Books to Read before Arrival
There are a number of books and articles which will help you understand the
history and philosophy of Servants. (In addition to the
readings outlined below you should try to read some of the
recommended books and articles in the spiritual formation, personal awareness
and mission awareness sections.)
Download the articles and read through
the books in sections A, B, C & D below carefully, noting down any ideas that you find
particularly challenging, inspiring or disturbing. Send
your personal responses to your Servants mentor by email or even
better, discuss face to face over a cup of tea.
Download the full set of pre-field articles and
recommended books:
Pre-Field Readings
v3 (500 KB)
A. KEY BOOKS ABOUT SERVANTS (read at least 3)
The Urban Halo (2007: Craig Greenfield)
The moving story of Craig and Nay Greenfield's years living in the slums of Cambodia, working with their community to care for hundreds of children orphaned by AIDS, and sparking a discipleship movement of Big Brothers and Sisters that is now spreading through Cambodia. Craig and Nay are now pioneering a Servants team in Vancouver, Canada and Craig is the International Coordinator of Servants.
The Sound of Worlds Colliding. (2008: edited by Kristin Jack)
This wide-ranging collection of inspiring and challenging stories from the first 25 years of Servants has not yet been published but you may be able to borrow an advance copy from your local Servants office. Kristin Jack has compiled dozens of stories from all over the Servants world. Written by expat Servants missionaries, as well as our local co-workers, this anthology is packed full of insights and lessons from our past and recent history.
Servants Amongst the Poor. (1998: Jenny Craig)
Jenny Craig gives a readable first hand account of her
involvement with the first team of Servants and the ups and
downs of their early years of
ministry amongst the urban poor in Manila. (available from your
local Servants office)
Costly Mission. Following Christ into the Slums. (1996: Michael Duncan)
Michael Duncan, former Servants Manila Team Leader, offers
this candid personal story of
mission in the slums. he speaks honestly of the struggles
of an urban missionary and reminds us that such a calling is
costly at a personal level. If you are considering full-time
urban ministry, you will want to read this before setting out;
if you are already engaged in mission, this is a helpful
reminder of the price you pay and the reward you receive.
Companion to the Poor.
Christ in the Urban Slums.
(1990: Viv Grigg)
When
Viv Grigg, the co-founder of
Servants, entered the Manila
squatter settlement of Tatalon in 1979, he knew what he wanted
to do, but not how to do it. The need was obvious - to establish
a Christian church among Asia's forgotten people, the
impoverished slum-dwellers of its vast megalopolises. The
challenge was to find a way that did not treat people's
spiritual needs in isolation from their poverty, without simply
becoming another economic or social relief program with no
evangelistic component.
B. THEOLOGY (read at
least 1)
Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger. (1997: Ronald J. Sider )
A must-read classic for Christians concerned with social justice
issues. The book has three basic parts: a presentation of the
unequal state of affairs between the rich and the poor; an
examination of how God views wealth, the poor and structural
evil; and practical implementation of biblical truth in these
areas. Throughout the book Sider uses Bible passages, facts and
figures to drive home the gravity of the situation faced by the
world’s poor. While not providing definitive answers, Sider
challenges readers to take an active role in searching out those
answers and acting out the implications of their faith in
everyday life.
The Upside-Down Kingdom (2003: Donald
Kraybill)
An intriguing study of the kingdom of God in the Gospels.
Kraybill says social, religious, and economic practices of the
dominant culture usually favor the rich, powerful, prestigious.
Jesus, on the other hand, favors those who suffer at society's
margins and fall between the cracks. Winner of the National
Religious Book Award: Best Religious Book of the Year.
Jesus' Plan for the New World
(1996: Richard Rohr)
Rohr and Feister explore the Gospel According
to Matthew and delve into the Sermon on the Mount, considered
the blueprint of the Christian lifestyle. They emerge with a
clearer understanding of the Gospel writers, especially Matthew,
who passed the sermon on to us. Richard Rohr's reminder of
God's great vision of justice, peace, and fulfillment, a vision
preached and died for by Jesus, is a challenge to all of us who
call ourselves Christians but have fallen into the habit of
"loving Jesus" without acting accordingly.
C. MISSION (read at least
1)
Missions and Money. Affluence as a Western
Missionary Problem. (1991: Jonathan Bonk)
This
insightful book on the problematic relation of mission and money
zeroes in on difficulties that occur when the missionary is
relatively affluent and living among the poor. Drawing on his
Mennonite heritage and the gospel's profound ambivalence towards
money, Bonk demands we confront the fundamental questions: do
contemporary Western missionaries subvert the gospel and hinder
its inculturation, because of their relative wealth? Does the
wealth of the missionary eventually lead indigenous converts to
feel hostility towards them? This book requires that all
Christians involved in mission to third-world countries be true
to their biblical roots - to live simply.
Not Religion but Love. (2001: Dave Andrews)
Servants Elder Dave Andrews shows how Christ's vision can be put
into practice in the communities in which we live. (Not
explicitly about Servants).
D. SPIRITUALITY (read at least
1)
Freedom of Simplicity. (1997: Richard Foster)
Discovering
simplicity is a lifelong process. But this biblical tradition is
difficult to put into practice in our hectic world. With
compassion, understanding, and deep knowledge of the Scriptures,
Foster reminds all of us how we can change our lives and world
for the better by learning to live in harmony with the rich
complexity of life, and by rediscovering the simplicity of
prayer, solitude, and all the ancient Christian Disciplines.
What's so Amazing about Grace? (1997: Philip Yancey)
Philip Yancey
explores grace at street level. If grace is God's love for the
undeserving, he asks, then what does it look like in action? And
if Christians are its sole dispensers, then how are we doing at
lavishing grace on a world that knows far more of cruelty and
unforgiveness than it does of mercy? Yancey sets grace in the
midst of life's stark images, tests its mettle against horrific
"ungrace." This book is a best seller and the winner of
numerous awards.
Compassion: A Reflection on the Christian Life
(1983: Henri Nouwen)
The poet Yosano Akiko wrote, "This one thing will I ask you: Are
you with the people or apart from them?" This is the heart of
Compassion. Nouwen argues that it is only genuine compassion,
the ability to go outside of one's self in love for the other,
that we find the meaning of God's love in Christ. It speaks
directly to the heart of the Gospel, an incarnate faith in a
life of compassion. This book is divided into three parts. 1)
The Compassionate God- examining the nature and mission of
Christ and what he tells us about the Father. 2) The
Compassionate Life- the roles and meaning behind community,
displacement and togetherness. 3) The Compassionate Way-
Patience, Prayer and Action. This book describes succinctly the
essence of what Servants is about.
