Tim Keller is a pastor and the bestselling author of Prodigal God, a book that I and countless others loved, so it was easy to pick up Ministries of Mercy. I was not disappointed but I was taken aback that this intellectual pastor would choose “mercy” as his next topic.

Do not withhold good from those who deserve it,
when it is in your power to act. Proverbs 3:27

As with his earlier book, Tim carefully lays the Biblical foundation for ministries of mercy, defining them as any efforts to relieve the pain and/or disenfranchisement of the needy. This includes but is not limited to groups like:

Homeless
Jobless
Hungry
Widows
Orphans
Addicts
Alcoholics

I was pleasantly surprised that the author also walks the reader through steps to prompt them to think of new mercy groups in their own community. There are a lot of practical prompts like this, every section of the book is followed by them. I am left with the impression that Tim and his staff have a great deal of practical experience in mercy ministries.

After establishing the Scriptural basis for mercy ministries, Tim moves on to challenging evangelical Christians who are sometimes found wanting in them. The truth is, we are told to give to widows, orphans, neighbors, etc. and that truth is often overlooked in favor of a nicer sanctuary built in a nicer neighborhood along with a nicer car to drive there where we can pretend the needs don’t exist.

After establishing the fact that we are instructed to help the disenfranchised, even if they are our enemies, and pointing out that we are not obedient in this area on the whole, the author goes into great detail about how to find a ministry of mercy in your area, how to start, how to present it to your church to garner extra resources and how to manage it long-term by building a base of support in your local body from the ground up.

I give Ministries of Mercy by Tim Keller 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Christian Audio provided Ministries of Mercy (audio book) free of charge to me in exchange for writing this review as part of the Christian Audio Reviewers Program.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo (audio version)
• The Sights and Sounds of Enabling
  by Diane Viere and Elaine Altman-Eller
• Counterfeit: Lies We Believe About Work
• Counterfeit: Lies We Believe About Religion
• Counterfeit: Lies We Believe About Worship

Roman emperor Flavius Claudius Julianus (361-363), or Julian the Apostate, attempted to fight off the rapid growth of Christianity in Rome in favor of the pagan worship of Zeus. Even with the backing of the emperor, the pagan priests were frustrated by their lack of progress relative to the Christians as Julian lamented in his “Letter to Arsacius” (360):

For it is disgraceful when no Jew is a beggar and the impious Galileans [the name given by Julian to Christians] support our poor in addition to their own …

Jews and Christians were known for taking care of their own poor and disenfranchised, regardless of whether the poor shared their beliefs.

At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year’s produce and store it in your towns, so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. ~ Deuteronomy 14:28-9 NIV

Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other. ~ Zechariah 7:10 NIV

Are believers still known for this kind of charity today? Why or why not?

Possibly Related Posts:

• Counterfeit: Lies We Believe About Work
• Counterfeit: Lies We Believe About Religion
• Counterfeit: Lies We Believe About Worship
• A Desperate Cry
• Once Burned, Twice Shy