Publishers Weekly Review. . .

[The following review appeared recently in Publishers Weekly.]

The Wealth of the Poor: How Valuing Every Neighbor Restores Hope in Our Cities

Larry M. James

Abilene Christian University Press

$24.99 trade paper (288p)

ISBN 978-0-89112-380-4

 

        

 

When most people think of Dallas, they don't think poverty. This captivating memoir by first-time author James, a Church of Christ minister before heading up CitySquare (formerly Central Dallas Ministries) reveals what the Big D's 28 percent inner-city poverty rate looks like at home. James and CitySquare approach economically poor neighborhoods by first identifying their critical assets—social capital, survival skills, indigenous knowledge, and capacity for change—in a process James calls "re-neighboring." Skillfully blending social entrepreneurism, an adroit acquaintance with urban planning policies, and a profound love for his neighbors, James and CitySquare are not only lifting individuals out of poverty, but economically revitalizing neighborhoods by incubating for-profit microenterprises, including landscaping, a used-car lot, and even solar power. Readers move seamlessly through James' hard-won lessons, biblical insights, and engaging community profiles to a deeper theological point about hope and the gospel. While some of James' examples may not translate well beyond Dallas, his fresh engagement with the practicalities of "loving one's neighbor" in an era of austerity will inspire readers everywhere. (May)

Reviewed on: 06/17/2013

What people are saying about "The Wealth of the Poor"

I'm back from vacation and finished your wonderful book. . . . To me your book was all about taking risks, especially taking the risk of really getting to know people as individuals and uniting with them as neighbors.  I also loved how you took risks - like being honest that what you need most is financial support versus well-intentioned gifts of volunteerism that don't involve true personal investment. . . . I love how you say, again and again, that we are really all the same and that it is the simple things that people often need the most like the freedom of privacy. My favorite part of the book was Principle 5 and I agree completely with you!  Some times you just have to hold hands and jump.  And of course I completely agree with you that it is time to move beyond the concept of charity.

Michelle Corson, CEO

Champion Impact Capital

_____________________________________

Your book is already as dogeared as a college freshman recycled textbook. The wisdom, insight, humility, and acknowledgement that we all need to remain both student and teacher, is highly respected and deeply appreciated. 

Michael Samuelson

The Health and Wellness Alliance for Children

_______________________________________

If you haven't got a copy of Larry's book, you need to!  

Dr. Bob Biard

Texas A & M Adjunct Professor

________________________________________

This book should be read by anyone interested in urban ministry in America today.

 Dr. Jerry Jones

_______________________________________

 

It is a good read--I learned a great deal about your early efforts that I didn't know.

John McStay

Dallas business leader

_______________________________________

 

Simply put, this is the best, most readable, and most powerful book on the social implications of the Christian religion that I have read.

Richard T. Hughes

Distinguished Professor of Religion at Messiah College

Director of the Sider Institute for Anabaptist, Pietist, and Wesleyan Studies

_______________________________________

 

Larry James is an inspiration to my life.  Each time he speaks, I learn something.  May God use this book to do for many what Larry has done for me:  to remind us of the value of every single human being.

Max Lucado

Bestselling author

_______________________________________

Thank you for sending me your book--a testimony in the most profound sense. You lived and wrote in the open, which opened up space for others to find their own way. I love your idea of a business card with an asterisk. And I love that the credo of CitySquare on the next to the last page could be true.

I would have left out a lot of the running argument with the parts of the church that still want to ask about evangelism. And there was more bible than needed. I looked for your honest statement once that you said "I believe more and more in less and less." The church--at least the part of it that has a heartbeat--is emerging there, I think. So I argue less and less with the old church, hanging with people who believe deeply, but simply. So I wonder if you, like me, are still waiting for the moment to write an honest theology.

Your book does make me long for time together.

In the meantime, you'll see the book sales leap by at least a dozen or more copies as I recommend it. 

 

You've done a good thing.

Gary Gunderson

VP Faith and Health Ministries

Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center

____________________________________

Call today, toll free  1-877-816-4455 to order your copy of The Wealth of the Poor:  How Valuing Every Neighbor Restores Hope in Our Cities by Larry M. James.