Theirs Is the Kingdom: Celebrating the Gospel in Urban America

Rating:
Summary: A Reality Check
Review: Having worked in urban ministries, I can realte much more to Lupton's book than I can to any stories from the mainstream media. He draws the reader right in to the realities of urban life, and in his delightful vignettes makes his neighbors your neighbors. He takes what the media might call "street people" and helps us see each one as a PERSON with a face, personality, and most importantly, a soul.

Rating:
Summary: Short AND sweet
Review: Not that short books are inherently bad or good, but this tiny volume is able to pack it in without wasting words. I am amazed at how Lupton is able to express such profound and challenging concepts with such clarity and directness without coming across as anything less than loving and wanting us to love God more, and live accordingly.

Although this book is over 10 years old, the stories and lessons are still very applicable, and I can imagine the same situation occuring in inner cities everywhere. The issues are still around, and people are still yearning for the solution of Jesus Christ.

We American suburbanite Christians need to challenge our mindset, our assumptions that we have been so content with for so long. This book is a great place to start.

Rating:
Summary: An HONEST look at Urban Ministry
Review: The strength of this book lies in its total honesty and realistic look at life in the inner-city living life and doing ministry among the urban poor. Lupton doesn't shy away from the hard questions, but answers them boldly with the words of Jesus. He exhorts us to be radical in our servanthood of our neighbors, and to sacrifice ourselves for others. In other words, he just calls us to what Jesus calls us to. This book is very easy and quick to read, but the lessons learned in this book can be pondered and worked out in a real-life context over and over again. This is certainly one of the best books I have ever read that encourages you to take the Gospel seriously in the inner-city. It's worth far more than the time it will take you to read.