Reviews for New Friars: The Emerging Movement Serving the World's Poor

The average rating for New Friars: The Emerging Movement Serving the World's Poor based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-03-24 00:00:00 Marck Binette I am rewriting my review. I went on a Global Urban Trek, so some of my thoughts towards this book are hard to organize in the midst of a number of intense experiences and emotions. Another reason that this book is difficult for me to rate is that I think it's something that elicits very different responses from readers depending on where they are coming from as individuals. Some people really need to hear that their ministry model is too extravagant, whereas others might be discouraged from pursuing something that is ultimately good because it doesn't fit into the model presented in the book. I intend to go back and read it again, but for now I'll put down some brief thoughts. What I Liked This book is very well written, and it presents a compelling argument. It engages with a subject that should make every American pretty uncomfortable, regardless of your religious beliefs. That subject, is of course, that we live in a globalized world of extreme disparity. There is no limit to the human suffering that we see every day on the news and the internet, yet we live in a country of exceptional wealth. Being under the poverty line in United States still puts you in the top 10% of global earners. This is a crushing realization, and The New Friars gives moving examples of people struggling with that knowledge. I enjoyed how examples were drawn from multiple time periods of church history. Coming from a protestant background I was used to people ignoring church history that occurred between the first century and the reformation. It was really good to learn from the lives of people who I did not know much about prior to reading this book. Regardless of how you do ministry, we should always be asking ourselves whether we are doing what's right, or whether we are doing what's comfortable. Even if we aren't meant to follow this model of ministry, everyone should adopt some of these principles. What I Didn't Like I understand that the term "incarnational ministry" is meant to motivate us to model the humility of Christ, but I'm really uncomfortable with the implicit comparison that a rich person abandoning wealth to live among the poor is similar to Christ giving up divinity to live among mankind. This might primarily be an issue of semantics, but I think it is important because our thoughts are framed by the language that we use. I think that there is ample evidence in Christ's ministry to argue that we should give up what we have for the good of others, but I think it's really dangerous to draw the motivation to do that from the incarnation. I would argue that we should abandon the usage of "incarnational" when we are talking about anyone other than Christ, and instead just talk about being culturally relevant. We should be using 1 Corinthians 9:19-22 to explain why it is important to live among people, not the incarnation. How would you feel if someone richer than you gave away their money until they had just as much money as you did, and then they told you that they did it to model how Jesus came down from heaven to become a man? I would guess that your first thought would be "Who does this person think the he is?" Imagine this scenario. You are a missionary in a poor community. One day you are brought in front of all of your neighbors, and you have to explain to them why you live where you live exclusively in terms of Jesus' incarnation. At the end of that talk do you think you would be closer to the people in your community? Would you feel embarrassed? I know that I would feel pretty uncomfortable in that situation. If we would be embarrassed to talk to the people we intend to serve in the way that we talk about them to others, then something needs to change. I understand what the intention is behind the phrase, "incarnational ministry,"--it's an easy way to explain a complex set of ideas. Even so I think it creates some strange problems when we really think about it. The second issue that I have with the ideas in this book comes more from the reactions that I've observed in some of the people who have read it rather than the content of the book itself. The book does a great job of talking about humbling ourselves when ministering to the poor, but I think it would be worthwhile to include a bit more in regards to avoiding spiritual pride when dealing with our peers. Especially with subject matter this charged, it is very easy to respond with frustration to our peers who don't "get it." It's easy to judge other affluent Christians (because that is what you are to some degree if you have disposable income to spend on a book) for not seeing the "real Jesus." Once again, this is not an issue with the content of the book. I don't think these reactions are advocated at all in The New Friars. It's just something I observed both in myself and in many of the people I know who have read this book or similar books. In my opinion it would be worthwhile to include a bit more about spiritual pride directed towards our peers. Final Thoughts The New Friars wrestles with some hard issues. Problems that no one has a full proof solution to. Nonetheless, we have to find a way to engage with these problems even though we have no idea how to fix them or if a solution even exists. If you've never struggled with the disparity in the world, then it's something that you should start thinking about. If you're really interested I would recommend Quest for Hope in the Slum Community: A Global Urban Reader.

Review # 2 was written on 2007-04-28 00:00:00 John Hammack This is a great mix of theology and stories. And there are pictures! It was one of the things that helped me to make the decision to join Servant Partners, one of the organizations profiled in the book. I'd recommend this book to anyone even remotely considering this kind of lifestyle. My favorite part was Bessnecker's explanation of the way that God intended justice to be and the way that Jesus, son of God, chose to be born among the poor, the way He cast his lot among them. It was so encouraging to read the struggles that these "new friars" have had on the mission field, to be prepared, but also to know that it is not an especially gifted person who lives among the poor, but one who desires to grow and change.