Jim Wallis on Social Ministry
Referenced in: Theological and Philosophical Foundations for Social Ministry
Introduction
Jim Wallis is a bestselling author, public theologian, speaker, and international commentator on ethics and public life. He is President and CEO of Sojourners; where he is editor-in-chief of Sojourners Magazine, whose combined print and electronic media have a readership of more than 250,000 people. Wallis frequently speaks in the United States and abroad. His columns appear in major national newspapers. He frequently appears on radio and television, as a commentator on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and National Public Radio.
Wallis was raised in a Midwest evangelical family. As a teenager, his questioning of the racial segregation in his church and community led him to the black churches and neighborhoods of inner-city Detroit. He spent his student years involved in the civil rights and antiwar movements. While at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Illinois, Jim and several other students started a small magazine and community with a Christian commitment to social justice which has now grown into a national faith-based organization. (The above adapted from Sojourners Magazine)
It is hard to overstate the influence of Jim Wallis. Christians who wish to be well-informed on social issues should include him in their reading lists. As one might expect, anyone so outspoken will have critics. In Wallis’ case, critics attack what they believe to be socialist/Marxist and anti-capitalist tendencies. For examples, see John Couretas of the Acton Institute, and several forums and white papers from Cedarville University. Readers may weigh these criticisms. They probably have enough merit to supplement Wallis with socially conscious capitalists such as the Acton Institute.
Resources
Wallis has written ten books, most of them on issues of social justice. Three are listed below.
- Jim Wallis, Rediscovering Values On Wall Street, Main Street, and Your Street: A Moral Compass for the New Economy
- Jim Wallis, God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and Left Doesn’t Get It
- Jim Wallis, The Great Awakening: Seven Ways to Change the World, Reviving Faith and Politics in a Post-Religious Right America
Related Areas
See Other Resource Guides on Christian Social Ministry:
- Social Ministry, Introduction
- Theological and Philosophical Foundations of Social Ministry
- Spirituality for Ministry of Social Compassion and Justice
- Strategies For Christian Social Ministry
- Perspectives and Strategies For Social Ministry Among the Urban Poor, Urban Ministry
- Christian Perspectives on Political Theory and Church-State Relations
- Christian Perspectives on Economics and Public Policy
Related Ministry Resource Guides on LifeandLeadership.com:
- Missional Perspectives 03, Missio Dei, Definitions, Contributions
- Missional Perspectives 04, Missio Dei, Observations
- Missional Perspectives 05, Missio Dei, Observations (Continued)
- Missional Church Resources, Introduction and Index
- Theology of Mission
- Missional Communities
- Missional Leadership / Missional Strategies
- Missional Lifestyle, Discipleship, Spirituality
- Church Leadership and Renewal, Index to Resources
- Ecclesiology
- Evangelism