The 'good news' of Jesus, properly understood, will change the world. Jesus was clear: Love God, love your neighbor as you love yourself. We have separated the holistic teaching of Jesus into two categories, word and deed, creating a dualism that leaves neither side with the full story.Although this book grew out of PhD research, it is practically focused on helping the Church see its role in the transformation of society by caring for its neighbors. It is multi-disciplined in its approach, looking at Evangelical history to guide the present, Human Scale Development to assist strategy and a Socio-Rhetorical examination of James 2 to anchor it all in Scripture. All in all, the goal is to encourage the church to reach a lost world by holistically caring for needs--physical and spiritual. The final chapter is intensely practical as it contains a model demonstrating how this approach brought hope and healing to a South African township community that can be replicated in most corners of the world.
