Merciful: The Opportunity and Challenge of Discipling the Poor Out of Poverty

by Randy Nabors, John Perkins (Foreword)

Pastor Randy Nabors understands poverty. He grew up in the projects of Newark, New Jersey, before he and his wife Joan were called to a life of ministering to people in need. In Merciful , Nabors offers a practical set of guidelines and recommendations to help the poor. He bases his proven methods not on charity or pity, but on biblical mercy. Charity only provides for the immediate needs of the poor—a noble goal, but not one that helps over the long term. Mercy guides people as they learn to help themselves, allowing them to develop meaningful, rewarding lives free of the shackles of poverty. Merciful begins with Nabors’s own experience with poverty and how it shaped his ministry and views. He examines the problem of poverty from both a theological and philosophical standpoint, focusing on practical, long-term strategies to help the poor. Along the way Nabors tackles the many issues surrounding poverty, discussing what helps rather than what merely enables, and the limitations of government and nonprofit assistance. A committed, caring congregation of Christian believers can end the cycle of impoverishment and permanently improve the lives of the disenfranchised. Randy Nabors can show you how.

Genres: Nonfiction

348 pages, Paperback

First published March 24, 2015

Reviews

[Dan Domanski · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book makes sense of many of the verses in Proverbs that talk about wealth as something we've earned, reconciling them with passages in the New Testament asking us to to be generous with our wealth.

This is a hopeful book, calling us to be merciful, just as our Father is merciful. Giving is never over in our lifetime--"You Can't Outgive God" is the title of one chapter. This book calls for the Church to provide immediate relief for those who need it (instead of sending the poor somewhere else), and also to come up with programs for bringing the poor out of their poverty, not depending on others for the rest of their lives.

I also appreciate Randy Nabors' honesty, humility and vulnerability when talking about his own personal experiences and even failures as a pastor trying to offer mercy to others over the last 40 years.

"Discipling the poor out of poverty" is obviously a major point in the book (it's even in the subtitle). Randy Nabors emphasizes it numerous times in the book, but I didn't get a clear sense of where that idea comes from. Is it in the Bible? If so, where? If it's not in the Bible, is Nabors just advising us from personal experience? There have recently been various writings warning the Church about the dangers of "dependency," but not always with strong theological underpinnings apparent to the reader.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great overview on doing mercy work!

This is a must read on understanding the basic mechanics of doing mercy work in marginalized neighborhoods! Randy speaks from a vast experience that spans 40 years. I have appreciated his friendship & partnership in doing & promoting mercy work. The only downside to the kindle edition is that format is rather bizarre with columns changing, breaks in paragraphs & pages & ongoing hyphenated words that are odd. The printed edition doesn't have these issues.

[Jimmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars easily. This book is a great resource not just for deacons and church leaders but every Bible believing person and church. Nabors wades through the biblical case for mercy ministry and spends exhaustive detail "in the weeds" with lots of examples and particular applications to complement broader themes. It's not compelling prose nor edited particularly well but these are quite small potatoes compared to the meat of the book. I finished today and will start re-reading and dissecting it further tomorrow.

[Batch Batchelder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Practical, challenging, grace filled wisdom.

Practical, challenging, grace filled wisdom. Excellent collection of Randy Nabors’ experience doing the necessary work to come along side folks without making things worse.

[Emily Garringer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Merciful is a good book that could’ve been made even better with a strong editor. Occasionally the train of thought is tangled and repetitive, and there is definitely room for more nuance in some of his points.

[Tyler Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Randy Nabors is a voice I’m very thankful for in the PCA. This book outlines his experience and how he developed a ministry that sought to tackle issues of poverty, justice, and mercy in Chattanooga. There were several principles, stories, and ideas in this work that would make this a good resource for deacon training, short term mission trip preparation, or urban church planting development.

Thank being said, this book was in deep need of a good editor (I hear the material may be reworked an published with a reputable publisher). His writing style is very scatterbrained. When he does offer “hot takes” like 1) the best help for the urban poor is planting the right church not empowering existing minority churches or 2) gentrification has many positive benefits, his style of writing is very frustrating. He makes assertions, acknowledges the counterpoint and then offers no rebuttal or evidence to the contrary. I hope the work is repackaged and these ideas can be given more careful consideration.