Chapter 1: Charting the Course
In the Beginning
Origins
Definitions
The Modern Blind Spot
The great divorce: Separating the spiritual and physical realms
The dichotomies of the modern worldview
The Path of this book
The biblical story
Poverty
Perspectives on development
Toward a Christian understanding of transformational development
Principles and practitioners
The tool kit
Christian witness

Chapter 2:The Biblical Story
Why do we need to do theology?
Competing Stories
The stroyteller
The beginning of the story
Creation
The fall
The Liberation story
The prophets
The wisdom of the people
The center of the story
The Christ of the periphery
The mission of Jesus
Jesus did not fulfill his mission alone
The greatest commandment
Jesus died alone on a cross
Christ is risen
The continuing story
The church
The Holy Spirit
The Bible
The end of the story
The point of the story
Reflections
Who are we?
What are we to be and do?
Three important theological ideas
The biblical story and transformational development

Chapter 3: Poverty and the Honor
Where do we begin?
Who do you say that they are?
Who are you?
Christian views of the poor
Who are the poor?
Households
The poor and the non-poor
Who the poor are not
Which poor?
What is poverty?
Poverty as deficit
Poverty as entanglement - Robert Chambers
Poverty as lack of access to social power - John Friedman
Poverty as disempowerment - Jayakumar Christian
Poverty as a lack of freedom to grow - Ravi Jayakaran
Summary
The causes of poverty
Physical causes of poverty
Social causes of poverty
Mental causes of poverty
Spiritual causes of poverty
A holistic understanding of poverty
The nature of poverty is fundamentally relational
The cause of poverty is fundamentally spiritual
Poverty of the non-poor

Chapter 4: Perspective on Development
Who will save us?
Shaping our view of transformation
Transformation from what and to what?
Levels of the problem
What is development?
Development as transformation - Wayne Bragg
People-centered development - David Korten
Alternative development: Expanding access to social power - John Friedman
Development as responsible well-being - Robert Chambers
Development as a kingdom response to powerlessness - Jayakumar Christian

Chapter 5: Toward a Christian Understanding of Transformational Development
Whose story is it?
What better future?
The goals of transformation
Changed people: Recovering true identity and discovering true vocation
Just and peaceful relationships
What process of change?
Affirming the role of God
Affirming the role of human beings
Focusing on relationships
Keeping the end in mind
Recognizing pervasive evil
Seeking truth, Justice, and righteousness
Addressing causes
Doing no harm
Expressing a bias toward peace
Affirming the role of the church
Sustainability
Physical sustainability
Mental sustainability
Social sustainability
Spiritual sustainability
Thinking holistically
The whole story
The whole gospel message
A holistic view of people
A holistic view of time
A state of mind
A framework for transformation

Chapter 6: Development Practice: Principles and Practitioners
The principles
Respecting the community's story
Learning our way toward transformation
From participation to empowerment
Building community
The practitioners
The attitude of the holistic practitioner
The characteristics of a holistic practitioner
The formation of a holistic practitioner
A spirituality that sustains
Caring for the holistic practitioner

Chapter 7: Development Practice: The Tool Kit
Helping the community tell its story
From needs analysis to social analysis
Vulnerabilities and capabilities
Community organizing
Participatory Learning and Action (PLA)
Appreciative Inquiry
Logical Framework Analysis
Learning for transformation
Whom is the evaluation for?
What is evaluation for?
What changed/
Who changed?
What do we assess?
Will it last?
Are we doing the right thing?
Learning holistically
Other critical issues
Listening to women
Listening to children
Getting the pace right
Letting the spiritual come through

Chapter 8: Christian Witness and Transformational Development
The necessity and the challenge of Christian witness
Why must witness?
Understanding evangelism
We are witnessing anyway
The twofold challenge of Christian witness and transformational development
Who witnesses? Provoking the Question
Transformational witness
The goals of Christian witness
Gospel as life, deed, word, and sign
Evangelism and discipleship
Telling the whole story
How we must witness?
Living eloquent lives
A crucified mind
Recognizing the fingerprints of God
Seeking meaning together
Interpreting technology with God in the picture
Say what you believe
The Bible and trasnformational development
Why the Bible is important?
How the Bible must be used
Experiences with the Bible and transformational development
The focus and evaluation of Christian witness
Recovering identity and vocation
Just and peaceful relationships
Changing worldview
Who changes?