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Following are Links and Resources on Christian Micro-enterprise Development.

• Stewards in the Kingdom, A Theology of Life in All Its Fullness, R. Scott Rodin, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois

  A solid effort to lay a theological foundation for Stewardship - This is an excellent book!

• The Steward, A Biblical Symbol Come of Age. Douglas John Hall, Friendship Press, NY,

  A book that tries to restore the metaphor of the "Steward" to its place in the life of the church

• On The Pilgrim's Way, Christian Stewardship and the Tithe, John K. Brackett Morehouse Publishing, Harrisburg, PA

• Neither Poverty nor Riches. A Biblical Theology of Material Possessions. Craig L. Blomberg. William B Eerdmans. Grand Rapids, 1999

  This book is a very solid and detailed study on wealth in the Bible. Highly recommended if you want God's perspective.

• Wealth As Peril and Obligation: The New Testament on Possessions by Sondra Ely Wheeler Paperback: 180 pages Publisher: Wm. B Eerdmans Publishing Co.; (May 1996)

  My knowledge of this book was limited to an on line summary of a couple of its chapters. It is said to be a thesis level study on the subject.

• Productive Christians in an Age of Guilt Manipulators, David Chilton

  This book seeks to answer the very popular and influencal Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, by Ron Sider -which avocated a simpler life style, errs greviously on what the Bible teaches, with strong socialist tendencies. Chilton sets forth clearly the "Protestant Work Ethic" as taught in the Bible.

• Stepping Stones of the Steward: A Faith Journey Through Jesus' Parables by Ronald E. Vallet, (Eerdmans, 1994) also by him: The Steward Living in Covenant: A New Perspective on Old Testament Stories (Eerdmans, 2001) and Congregations at the Crossroads: Remembering to Be Households of God (Eerdmans, 1998)

  I haven't read these yet, but they look like promising developments of the Biblical material.

• The Micah Principle: Balancing the Christian Life by George Grant. (Cumberland, 1999)

  Can social involvement and spirituality come together? The real question, according to George Grant, is whether they can ever be separated. Justice without mercy, or mercy without justice are biblically impossible.

• The Calvinist Concept of Culture By Henry Van Til

  
  

  Internet Resources: I also found the following web sites had useful resource material:

  Bible Studies and Curriculum Materials:
  • A 7-Day study of Giving Christian Stewardship Association
  • A Bible Study of STEWARDSHIP OF TIME, TALENT, TREASURE, AND MINISTRY
  • Living Grateful lives: Stewardship Theology in Our Time (pdf - 2001) - PCUSA 2005 Stewardship: Faith in Action site
    Includes: Resources for various ages
  • A Theology of Stewardship: Guiding Biblical Principles for Teaching Joy! Lutheran Church
  • Eight Principles of Christian Stewardship Missouri Synod Lutheran Church (pdf) A Definition plus - Downloads of teaching materials for various ages
  • Funding the Kingdom by Henry Krabbendam (pdf)
  • Funding the great Commissions a page of resources: links to articles.
  Other pages
  • Biblical Principles for Stewardship and Fundraising- The Christian Stewardship Association
  • The Earth is the Lord's Word Studies
  • Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia: Stewardship -Study page
  • Bible Verses Related to Stewardship
  • The Grip of Materialism and Mammon A strongholds study
  Bibliographies
  • a PCUSA Bibliography
  • A Bibliography (United Church of Christ)
  
  

• Discipling Nations: The power of Truth to Transform Cultures By Darrow L. Miller YWAM ISBN: 1570752753 This is the book I wish I had had in preparing my Stewardship talks, but wasn't aware of it until a chance acquaintence made on the flight home. Miller spent three years with L'Abri Fellowship and he approaches the problem of poverty and development from a "World Views" perspective and challenging the secular and animistic viewpoints that fail to deliver cultures from deception and poverty with the Biblical "World View" that can. I will make good use of this book in the future.
• When Helping Hurts: Alleviating Poverty Without Hurting the Poor. . .and Ourselves by Brian Fikkert and Steve Corbett . Because our faulty assumptions about the causes of poverty may result in strategies that do considerable harm to poor people and ourselves, this book provides foundational concepts and applications for an effective and holistic ministry to the poor.
• Walking With the Poor: Principles and Practices of Transformational Development by Bryant L. Myers Paperback: 288 pages. Publisher: Orbis Books; (September 1999) is a good book about holistic Christian development theory, theology, and real Christian organizational practice. It introduces a variety of development paradigms and theological reflections about development to those who may never have studied development formally and includes material likely to be new to even the more experienced development practitioner and is especially useful to get westerners thinking about and praying about how much they do not know about indigenous people, their worldviews, the problems they face, and the importance of the spiritual aspects of development work.

