John M. Perkins - With Justice for All: A Strategy for Community Development

1982 Regal Books

Published by Baker Books
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.bakerbooks.com

Baker Books edition published 2014

ISBN 978-1-4412-2433-0

Previously published by Regal Books

Ebook edition originally created 2011

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New American Standard Bible, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Other versions used are:

JBThe Jerusalem Bible. Copyright 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd. and Doubleday & Company, Inc. Used by permission.

KJVKing James Version. Authorized King James Version.

NIVScripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

PhillipsThe New Testament in Modern English, Revised Edition, J. B. Phillips, Translator. J. B. Phillips 1958, 1960, 1972. Used by permission of Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 866 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10022.

TEVScripture quotations are from Todays English Version. Copyright American Bible Society 1966, 1971, 1976. Used by permission.

This book is dedicated to the next generation of indigenous leaders:
Ryan Weary, Bernice Wambari, Sterling Ruiz,
Joshua Forrest, Rishard Harris, Sarah Wambari,
Jade Harris, Tranquility Gordon, Cymone Vance, Eunice Wambari,
Gabriel Gordon, Chaya Vance, Damien Shannon,
Keith Magee and Robert Wilkerson, III.

Charles W. Colson

Elizabeth Perkins

I would like to express special thanks to Eddy Hall for his good editorial work, and to my wife, Vera Mae, who worked with me on this book. Thanks also go to Sue Nelson who spent hour after hour retyping this book with some assistance from Melody Hall. The research of Tom Adams, Eva Meiers and Joannie Perkins was also much appreciated.

I am grateful to Tim Robertson for letting me borrow heavily from a sermon he delivered to Voice of Calvary Fellowship in December 1980 for most of the material included in chapter 19. Thank you to Steven Crane, Margaret Love Denman, Tim Robertson, H. Spees, Lem Tucker and Sue Nelson for reading the manuscript and offering helpful suggestions. A special thanks to Donna Wheeler, my secretary, without whose help I would never have had the time to write this book. I want to thank the late Bill Greig, Jr., former president of Gospel Light Publications, who encouraged me to write this book.

I am also grateful to the entire Denman family: to Rusty and Margaret Love for giving us free access to their home, to their meat locker, to the fruit trees around their farm, and to their lives during the weeks we spent drafting the manuscript; to all of the wonderful Denman kidsPepper, Laura, John, Stanton, and Hunterfor helping to make us welcome during our stay; and especially to Pepper, Laura and John, who moved out of their beautiful three-bedroom home to make room for us.

Thanks to Jim and Shirley Posey for opening their home to Vera Mae and me during the final editing of the manuscript.

Finally, I want to thank the many friends who encouraged us and helped us in many other ways while working on this project.

John Perkins is a prophet. He is also a loving brother and friend. As a matter of fact, in my very first encounter with him, he taught me one of the most important lessons of my Christian life.

I had come to Jackson, Mississippi, to speak at a rally sponsored by Johns ministry. It was the first time that Voice of Calvary, primarily a black ministry, had staged a public event seeking to involve the largely white population of Jackson. John hoped that my speaking would break down century-old barriers.

I had been in Jackson a year earlier for the Governors Prayer Breakfast. There was an overflow crowd of more than 2,000. Hundreds had wanted tickets but could not get in.

But in sharp contrast, when I arrived in the auditorium for the Voice of Calvary rally, there were more empty chairs than I had ever seen in my life. Four or five hundred of Johns supporters were sitting in the front, and throughout the rest of the cavernous auditorium I could see only little islands of peoplemaybe 100 at the mostfrom the local white community.

As a white man I was embarrassed and hurt for my new friend John. He could tell that I was angry; he leaned over to me and said, Dont worry about it, brother; it will all be all right in Gods timing. Here was a man who had been beaten and tortured during the civil rights movement in the sixties. Though he might have been bitter again this night, he instead radiated Gods love.

That is the kind of man John Perkins is, and With Justice for All communicates that same spirit of love and commitment to Christ. This book is not just another theoretical treatise or cold-blooded analysis of the fabric of American culture. Woven throughout it are examples of Gods working in Johns life and ministry over the years, with practical principles drawn from Scripture. When John describes his work as a blueprint, it is a plan I trust because of his dependence on Scripture and his practical experience. As the Ten Years Later chapter makes clear, Johns work is not an untried philosophical supposition, nor has it been a series of easy victories. His principles of relocation, reconciliation and redistribution have been tried by fire. Suffering has been an intrinsic part of his personal experience; his resulting wisdom is hard won. As he likens the leaders American Christians so desperately need to Nehemiah, he is serving as an example. John Perkins is a voice shouting out in the wilderness of contemporary modern culture; now, more than ever before, we need to heed that call.

If effective, deep-seated change is to come to our nation today, it will come only through the leadership of Christiansnot as a political force, but as a network of believers sharing the reconciling love of Jesus Christ and the power of His gospel to meet the gamut of men and womens moral, physical, spiritual and emotional needs.

As we see the power of that gospel communicated through the believing hearts and practical actions of Christians ministering in the weak places of our society, we will see committed Christian fellowships growing among the poor and oppressed in our ghettos, reconciliation between black and white in our cities, healing of the broken within our prisons. Though it may seem to be foolishness to the world, it will be from the ranks of the powerless that the powerful see the work of Christ.

As John Perkins makes clear, this work begins with you and me. As we ourselves have feasted on the good news, we must in turn proclaim liberty to the captives and justice to the oppressed. As Christ ministers through us, then we will begin to see healing in our landnot through government programs or distant relief funds, but by rolling up our shirt sleeves, taking on the concerns of the needy and sharing in their sufferings. This is the model Christ gives usand it is leaders like John Perkins who show the excellence of their leadership by focusing our eyes on Christ.