Half The Sky by Kristoff and WuDunn

Half The Sky

Half the Sky (Wudunn, 2009) was written by Nicholas Kristoff and Sheryl WuDunn. I read Half the Sky while working for the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel as Missional Director. I was responsible for fostering a mission minded culture in 110 churches and para-church works in Mid-Atlantic States. 

I confess Half The Sky was a difficult read. Many times, I put it down saying, “No this isn’t real, this must be fiction. These countries and their oppressive regimes and peoples can’t be causing this level of suffering.” But the credibility of the stories and real people with touching photographs was undeniably real. 

The title of the book, Half the Sky is based on a Chinese Proverb stating, “Women hold up half the sky.” Meaning that their contribution and position is equal to a man. Half the Sky contains fourteen stories of suffering, hope and redemption. They are stories of individuals that turned their trouble into a triumph by helping themselves and then others. A case in point is the story of pregnant Prudence Lemokouno who had already lost her child (still within her) to a lack of any kind of maternal care. She now faced the tragic loss of her own life due to weakness, infection and the apathetic staff of a small hospital. Her husband screamed, “Please save my wife, she is dyeing and you can save her.” The transfusion she needed came too late because the hospital had to send a nurse away to buy needles! 

Stories like this produced a sense of shame and indignation in me and an upset of my comfortable world. I could get medical attention any time of the day or night for whatever malady or sickness I had or my family had. I began to talk to people about the book encouraging them with the stories that everything is not ok in so many countries. I used the statistics to influence those on my team. One woman dies every minute of lack of proper maternal care. I purchased copies of Half the Sky for senior women’s ministry leaders and offered to read it with them. Sadly, there was little interest in the suffering of women globally. It seemed leadership preferred the safe, clean and comfortable American lifestyle to the upsetting realities documented in Half The Sky. 

The true stories are also filled with redemptive outcomes that can, and will, I believe, inspire readers to takes steps forward to get involved in the healing process. 

Where Mortals Dwell by Craig Bartholomew

Where Mortals Dwell by Craig Bartholomew

    

     Where Mortals Dwell is written by Craig G. Bartholomew. (Bartholomew, 2011) I read Where Mortals Dwell as preparation for the Fresno Overture in 2017. The book is written for pilgrims in the quest for a practical and theological understanding of place. There is very little written about the Christian perspective of place and Where Mortals Dwell fills that void. I am in hopes that this book will be the inspiration for many others to dive in headlong into this study and be transformed through understanding their place in God’s wonderful blueprint. 

            From the foundational premise by Heidegger on p.10, “The world is the house where mortals dwell” Bartholomew crafts from biblical insights from Genesis and elsewhere a solid theology of place. A theology of place can cure the human ill of our nation today, of being atopic (inability to find place) and displaced in their own land. The author states, “As embodied creatures in imago Dei, humans are always dated and located, that is, placed.”According to the theology of place advanced in the book, like Israel, we will journey in pilgrimage and settle in land, often to experience exodus, exile, diaspora and voluntary or forced displacement. 

            Bartholomew inspiringly teaches the value of the contributions of the philosophers to “place” and interrogates their thinking for gleanings which can contribute to a better understanding on spatial reality. Bartholomew states, “The early church crafted its world view in the context of Greco-Roman thought and throughout the centuries the relationship between theology and philosophy has become complex but always interrelated…wonderfully we are witnessing a renewed interest in place by philosophers and theologians, but major work needs to be done.” 

            Where Mortals Dwell has helped and is helping me to connect more meaningfully with my faith community and also with my 20-30-year-old children who are students of the philosophers and hold a deep Christian faith. 

Encounter God in the City Dr. Randy White

                                     Encounter God In The City by Dr. Randy White

        Encounter God in the City was written by Dr. Randy White. I read it re-entering my city after 6 years in the East. I gained equilibrium hunting for a new job, reconnected with my city and network of friends, some going back 40 years with the help of this book. 

         In the Epilogue (p.184, 185) White suggests we “grow something new” and illustrates that things, like wildflowers, can grow in the cracks of a city sidewalk. White encourages from scripture a hopeful compassionate approach (Isaiah 58:10-11) to living in the city and giving possibilities looking forward. I decided to cross the line into the future  of my city and spend  no more time nursing the pain of the past. 

            Dr. White’s journal of moving to the Lowell District gave me courage to see what can be accomplished by a leader willing to walk naked into the land of uncertainty, as it is said. White’s book, like a good play, exposes real life scenes, fleshed out in Lowell, by White,  his wife and growing faith community. While taking inspiration from the White’s mission, I realized that it was not my calling, as yet, to relocate again, but to prepare for what was next when God opened a subsequent season, while living fully present in my city to serve!  

Through 40 years of life on mission God has called me, by invitation, to people and places. 103 Copper Street was our first attempt at a youth church, Blue Diamond Nevada was our country pastorate of 17 years, Neighborhood Church was 12 years of intense inner city ministry, my Mid-Atlantic District Directorship was 6 fruitful years of church planting and church health work, and now, working with the Clark County School District while finishing my Masters Degree. These places of service were by invitation. White’s investment, now 25 years rich, brought transformation to Fresno’s Lowell District. Through Encountering God In The City, I am learning to engage my city and to help lead others into a better personal and neighborhood transformational process. As White says (back cover) “seek the welfare of the city and both you and the city will be transformed.”