The Craving Brain: Science, Spirituality and a Pathway to Recovery
Authors: Anderson Spickard, Jr., and James Butler with Barbara R. Thompson
Combining firsthand accounts and simplified medical insights, The Craving Brain addresses how adolescent binge drinking plays a role in the development of alcohol addiction, explains why addicts don’t need to hit rock bottom before they can recover, and responds to some of the most compelling mysteries of addiction
Toxic Charity: How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help, And How to Reverse It
Author: Bob Lupton
Veteran urban activist Robert Lupton reveals the shockingly toxic effects that modern charity has upon the very people meant to benefit from it. Toxic Charity provides proven new models for charitable groups who want to help—not sabotage—those whom they desire to serve.
When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor…and Yourself
Authors: Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert
When Helping Hurts articulates a biblically based approach to poverty alleviation, a framework that has already shaped 250,000 church and ministry leaders. Learn how you can walk with people who are poor in ways that lead to lasting change. Purchase from Amazon or Moody Publishers.
The Just Leader
Authors: David Spickard
Leadership is tough. Now more than ever. To compete in today’s marketplace, leaders can no longer avoid issues of justice. But the landscape often feels fractured and confusing, filled with complex cultural landmines that can threaten the health and success of their companies.
If you’re a leader, where should you start?
If you don’t have the skill and understanding to wade into these messy waters, you—and your company—will be left behind. To be great, you must know how to be just.
Kingdom Calling: Vocational Stewardship for the Common Good
Author: Amy L. Sherman
Amy Sherman, director of the Center on Faith in Communities and scholar of vocational stewardship, uses the tsaddiqim as a springboard to explore how, through our faith-formed calling, we announce the kingdom of God to our everyday world. But cultural trends toward privatism and materialism threaten to dis-integrate our faith and our work. And the church, in ways large and small, has itself capitulated to those trends, while simultaneously elevating the “special calling” of professional ministry and neglecting the vocational formation of laypeople. In the process, we have, in ways large and small, subverted our kingdom mandate.
Every Good Endeavor
Author: Tim Keller
In a work world that is increasingly competitive and insecure, people often have nagging questions: Why am I doing this work? Why is it so hard? And is there anything I can do about it? With deep insight and often surprising advice, Keller shows readers that biblical wisdom is immensely relevant to our questions about our work. In fact, the Christian view of work—that we work to serve others, not ourselves—can provide the foundation of a thriving professional and balanced personal life. Keller shows how excellence, integrity, discipline, creativity, and passion in the workplace can help others and even be considered acts of worship—not just of self-interest.
Recruiting your church or organization to Jobs for Life
This PowerPoint presentation can be used to present Jobs for Life to churches, organizations, businesses, etc. Includes an overview about Jobs for Life (mission, vision, how it works, etc), discusses the poverty issue, and covers what is taught in the JfL class. There are also customizable slides that can used to add additional details about your site and class, if applicable.
God’s Heart for the Poor
Proverbs 14:31 Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him.
Proverbs 17:5 Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker; he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.
Proverbs 19:17 Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.
Psalm 12:5 “Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the Lord; “I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”
Isaiah 58:1-10 “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
God’s Promises Concerning the Poor
Matthew 25:31-40 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, youwho are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
God’s Promises Concerning the Poor
Proverbs 21:13 He who shuts his ears to the cries of the poor will be ignored in his own time of need.
Proverbs 28:27 If you give to the poor, your needs will be supplied! But a curse upon those who close their eyes to poverty.
Proverbs 22:9 Happy is the generous man, the one who feeds the poor.
Psalm 41:1 Blessed is the one who considers the poor. In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him;
God’s Call to Serve Those In Need
1 John 3:14-19 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
1 Timothy 6:17-19 Tell those who are rich not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which will soon be gone, but their pride and trust should be in the living God who always richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and should give happily to those in need, always being ready to share with others whatever God has given them. By doing this they will be storing up real treasure for themselves in heaven–it is the only safe investment for eternity! And they will be living a fruitful Christian life down here as well.
James 2:14-17 Dear brothers, what’s the use of saying that you have faith and are Christians if you aren’t proving it by helping others? Will that kind of faith save anyone? If you have a friend who is in need of food and clothing, and you say to him, “Well, good-bye and God bless you; stay warm and eat hearty,” and then don’t give him clothes or food, what good does that do? So you see, it isn’t enough just to have faith. You must also do good to prove that you have it. Faith that doesn’t show itself by good works is no faith at all–it is dead and useless.
Luke 3:9-11 The axe of his judgment is poised over you, ready to sever your roots and cut you down. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.” The crowd replied, “What do you want us to do?” “If you have two coats,” he replied, “give one to the poor. If you have extra food, give it away to those who are hungry.”
James 1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
What God Says About Work
Genesis 2:15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
Proverbs 22:29 Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.
John 17:4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.
Colossians 3:23, 24 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
2 Thessalonians 3:10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”
Business for Kingdom Transformation
A World Bank survey of 60,000 people in poverty around the world found that the No. 1 way the poor see themselves escaping poverty is by obtaining meaningful jobs, not charity. One of the biggest needs in our under-resourced communities is jobs-good jobs, jobs that pay a living wage, and jobs that allow parents to care for their families.
Our webinar guests are three business and community leaders committed to the life-giving role business plays in increasing opportunity and reducing poverty. Having just recently led the CCDA Market Solutions for Community Transformation pre-conference, our webinar panelists will discuss leassons learned, succesful models, and strategic insights for the way God uses our work and business to create flourishing communities.
Guests:
Wendy Clark: President, Carpe Diem Cleaning, Durham, NC
Rudy Carrasco: US Regional Facilitator, Partners Worldwide, Grand Rapids, MI
Brian Jenkins: President, StartingUp Now, Chicago, IL
Building the Church Behind Prison Walls – Nov 2013
Today, 2,300,000 men and women are incarcerated in the U.S. 98% of them will be released. 2 out of 3 will re-offend and go back to prison within three years of their release. What if that was turned upside down? What if instead those released became leaders of our communities transforming lives for the glory of God rather than returning as repeat offenders?
David Spickard, Jobs for Life’s President and CEO, will interview Jim Liske, President and CEO of Prison Fellowship. Prison Fellowship has spent decades ministering to inmates and their families implementing proven, research based programs that address crime at its root – the human heart.
Jim will give light to the growing prison and re-entry crisis in our country and offer practical, biblical ways for you, your church, and your community to address the problem head on.