New Books

Joy at Work: A Revolutionary Approach to Fun on the Job

by Dennis Bakke

What if you worked in a company where “management” and “labor” were the same, “org. charts” and HR departments didn’t exist, and everyone was trusted to make their own decisions?

You’d work in a company like AES – the worldwide energy giant that Dennis Bakke co-founded and built into a multi-billion dollar company – where 40,000 employees in 31 countries sought not the “fun” of the
“casual” Friday but the joy of making decisions on Monday.
Dennis Bakke’s JOY AT WORK: A Revolutionary Approach to Fun on the Job (PVG; July 17, 2006; $14.95) is about the purpose of business and how he created one of the most fun workplaces in history. The average American puts in 111,800 hours at work in their lifetime, and Bakke’s passion is to create workplaces where every person, from custodian to CEO, has the power to use his or her God-given talents to experience
joy throughout those 50 or 60-hour work weeks.

An instant New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Business Week bestseller when published in hardcover last year, JOY AT WORK spawned a small workplace revolution, as employees from all over
North America urged their bosses to read it, and to put Bakke’s approach into practice.

Now available for the first time in paperback, this breakthrough work provides a blueprint for management to model, where employees genuinely look forward to work – not just a place to pick up a paycheck. Bakke outlines his unorthodox Joy at Work approach regarding corporate structure, decision-making, compensation, and maps out guidelines on how to build an organization where every team member can say: “Thank
God It’s Monday.”

taken from http://www.dennisbakke.com/pages/pressinfo

Building a People of Power by Robert C. Linthicum

Jesus never intended the church to become an institution; he intended it to be a people of power, seeking to transform the world. Building A People of Power explores how God’s people can exercise power in Godly ways so that God’s kingdom can be built in their neighborhoods and cities.

Built around a biblical exploration of shalom, Building a People of Power deals with how local churches can use power to transform their cities. Power is the capacity, ability, and willingness to act. Most people and systems use that power to dominate and control. But others have used it relationally in order to liberate, transform, and even save. How Jesus used power relationally is carefully explored. This book presents detailed power strategies that enable the church to build productive relationships, address the primary issues of the people, and develop strong leaders, faithful organizations, and redeemed neighborhoods that live out shalom.

taken from http://www.worldvisionresources.com

  Spotting the Sacred by Bruce Main

“We must also keep our eyes open for the saints of our own culture. Their witness will be close enough to our concerns, or what should be our concerns, to leave us uncomfortable with our spiritual compromises.”

Charles Hoffacker

I’ve always had a little trouble believing that the Jesus of the Gospels noticed the extraordinary behavior of ordinary people just so biblical scholars, historians and pastors could spend 2000 years debating, dissecting, and applying the latest critical methods to find the ‘deeper’ truths in these stories. 

I think Jesus had something different in mind when he called his followers to notice courageous women, faithful friends, sacrificing widows, compassionate Samaritans, and contrite tax gatherers. I believe he was modeling a dynamic way of living for us all—living with eyes attuned to spotting the heart of God in the routines and interactions of our everyday lives.

With this in mind, rather than asking the popular question, ‘What would Jesus do?’  I beckon us all to start asking the question, ‘What did Jesus notice?’  Asking this question helps us embrace the lens through which Jesus viewed the life surrounding him.  By attempting to see through this lens ourselves, we can begin to live in an awareness of the living parables that dance before us everyday.  This sacred spotting will challenge, inspire, convict and move us closer to God’s likeness.      

So go to the ordinary places of this world—our jobs, our neighborhoods, our laundry mats, our playgrounds—renouncing our blindness because of our commitment to live in the awareness that God’s presence can be found…if we choose to notice.    

Peace, Bruce Main

from http://www.spottingthesacred.com/

Urban Ministry Bibliography

Theology

Bakke, Ray. A Biblical Word for an Urban World. Valley Forge, 2000

----- A Theology as Big as the City. Intervarsity Press, 1997

Davey, Andrew. Urban Christianity & Global Order. Hendrickson Publishers, 2002

Deyoung, Paul. Coming Together: The Bible's Message in an Age of Diversity. Judson Press, 1995.

Green, Laurie. The Impact of the Global: An Urban Theology. Benfoy Press Ltd, 2001

Greenway, Roger S. & Timothy M. Monsma. Cities: Missions’ New Frontier. Baker Book House, 1992

Jacobsen, Eric O. Sidewalks in the Kingdom. Brazos Press, 2003

Linthicum, Robert. City of God, City of Satan. Zondervan Publishing, 1991

McAlpine, Thomas. Facing the Powers. MARC, 1991

Schaeffer, Francis. Death in the City. Inter-Varsity Press, 1969

“Seeking the Peace of the City.” Church & Society. Nov/Dec 1995, Vol 86, No 2

Van Engen, Charles & Jude Tiersma, Eds. God So Loves the City. MARC, 1994

Villafañe, Eldin. Seek the Peace of the City. Eerdmans Publishing, 1995

Ward, Graham. Cities of God. Routledge Group, 2000

Urban Ministry: Models and Strategies

Barnett, Matthew. The Church That Never Sleeps. Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000

Burger, Delores. Women Who changed the Heart of the City. Kregel Publications, 1997

Campolo, Tony. Revolution & Renewal. Westminster John Knox Press, 2000

Conn, Harvie M. The American City & the Evangelical Church. Baker Books, 1994

Entwistle, Basil. Making Cities Work. Hope Publishing, 1990

Lewis, Robert. The Church of Irresistible Influence. Zondervan Publishing, 2001

Lupton, Robert D. Renewing The City: Reflections On Community Development And Urban Renewal. InterVarsity Press, 2005

