Tim Chester - Good News to the Poor: Social Involvement and the Gospel

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Good News to the Poor is good news for readers thinking through the relationship of evangelism to social action. Tim Chester rightly emphasizes the centrality of the gospel as he compares dependency- creating welfare with dignity-embracing development.

Marvin Olasky, Editor in Chief, World News Group

The Christian church has at its best been known for its exemplary love and sacrificial service to the least of these: the poor, the oppressed, and the marginalized. Tim Chester shows that gospel proclamation and tangible acts of love, service, and mercy toward our neighbors should not be pitted against each otherGods grace motivates action, and words and deeds go together.

Justin Holcomb, Director of Resurgence; Pastor, Mars Hill Church, Seattle, Washington

Tim Chester provides a timely reminder that Christianity at its best is actually a well-balanced combination of social action and gospel proclamation. This book does an excellent job removing the perceived wall between these two camps. Chester challenges the Christian church to work for justice and peace in the process of calling individuals to conversion. This book is a much-needed call for a renewed understanding of the Christian calling.

Ben Peays, Executive Director, The Gospel Coalition

Whats the relationship between the gospel and social action for the believer? Ive been asked that question many times over the years, and it is one we must answer well. If we do not get the relationship between the gospel and social action right, we will likely end up undermining both of them. This is why Tim Chesters Good News to the Poor is an essential book for Christians. He argues persuasively and winsomely that gospel proclamation and social action are inseparable.

Dan Cruver, Director, Together for Adoption; author,
Reclaiming Adoption: Missional Living through the Rediscovery of Abba Father

This important, well-written book is a must-read for those looking for a way to integrate word-and-deed to advance Gods purposes in our needy world.

Tom Sine, author, Living on Purpose: Finding Gods Best for Your Life

A vital challenge to gospel people to follow in the footsteps of William Carey. Consistent, mission-minded evangelicals have always refused to choose between a commitment to gospel proclamation and an active concern for the poor. Tim Chester digs deep into the Bible to show us why both are vital and what it means to be Christs people in a world of need.

Keith Walker, Director, Serving in Mission, UK/Northern Europe

GOOD
NEWS
TO THE
POOR

Other Crossway books by Tim Chester:

Everyday Church: Gospel Communities on Mission (with Steve Timmis), 2012

A Meal with Jesus: Discovering Grace, Community, and Mission around the Table , 2011

You Can Change: Gods Transforming Power for Our Sinful Behavior and Negative Emotions , 2010

Total Church: A Radical Reshaping around Gospel and Community (with Steve Timmis), 2008

Good News to the Poor: Social Involvement and the Gospel

Copyright 2013 by Tim Chester

Published by Crossway
1300 Crescent Street
Wheaton, Illinois 60187

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by USA copyright law.

Originally published by Inter-Varsity Press, Nottingham, England. Copyright 2004 by Tim Chester. North American edition publishing by permission of Inter-Varsity.

Cover design and image: Brandon Hill

First printing 2013

Printed in the United States of America

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV Bible ( The Holy Bible, English Standard Version ), copyright 2001 by Crossway. 2011 Text Edition. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture references marked NIV are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

All emphases in Scripture quotations have been added by the author.

Trade paperback ISBN: 978-1-4335-3703-5
PDF ISBN: 978-1-4335-3704-2
Mobipocket ISBN: 978-1-4335-3705-9
ePub ISBN: 978-1-4335-3706-6

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Chester, Tim.

Good news to the poor : social involvement and the gospel / Tim Chester.

pages cm

Originally published: Nottingham, England : Inter-Varsity Press, c2004.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-4335-3703-5

1. Church work with the poor. 2. Evangelistic work.

3. Missions. 4. Social gospel. 5. Church group work. I. Title.

BV639.P6C44 2013

261.8dc23 2013002367

Crossway is a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

VP 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13

15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

This book began life as a series of seminars at Spring Harvest Word Alive 2002. Thanks belong to John Risbridger of UCCF (Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship) and Hugh Palmer of Word Alive for encouraging me to return to these issues, and to Keith Walker of UCCF and SIM (Serving In Mission) whose idea it was to turn them into a book. In June 2003 I presented much of the material in the book at the Kampala Evangelical School of Theology (KEST), Uganda. The opportunity to reflect on the issues with the staff and students of KEST was a great privilege. I want to express my thanks to them for their invitation and for the warm welcome I and my daughter, Katie, received during our time in Uganda. I also presented some of this material at a Micah Network consultation in Sarajevo, Bosnia, in November 2003. Once again, the opportunity to discuss these issues with churches and organizations working in the Balkans and Central Asia was an enriching experience.

Dewi Hughes, Daniel Strange, Keith Walker, Julian Hardyman, and Stephanie Heald all made encouraging and critical comments on drafts. Sarah Hill of Tearfund tracked down references and information for me with her typical verve. The book is dedicated to Dewi, a friend and former colleague, whose teaching and example have often encouraged and challenged me.

Tim Chester

Sheffield

Let me introduce Albert. Albert calls himself a postevangelical. He says there are many good things about the evangelical church in which he grew up, but he himself has grown out of evangelicalisms narrowness. Like his postmodern friends, he is wary of truth claims, and instead he wants to emphasize symbols and images. This makes him much more comfortable with social involvement than with evangelism. Evangelism makes him uneasy because, as he puts it, we are all on a faith journey and he thinks that evangelism among the poor is simply manipulative. His catchphrase is dont force your truth on others. Instead we should walk with the poor, care for them, and help them on their faith journey while expecting them to enrich our own faith journeys.