There are a wealth of resources available for understanding more about the complexities of poverty, and we’re happy to share some of those with you here.

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BY LEARNING

The Water Cooler

Sometimes it's nice to have a brief reflection - think water-cooler conversations - while other times a deep dive is needed (and 3-year-university degree perhaps?!). We're up for whatever depth of engagement is good for you, from the water-cooler to the lecture hall.

Walking with the Poor: Toward a Biblical View of Poverty and Development

RSA ANIMATE: Economics is for Everyone!

'God's word to the Church' by Dave Bookless

Think for a minute

These are a collection 59-second clips that encourage reflection on areas of faith-based development and living justly lives that we feel could do with more air-time and conversation.

Does God love the poor more?

Money, Power & Projects

Pursuing enough

Podcasts

Conversations about faith integration for faith-based development. How might the Christian faith shape the various challenges and complexities of addressing poverty and injustice?

The Magazine stand

The Amos Magazine is an annual, 40 page publication filled with art, poetry and articles about different aspects of poverty. There’s news from our programs and partners, event reviews from our Australian program, artwork, poetry and stories from around the globe. You can access all of our past issues below.

Amos Magazine Issue 7

The Amos Library

Below are a selection of books that we have found useful, insightful and/or entertaining in our learning journeys as we strive to be better neighbours and friends to the poor and marginalised.

These books (and many more!) are available for borrowing through the Amos library, which is accessible at most Amos-hosted event. If there’s a particular book you’d like to read, get in touch and we’ll see if we can get it to you.

Doughnut Economics -Kate Raworth

This book offers a way forward for the seemingly irreconcilable tension between caring for the environment and the resources needed to sustain human life. And Raworth’s premise is really quite simple: we need to think more about doughnuts. Raworth uses the metaphor of a doughnut to think about an inner boundary of human need and an outer boundary of planetary limits. She looks at seven areas of life, and suggests how we can ensure there is enough for everyone while working inside the capacity for the earth to renew itself. This is an easy read, practical and grounded that provides some helpful insights to a key challenge our world faces.

Sabbath as Resistance - Walter Brueggemann

Activism typically involves doing something – firing off a letter, gathering people, stirring hearts and minds to action. But Walter Brueggemann invites us to live prophetically by doing less. Drawing from the pivotal biblical narrative of the Exodus, Brueggemann makes the theological, social and environmental case for practicing Sabbath ways that go beyond Sunday church services and becoming a declaration of Good News for our relationships with God, self, others and the rest of creation. It comes with a study guide and would make an excellent small group or bible study resource.

Prayers for a Privileged People - Walter Brueggemann

While I lean towards extemporaneous prayers – those we make up on the spot – I’ve also found that there’s many situations where I don’t have the words to pray. Perhaps I’m overwhelmed, or angry, or stuck in a rut of repeating similar prayers. There’s also things that I’d rather not ask God for help with, primarily the darker recesses of my heart. And so I’ve found myself drawn towards prayers written by others that can give words to situations where I have nothing to pray, and to help me pray for things I’d rather avoid. I’ve always had a deep appreciation for Walter Brueggemann’s work, for its honesty and its depth and I regularly return to this book of prayers.

Micah's Challenge - Marijke Hoek & Justin Thacker (eds)

“What does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with you God” (Micah 6:8). This verse is regularly quoted by Christians who see concern for the poor as pivotal to their faith, and this book engages with the theological, ethical and practical aspects of Micah’s confronting words, exploring the role and task of the Christian Church in addressing global poverty. It’s a collection of articles from a variety of authors, so you can read it cover-to-cover or read the chapters that most spark your interest.

Nonviolent Action - Ronald J. Sider

As significant portions of our world turn inwards, it is inevitable that violence and military spending increases; as (I think) Walter Wink once wrote, it’s hard to hug your neighbour with a gun in your pocket. It’s imperative that Christians - even those who support Just War Theory – familiarise themselves with the non-violent teachings of Jesus and his call to love our enemies. Sider briefly maps out the non-violent teachings of Jesus before sharing examples of where non-violent action (so distinctly different from doormat theology!) has been effectively used in recent history to bring social change without resorting to violence.

Crowned with Glory & Honor - Christopher D. Marshall

Human rights are heavily critiqued from some quarters of the Christian community – and much discussion continues to be had about this important and highly relevant topic. But many Christians might not be aware of the way that the modern concept of human rights was heavily influenced by and largely founded on biblical principles of the Christian faith. This book is an excellent read for anyone who wants to think through human rights from a biblical perspective.

The Road to Daybreak - Henri Nouwen

While this is essentially a journal about Henri Nouwen moving from the realms of academia to one of the L’Arche communities in France, it is a wonderfully honest and open example of the challenges, questions, joys, surprises and lessons that often appear when we attempt to live closer in community with ‘the least, the last and the lost.’ The inherent risk in reading books like this is that Henri Nouwen’s example might quietly move off the page and take up an unsettling residence in your heart. It’s the kind of book you want to read and sit with for a while.

The Long Loneliness -Dorothy Day

It can be helpful to read the stories and reflections of those who have done the types of things we’re attempting, and this is an excellent resource for doing just that. Dorothy Day was an incredible woman who was courageous in her care of those society would rather forget. It was encouraging to read not just about her successes, but also her struggles and frustrations – and she writes with a beautifully, humble, reflective way that avoids easy answers while still urging the reader onwards.