  Some Web sites related to these concepts:

  • Disciple Nations Alliance an alliance of individuals, churches and organizations seeking to help churches practice wholistic ministry in their own communities. This is a joint project of Food for the Hungry and The Harvest Foundation. This objective is accomplished through training, education, materials development and networking. Available online is their Disciple Nations Alliance Course which can be used by individuals or churches.

  • Chalmers Center for Economic Development (Covenant College) offers both e-mail based and 3-11 day Campus based courses of study. They have recently added several Distance Learning courses.Christian Microenterprise Development: an Introduction Co-authored by David Bussau, the "father" of Christian MED, and Dr. Russell Mask, International Microenterprise Coordinator for the Chalmers Center for Economic Development, this book is designed to help churches, missionaries, and Christian NGOs understand the basics of MED in the Two-Thirds World. The world of micro enterprise development (MED) can be bewildering. There are so many terms, so many organizations, and so many concepts to learn. Using original research as well as the current literature, this handbook sheds light on the wide array of issues and challenges associated with the implementation of Christian MED strategies. Readers are introduced to the foundational theory behind microfinance for poor people and are introduced to the principles of best practice emerging from Christian MED programs around the world. This pre-publication edition is available in limited quantities.

  Microfinance:

  Micro-finance, by providing small loans and savings facilities to those excluded from commercial financial services, has been promoted as a key strategy for reducing poverty.
  • The Microfinance Revolution: Sustainable Finance for the Poor by Marguerite Robinson Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: World Bank; (May 2001) ISBN: 0821345249
  • Microfinance Revolution Volume 2: Lessons from Indonesia by Marguerite, S. Robinson Paperback: 550 pages Publisher: World Bank; (July 1, 2002) ISBN: 0821349538
  • Mainstreaming Microfinance: How Lending to the Poor Began, Grew, and Came of Age in Bolivia by Elisabeth H. Rhyne Paperback: 272 pages Publisher: Kumarian Press; (May 2001) ISBN: 1565491262
  • Working With the Poor: New Insights and Learnings from Development Practitioners by Bryant L. Myers (Editor) Paperback: World Vision Intl; (June 1999)
  • The New World of Microenterprise Finance: Building Healthy Financial Institutions for the Poor by Maria Otero (Editor), Elisabeth H. Rhyne (Editor), Mary Houghton Paperback: 318 pages Publisher: Kumarian Press; (February 1994) ISBN: 1565490304
  • Microfinance Systems: Designing Quality Financial Services for the Poor by Graham Wright Paperback: 256 pages Publisher: Zed Books; (October 2000) ISBN: 1856497887
  • The Price of a Dream: The Story of the Grameen Bank by David Bornstein Paperback: 370 pages Publisher: University of Chicago Press (Trd); Reprint edition (November 1997) ISBN: 0226066444 The Grameen is one of the first banks for the poor, and has helped over a million women in Bangledesh.
  • Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty by Muhammad Yunus Hardcover: 272 pages Publisher: PublicAffairs; 0 edition (June 1, 1999) ISBN: 1891620118
  • Microfinance Distance Learning Course by Heather Clark Publisher: United Nations Capital Development Fund, Special Unit for Microfinance ISBN: 9211261481
  • Microfinance Handbook: An Institutional and Financial Perspective (Sustainable Banking With the Poor) by Joanna Ledgerwood Paperback: 286 pages Publisher: World Bank; (March 2001) ISBN: 0821343068

  Microfinance websites:

  • AFRICA MICROFINANCE NETWORK
  • lif4.com: LIFE in Africa Foundation will premier AfricaMarketDay.com on 9/3/03
  • Microfinance Network
  • Journal of Microfinance
  • Links to Articles
  • Microfinance Gateway: Resources
  • Virtual Library on Microcredit
  • ENTERweb
  • UN: Microfinance in Africa and Microfinance in Africa (pdf)
  • The TentMaker Project