McLaren, Brian D. The Church on the Other Side. Zondervan Publishers, 1998

McLean, Gordon. Cities of Lonesome Fear: God Among the Gangs. Moody Press, 1991

Nunes, John. Voices from the City. Concordia Publishing, 1999

O’Connor, Elizabeth. Servant Leaders, Servant Structures. The Servant Leadership School, 1991

Perkins, John M, Ed. Restoring At-Risk Communities. Baker Books, 1995

Schaller, Lyle E, Ed. Center City Churches. Abingdon Press, 1993

Sider, Ronald J. et al. Churches That Make a Difference. Baker Books, 2002

White, Randy. Journey to the Center of the City. Intervarsity Press, 1996

Orientation to the City

“Church & Society: the Church and the Working Poor” January/February 2003. Vol 93 No 3

“City: Analysis of Urban Trends, Culture, theory, policy, action.” Carfax Publishing. Vol 6 No 3, Nov 2002

Dougherty, James. The Fivesquare City. University Press of Notre Dame,

Gmelch, George and Walter P. Zenner. Urban Life. Waveland Press, Inc, 2002

Hall, Peter. Cities of Tomorrow. Blackwell Publishers, 1996

Inwood, Stephen. A History of London. Macmillan Publishers, 1998

----- Systems of Survival. Random House, 1992

Palen, J. John. The Urban World. McGraw-Hill, 1992

Multi-Cultural Urban Issues

Dyrness, William A. Invitation to Cross-Cultural Theology. Zondervan Publishing, 1992

Emerson, Michael O. and Smith, Christian. Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America. Oxford University Press, USA, 2001

Evans Jr., James H. We Have Been Believers. Fortress Press, 1992

Law, Eric H.F. The Wolf Shall Dwell with the Lamb. Chalice Press, 1993

Ortiz, Manuel. One New Nation. InterVarsity Press, 1996

Pannell, William. The Coming Race Wars? Zondervan, 1993

Rhodes, Stephen A. Where the Nations Meet. Inter-Varsity Press, 1998

Specialized Urban Issues

Ellison, Craig W. & Edward S. Maynard. Healing for the City. Zondervan Publishing, 1992

Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the City. Continuum Publishing House, 1993

Linthicum, Robert C. Empowering the Poor. MARC, 1991

Pannell, William. Evangelism from the Bottom. Zondervan Publishing, 1992

Pohl, Christine D. Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition. Eerdmans Publishing, 1999

Sanders, Cheryl J. Ministry at the Margins. Inter-Varsity Press, 1997

Yamamori, Tetsunao et al, Eds. Serving with the urban Poor. MARC, 1998

Yankoski, Mike. Under the Overpass: A Journey of Faith on the Streets of America.  Multnomah Books, 2005

ENGLAND

Theology

Bakke, Ray A Theology as Big as the City.

Comblin, Jose Being Human. Tunbridge Wells: Burns & Oatss, 1990

Gamble, Roman The Irrelevant Church. Tunbridge Wells: Monarch, 1991

Nees, Thomas G ‘Annotated Compassionate Ministries Bibliography. Unpublished document available in photocopy form. (1991)

Northcott, Michael (ed) Urban Theolgy: A Reader. London: Cassell, 1998

Urban Ministry: Models and Strategies

Bosch, David J. Transforming Mission, Orbis Books, New York, 1991.

Brierley, Peter Act on the Facts. London: Marc Europe, 1992

----- Christian England, London: Marc Europe, 1991

----- The Tide is Running Out. London: Christian Research, 2000

Davey, Andrew Urban Christianity and Global Order: Theological Resources for an Urban Future. London: SPCK, 2001

Jacobsen, Eric O. Sidewalks of the Kingdom: New Urbanism and the Christian Faith. Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2003

McClung, Floyd. Seeing the City with the Eyes of God. New York: Fleming H Revell, 1991

Murray, Stuart City Vision. London: Daybreak, 1990

Orientation to the City

Flanagan, William G. Contemporary Urban Sociology. Cambridge: CUP, 1993

Johnson, Patrick et al. Operation World 2001: 21st Century Edition. Carlisle: OM Publishing, 2001

Lister, Ruth (ed.) Charles Murray and the Underclass—the Developing Debate. London: The Institute of Economic Affairs in association with the Sunday Times, 1996

McLeod, Hugh Religion and Society in England, 1850-1914. London: Macmillan Press Ltd, 1996

Pugh, Cedric (ed) Sustainability, the Environment and Urbanisation. Oxford: Earthscan, 1996

Rose, David and Karen O’Reilly (eds) Constructing classes: towards a new social classification for the UK. Swindon: Economic and Research Council and the Office for National Statistics, 1997

Multi-Cultural Urban Issues

Karaban, Roslyn A. “The Sharing of Cultural Variation” in Journal of Pastoral Care. Vol XLV, No. 1. Spring, 1991

Kraft, Charles, H. Anthropology for Christian Witness. Maryknoll: Orbis, 1994

Livingstone, Greg Planting Churches in Muslim Cities: a Team Approach. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993.

Shorter, Aylward The Church in the African City. London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1991

Winter, Ralph D. & Steven C. Hawthorn Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader. Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1992

Specialized Urban Issues

Griggs, Viv. Cry of the Urban Poor. Monrovia: MARC, 1992

Hiebert, Paul G. Anthropological Reflections of Missiological Issues.
Grand Rapids: Baker, 1994