Kevin Blue, Practical Justice: Living Off-Center in a Self-Centered World. IVP Books, 2010.
Referenced in: Strategies for Social Ministry
LifeandLeadership.com Summary
This is an excellent introduction to social justice for those who are sheltered from it but feel impulses toward it, yet do not know where to start in making a difference. Blue is disturbing enough to move one to action, yet does not convey the judgmental tone that often characterizes this genre. It leads well-meaning readers into social ministry, with a focus on poverty, racism, and class struggles. For those who have heard the old adage, “Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. Teach him to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime,” and feel confused over whether to focus on the immediate or the long term needs, Blue gives good answers. He says do both, but then introduces another, “fix the pond,” or address the social structures that either help or hinder genuine social change.
From the Publisher
You know the world is full of injustice. You know that God calls Christians to work for justice on the earth. But what can you do?
Do you have questions like this? You’re well-intended, but stuck in the rut of the everyday. You want to make your life matter. But you don’t know where to start. You wonder about everything from whether to give a dollar to a beggar to how to participate in the political process, from whether to shop at Wal-Mart to how much to spend on a car.
Kevin Blue has spent his adult life answering these questions for himself and for others. He lives in the heart of Los Angeles, where these questions can’t be set aside. And he has led college students through experiences in urban ministry as well as international treks to the poorest parts of the world. In Practical Justice he combines what he has learned with the experiences of others to answer your questions.
Right thinking. Right action. Just living. God calls you to step up and get involved. This book will help you get started.
About the Author
Kevin Blue wants his life to matter, and he’s figured out where to start. Living in the heart of Los Angeles, he leads college students through experiences in urban ministry and on international treks to serve the poorest parts of the world.
Kevin is a director with Servant Partners, which eschews comfort and dwells among the outcast. He is an elder at the multiethnic Church of the Redeemer in south central Los Angeles, focusing on racial reconciliation, compassion and justice.