That's Not What it's About-reach

Outreach Resources of the Year.
So it’s that time of year when Outreach  Magazine announces its Resources of the Year Awards.
After reading the winners, I have to ask, Is that what it's about?
Lots of them were by hip cool pastors  from big churches offering “miracle gro” advice to other hip cool pastors.
Others were about selling your soul on Ebay or peppermint filled piñatas. Fun reads, catchy titles, but is that what it’s about?
There were a few kits, the hamburger helper of entries, offering instant outreach ideas, all as easy as cheesy beef stroganoff. They were targeted towards none other than the single mom.
But as far as I could tell, none of the nominations were intended to be read by the “lost” population the church is  trying to reach. No tools to share with the pregnant teen or  crack addict who’s turning tricks for a fix, yet alone the African orphan or evangelical turned atheist.
The winning tools were for us, inside the church, not those outside of it.
That’s why the Spitbucket made their own nominations for Outreach Resources of the year. These  titles can’t be peeped on faith based websites, but are helpful tools to connect you with those who’d rather wrestle a pit-bull than sit on a pew. Or more importantly, to get believers out of the pews and wrestle real issues.
Winning Entries
The Faith Club
Three mothers, from three different faiths (a Muslim,  Christian and Jew) talk openly about their beliefs and differences while  working on a book project. Yeah, it’s real. The Faith Club has inspired several online and live Faith clubs around the country,  getting real dialog  doing between the different faiths.

Getting Played
This book, like the Faith Club, won’t be found on a Lifeway book shelf but it will lead the reader to community action.  While attending a forum hosted by the book's author, I met several community leaders from non-faith based orgs around Chicago, all on a mission to help the A-squared female.  Use this book as a catalyst to create partnerships between your church and community leaders, bringing  awareness to this critical  issue.

The Spelling Tests of third graders from any inner-city public school.
No, you can’t find these on Amazon. But if reading them doesn’t motivate you to start  a tutoring program, nothing will.

Honorable Mentions
Of course, my mother as well as countless TF customers would recommend Hood and Life After Birth (but  they weren't on the judging panel).  These books aren't  hooks to bring  teen moms and urban teens  into your world,  but  are boats  to bring you into their's.

Back to Outreach’s list.
A few titles did catch my eye. Zach Hunter's  Be The Change written by a kid who's doing something other than writing text messages. And another, a 28-page booked from Intervarsity Press on Sexual Abuse. A nobody author—as it should be—with an issue that nobody likes to talk about but everyone needs to listen to-- sexual abuse.  You can’t read it and ignore doing something about it.
Now that’s it’s about-reach.