Great book to help focus ministry in your communityJanuary 6, 2009 This great little book helps us define who is our neighbor and why should be care?
I am in full time ministry and we are always looking for ways to maximize our services and Christian witness to the community. Mostly, I liked this book because it helped me grasp a better understanding of What God's vision of ministry is to those who are with or without Christ.
a must readSeptember 27, 2007 2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Tim Keller does a great job laying out the biblical basis and practical insights for mercy ministries that's misunderstood and neglected in many evangelical churches.
i recommend this book to every christian and also to those who are distressed about the poverty and human plight, injustice and oppression.
Real ChristianityJuly 3, 2007 3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Keller's book is an in-your-face account of what real Christianity is. For instance, "Christians must give sacrificially, until they lifestyle is lowered." is the first line of the overview of Chapter Four, which talks about "a balanced lifestyle." Every professing Christian should read and heed what Keller says in this book. It will confirm what they are professing is real of fake.
A Good Resource for a Missional ChurchJanuary 3, 2007 4 out of 4 found this review helpful
There's a lot of books out there on being missional. Most of them laud the theory of being missional. This one provides a good example (on a local and urban scale) of how to move toward being missional. Keller provides a strong theological case and some practical examples of how to live out ones faith.
Keller Hits a Homerun!!!December 27, 2006 3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Real religion is more than doctrinal orthodoxy; it has to do with how we show mercy in the same way that we have been shown mercy. The Parable of the Good Samaritan serves as our springboard into this study of the doctrine and practice of ministries of mercy. These two elements of doctrine and practice form the two pillars that serve as the outline of the book. Following a typical Pauline approach, the first half of the book sets forth the basic doctrinal foundation of Mercy Ministries. The latter half of the book then put doctrine to practice in a series of hands-on strategies and tactics that can be utilized to mobilize a Mercy Ministry within a church.
Criticizing this book would be a bit like attacking motherhood and apple pie. Keller gives an excellent balance as he shows that Mercy Ministries are not meant to replace the preaching of the Gospel, but that the message of the Gospel without the accompanying ministry of mercy is an incomplete message. Word and deed, mercy and evangelism are inseparable, existing in a symbiotic, interdependent relationship (Page 111). At the same time, he is careful not to confuse word and deed as has been done by some modern ecumenicals.
In the practical section of the book, he gives tactics that would be useful both to the layman as well as to the pastor and church officer. These include actual strategies for priming, preparing and cultivating a church to enter into the work of Mercy Ministries.
"God requires a love that cannot be required. Mercy is commanded, but it must not be in response to the command. Rather it is a response to the mercy of God that we have received. We are merciful because we have been shown mercy" (Page 62). "Orthodoxy without social concern is not orthodoxy" (Page 114).
