To Live in Peace: Biblical Faith and the Changing Inner City Book

As expected, this book turned out to be very good. Gornik spends effective time laying out a biblical theology of the poor, church, and kingdom without using categories that often freak out conservatives. I was surprised and at home with his reliance on Reformed/Presbyterian sources; I hadn't expected that. The best chapter, of course, is the one where he describes moving into a run-down corner of Baltimore to become part of the community, not to "do charity" or institute programs a la When Helping Hurts. A decade or so later, they had a focused church, medical care, education, job-service, and new homes, yet without any utopianism or romance, just the basic nongnostic gospel.