I was a little hesitant about reading this book, because I was afraid it would be yet another excuse for Christian Americans to sit back and explain why they are not obligated to help the needy in third world countries. However, as a student who fully intends to pursue humanitarian work as a career, I am eager to learn anything I can about what should be improved about relief efforts, so I thought I would give this a go.

I agreed with much of what Lupton said about how simply giving out handouts to poor villages and communities causes a high level of dependance on charity and discourages self-improvement. He emphasized the significance of micro-loans and empowering acts of relief, which I fully support. However, I do feel as if there is a need to expand a little more on the circumstances when straight-forward aid is a very good thing. Sometimes there are communities that consists mostly of orphans; these vulnerable groups of abandoned children need someone to step in and provide for them what they need, to help them survive as they receive an education, until they are able to step up and serve their communities on their own.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of excuses from Lupton. He expressed well his desire for Christians to serve in a way that empowers rather than cripples the poor.