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Healing the Divides

How every Christian can advance God’s vision for racial unity and justice

Jason Roach and Jassamin Birdsall

4.0

4.0

Healing the Divides

How every Christian can advance God’s vision for racial unity and justice

Jason Roach and Jassamin Birdsall

Quantity

The Bible paints a compelling picture of a diverse people united in worship of Jesus. In a society that is divided along lines of race, culture and class, such a vision can feel out of reach. But in the power of the Holy Spirit, it really is possible for our churches to increasingly become the communities of unity and justice that they are called to be. So, what are the practical steps every Christian can take to help make this a reality?

This book combines the voices of Jason Roach, Director of Ministries at London City Mission and founding pastor of The Bridge Church, a multi-ethnic church in London, and Jessamin Birdsall, a researcher and consultant with a PhD in Sociology and Social Policy from Princeton University specialising in religion, race and ethnicity, and inequality. Together, they give a biblical perspective on race, ethnicity and justice. Readers will see that in the gospel, Jesus has done something miraculous: he has made us one in him.

As well as inspiring readers with God's vision for unity and diversity, this book will help them better understand the experiences of others and become aware of any blind spots in their church culture that may be putting up barriers to inclusivity. It will also help them to engage constructively with the wider conversation in our culture around movements like Black Lives Matter.

So be inspired by God’s vision for racial unity and justice, consider things from a different point of view, and play your part in healing the divides—to the glory of God.

  • Title

    Healing the Divides

  • Author(s)

    Jason Roach and Jassamin Birdsall

  • ISBN

    9781784987275

  • Format

    Paperback

  • Publisher

    The Good Book Company

  • Topic

    Church, Racial Reconciliation

  • Audience

    Adults, Church Leaders

  • Pages

    144

  • Published

    01/06/2022

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Overall rating

4.0 based on 1 review

How to think about racism from a Christian perspective

This book will help church leaders and members to think about racism from a Biblical perspective. God's plan is for his church to contain people from all nations, but we often don't think through what this means in practice. Meanwhile critical race theory advances in the world. Jessamin Birdsall and Jason Roach help us to assess the issue of race from an individual and corporate point of view. Acts 6.1-6 shows that unconcious bias can happen in the best of churches, and James 2.1-10 warns against the sin of partiality. These passages show that the structural and the individual approach to tackling racism in the church are both valid. There are some helpful suggestions for member of majority and minority cultures. For the former blindness to the issue might be a problem, for the latter anger. The only criticism I have is that the authors recommend opening pulpits to those with different theological views to get a different perspective on race. I am not sure that is a good idea and the end could be achieved in a different way.
Stephen

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