Dr. Robert Linthicum has just made available for downloading the complete three year cycle of his “The Gospel of Shalom: A Justice Reading of the Lectionary Scripture” This is based on his 48 years of study of how the Scripture deals with the issues of social justice. Reading along for the past year has changed my theology and given me a much better understanding of the problems in my community and the Church’s role in responding to those problem. Evangelicals please don’t be afraid this is a thoroughly solid evangelical work.That expresses both aspects of loving God and loving your neighbor.
The work is available in PDF downloads based on the lectionary year.
This summer he plans to release Truly Strategic Scriptures Avoided by the Lectionary, which I am looking forward to.
Anyone who wants a solid theology perspective on social justice issues should check out his website.
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Categories: Christianity, Community Organizing, Following Christ, Holistic Ministry, Must Reads, Poverty, Scripture, Social Justice, The common good, The whole Gospel, Theology of Social Justice, urban ministry
Great community organizing story.
Those Closest to the Problem Are the Experts – MICAH.
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From a community organizing training
How to do a “one on one” relational meeting – MICAH.
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This is a short video on what is and what isn’t community organizing.
This is from a MICAH communitiy organizing training session in June 2009
via What is Community Organizing? – MICAH.
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Congregation-based community organizing is the process of bringing congregations and groups with similar values together, so that they can hold society’s political and economic systems accountable for justice. The fundamental problem addressed by these organizations is the disparity of power faced by persons in low-to-moderate income communities. The absence of broad-based, democratic organizations in these communities denies them the opportunity to successfully solve their own problems.
The systemic issues facing most of these communities are the pervasiveness of low-wage, non-benefit jobs; disparities in health care, public education, and safety; and the persistent ineffectiveness on the part of public and private structures in delivering services equitably to all people. These issues are rooted in each organization’s long-term goal of building power to achieve a greater degree of justice in their community.
In our society, power stems from two sources – money and organized people. Low-to-moderate income people are without significant amounts of money. Therefore, their potential for successfully addressing political and economic injustices is contingent on their ability to organize and mobilize large numbers of people bound together by common values and interests. These values include mutual respect, dignity, and human worth.
via Christians Supporting Community Organizing.
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Deuteronomy is one of the most strategic books of the Hebrew Bible. It is the clearest biblical statement of the world as God intended it to be, including the ways the political, economic and religious systems of Israel are meant to operate. I call that social design “the Shalom Community”, because the Hebrew word “shalom” best describes the totality of both public and private life as a unity of contentment, prosperity, peace, welfare and wholeness – society as God intends it to be.
via Christians Supporting Community Organizing.
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The media were quick to condemn ACORN’s alleged misbehavior, but they’ve been extraordinarily slow to report on independent studies that have exonerated the organization. Investigations by two state attorneys general uncovered no illegal behavior. According to the GAO, all complaints filed against ACORN with the Federal Elections Commission were dismissed. Six FBI investigations into alleged voter fraud by ACORN employees were closed without indictments.
This March a federal District Court ruled that the law Congress passed cutting off ACORN’s federal funding was a bill of attainder, a type of law specifically prohibited by the Constitution because of the Founding Fathers’ fear that a powerful and vindictive federal government could single out a single individual or organization for penalties.
via ACORN deserves an apology, too | The New Rules Project.
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A BRIEF HISTORY OF CO
The roots of modern community organizing are as intertwined with the settlement house movement of the nineteenth century…as they are with the protest movements of the 1960s. 18
- Gary Delgado, Applied Research Center
To better understand where CO stands today, it is helpful to view its history. Over the decades, CO has increased its sophistication and networking for greater impact and wider results. Today’s CO field19 encompasses varied philosophies, approaches, organizational arrangements, actors, priorities, issues and constituencies. CO has taken root in both urban and rural settings. It enables ordinary people to work effectively together for change, often with significant impact at the block, neighborhood, community, city, county, regional, and, at times, state and national levels. Various racial and ethnic groups, and other disadvantaged or disenfranchised groups, use CO to fight for fairness and equity.
via NFG Community Organizing Toolbox.
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