Jim’s Recommended Books
.Dr. Jim Riley
Welcome to Dinner Church by Verlon Fosner
This small book gives a powerful explanation and appeal to form inner city churches based on the way the early Christians met together for agape meals and worship. Verlon and Melodee Fosner have led a multisite dinner church in Seattle and have ignited a movement across the country for forming new dinner churches.
The Dinner Church Handbook by Verlon Fosner
This book gives a good history of the importance of meals in Jesus’ ministry and in the mission of the first Christians. It goes on to give some practical explanations of how to start a new dinner church.
We Will Feast by Kendall Vanderslice
Vanderslice uses her theological and culinary insights to share about the numerous forms of dinner churches which are located across the country.
Faithful Presence –
Seven Disciplines that Shape the Church for Mission by David E. Fitch
Merciful
– The Opportunity and Challenge of Discipling the Poor Out of Poverty by
Randy Nabors
In the first chapters Nabors shares his own story how his faith in Christ enabled him to break out of a life in poverty. He goes on to give an excellent analysis of the dynamics of poverty and the possible means for the Church to combat the issues that hold people in poverty
Same Kind of Different as Me
by Ron Hall
Ron tells the powerful story of reconciliation that he and his wife Deborah experienced when they were able to connect with a homeless man named Denver at a local homeless shelter. Ron and his wife are a well to do white married couple and Denver is a black man that has struggled against racism and poverty. They seemingly have nothing in common but through their time together sharing their lives they learn that they are very much alike.