“We used to be able to say: ‘if only we had the technology, if only we had the medicines, if only we had the science, if only we had the engineering skills then we could meet the millennium goals.’ But we know that with the technology we have, the medicine we have, the science we have, it is the will to act that now must be found.”

—British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, speaking at the Lambeth march for the MDGs in London, July 24, 2008.

Many books will help you find this will to act with practical suggestions, stories of hope, and data analysis. But we need spiritual resources, too. As congregational sales representative for Anglican Book Centre and Augsburg Fortress, I offer you a few of the latter.

1. What Can One Person Do? by Sabina Alkire and Edmund Newell (Church Publishing, 2005)

This is the best Anglican primer on the MDGs by far. In 2006 the Episcopal Church committed to making the MDGs a mission priority, and this book helps the church walk the talk. The authors recommend seven actions: prayer, study, give (0.7%), connect, raise awareness, take action, and advocate.

2. Amos and Hosea: Boundaries, Tough Love and Amazing Grace (The Kerygma Program, 2005)

This is a thorough Bible study on two essential texts that shaped Jesus’s behaviour and the church’s tradition. The leader’s guide is written by Victoria Smit, with an accompanying resource book by George W. Ramsay.

3. Hungry for Justice: A Six-Week Guide for Praying Daily, Building Community, and Changing the World by the editors of Sojourners magazine (Sojourners, 2008)

Ideal for Lent, this book synthesizes many themes and disciplines required to take on the MDGs.  There is a daily excerpt from Jim Wallis’s 1981 book The Call to Conversion, a scripture on the same theme, a provocative question, and a prayer.

4. Walter Wink from the United Methodist tradition has valuable spiritual advice: “History belongs to the intercessors who believe the future into being.” Wink’s prize-winning books on “the powers” also remind us that spiritual conversion is necessary to find the will to act. Naming the Powers (1984), Unmasking the Powers (1986), Engaging the Powers (1992), and When the Powers Fall (1998) provide a deep exploration of the spirituality of justice-seeking. All are published by Fortress Press.

5. Prayers for a Privileged People by Walter Brueggemann (Abingdon Press, 1994)

After a lifetime of reflection on scripture, especially the Old Testament, this great scholar shares his prayers on behalf of the “haves,” who face the seduction of denial on one hand and the temptation of despair on the other. “Save us from our power … our violence … our fear and hatred,” he prays, “because we are your people … and this is your world.”

6. Praying with Vincent de Paul by Thomas McKenna (Word Among Us Press, 1994)

This book is from the excellent Companions on the Journey series by this Roman Catholic publisher. From St. Benedict to Dorothy Day, the church has struggled to live out the call to find Jesus among the poor. Vincent de Paul is a good companion for anyone who seeks balance between intelligent activity and trusting surrender.

7. 52 Simple Ways to Make a Difference by the late Paul Simon, former US senator (Augsburg Fortress, 2004)

This book is a practical, colloquial, and inspiring book for general readers. It reminds us that it’s the little things we do count, and offers concrete suggestions for what these little things can be. Pick one per week, and see what changes!

8. Doing Justice: Congregations and Community Organizing by Dennis A. Jacobsen (Augsburg Fortress, 2001)

If you want to hear a voice enflamed with indignation at the church’s complicity with capitalist North American values, take a deep breath and read Doing Justice. Rooted in inner-city parish life, Jacobsen is world-weary yet faith-filled. His reflections on eschatological scriptures underline South African theologian Allan Boesak’s dictum: “You cannot understand ‘revelation’ unless you are being oppressed.”

9. Healing a Broken World: Globalization and God by Cynthia Moe-Lobeda (Augsburg Fortress, 2002)

This book is written “for all people whose hearts know even the faintest glimmer of a holy hunger to live toward the well-being of vulnerable neighbours.” Globalization, Moe-Lobeda says, challenges us spiritually, but at the same time has weakened our will to act. Passionate and academic, she argues that the Christian contemplative tradition can ignite creative resistance to the seemingly inevitable march of globalization.

10. Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crises and a Revolution of Hope, by emergent church leader Brian McLaren (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2007)

This is written with a regular, nervous inquirer in mind. It has more humour than anger, and warns without being terrifying. McLaren helps us believe that the changes we seek are not beyond reach, and will bring joy to the seekers.

If I can help you in locating these or other resources, do not hesitate to contact me at revalan.cook@augsburgfortress.com

Happy reading!