Sider, Linking Arms, Linking Lives

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Ronald J. Sider, John M. Perkins, Wayne L. Gordon, and F. Albert Tizon, Linking Arms, Linking Lives: How Urban-Suburban Partnerships Can Transform Communities. Baker Books, 2008.

Referenced in: Social Ministry Among the Urban Poor, Urban Ministry

LifeandLeadership.com Summary

This is a well-researched collaborative project between some of the best-known practitioners and academics in the field of urban ministry. Its purpose is to navigate the changes in ministry to poor due to the migration of the “urban” poor into the suburbs, the influx of typical suburbanites to urban centers, and the increasing mix of income groups in both settings. This requires breaking down stereotypes, forming partnerships in the form of mixed-income development, practicing gentrification with justice, etc.

The book opens with the personal stories of each of the authors – Sider, Perkins, Gordon, and Tizon. From there, they discuss the sociological realities of the urban-suburban landscape and move on to their chief proposals on partnership. What results is a very definitive book on holistic ministry partnerships.

From the Publisher

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.

About the Authors

Ronald J. Sider is president of Evangelicals for Social Action and professor of theology, holistic ministry, and public policy at Palmer Theological Seminary. He is the author of the bestselling Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger and The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience. He lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

John M. Perkins is cofounder of the Christian Community Development Association and director of the John M. Perkins Foundation for Reconciliation and Development in Jackson, Mississippi. He is the author of nine books, including Let Justice Roll Down.

Wayne L. Gordon is cofounder of the Christian Community Development Association and lead pastor of Lawndale Community Church in inner-city Chicago where he has ministered for thirty years.

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. He lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

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