Companion to the Poor: Christ in the Urban Slums

Viv Grigg draws from his experience as a missionary to the slums of Manila, Philippines. Grigg stresses that compassion for the poor and oppressed must go further than mere disposal of our spare time and money. Rather, when compassion is in its truest form, it looks strikingly similar to the life of Christ, whose father was a 'nobody,' and whose racial and economic background was to be despised. Even Nicodemus once asked, "what good can come out of Nazareth." From the slums of Manila, what can be found is nothing short of a miracle for the people who live there--that is, hope. And, for the Christian missionary who lives among a people with the least of economic means, Jesus is the hope that these people are in just the right position to hear. That is, Jesus' gospel was written from the perspective of the poor and oppressed; God's words in the Old Testament have a bias toward the least of these as well. Furthermore, in our day and age, the gospel is still best understood by those of this demographic. While it is possible to translate the Gospel of hope to more well-to-do demographics, one still is more apt to understand it in its full richness from the perspective of the 'have-nots.'

Highly recommended reading for those who want to get broken and surrendered to serving God with the poor.

Every so often we are reminded of the poor. This book puts a face on not only the poor but on the destitute. The destitute will become real people which leads us to the next step --- action! What can we do and what must we do as a moral person.Of the 12 chapters in this slim book of 200 pages the one that affected me the most is entitled, "To Have or Not To Have; Economically Just Lifestyles". WARNING: This book is written by an activist with the intention of convicting the reader into becomming an activist also. I dare say he will probably be successful!

I was loaned this book and was challenged and changed by it's content. Now I am buying a copy for myself, that I can loan out to others. The author writes honestly about the many issues involved in working with the poor. He doesn't pretent to know all the answers, and this is very refreshing. Anyone with any compassion for people in poverty will love this book. You will not be the same again.