries.

Sider identifies eight common features of these ministries: 1) unconditional commitment to Christ; 2) a passion for evangelism; 3) a passion for the poor; 4) a concern for the whole person in community; 5) consciously chosen programs to enable committed Christians to develop informal, relaxed friendships with non-Christians; 6) relocation among the needy; 7) partnership with the larger body of Christ; and 8) the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Though Sider does not explicitly say so, these features explain the effectiveness of the ministries. Two additional keys to their success could also be noted. First, the ministries recognize the importance of changing people's thinking, attitudes and values. Pastor Wayan Mastra of Bali, one of the leaders Sider profiles, says that "we first change the people's mental attitudes, change the theology." Sider emphasizes the role that international evangelism plays in each ministry. It is crucial in transforming worldviews that can hinder wholistic human development.

Second, in their economic outreach these ministries operate on a principle not of welfare provision but of people empowerment. Chronic dependency on charity is discouraged; people are expected to responsibly manage their own budgets and, if able-bodied, to work. Sider quotes micro-enterprise wizard David Bussau of Maranatha Trust, who says the poor "need a way out, not a hand out." Bussau's revolving loan funds provide small amounts of capital to budding Third World entrepreneurs at market interest rates. Between 1981 and 1993 Bussau's Opportunity Network made loans to 46,000 small entrepreneurs and created 77,700 new jobs for the poor. Sider says Bussau is critical of charitable groups that "[look] down on profit, productivity and professionalism."

In the introduction Sider courageously admits that his own efforts at wholistic ministry in inner-city Philadelphia flopped after a decade of hard work. He seeks to encourage readers for whom the success stories in this volume are painful reminders of their own frustrating failures in similar efforts. This adds an important element of reality to the book. Indeed, one wishes that Sider had devoted a chapter to his efforts in Philadelphia, chronicling the lessons he learned in the process. Nevertheless, this is a valuable resource for Christians eager to imitate Jesus' way of ministry--one that neglected neither spiritual nor material needs.