Description:
"Many white Christians across America are waking up to the fact that something is seriously wrong--but often this is where we get stuck."
Confronted by the deep-rooted racial injustice in our society, many white Christians instinctively scramble to add diversity to their churches and ministries. But is diversity really the answer to the widespread racial dysfunction we see in the church?
In this simple but powerful book, Pastor David Swanson contends that discipleship, not diversity, lies at the heart of our white churches' racial brokenness. Before white churches can pursue diversity, he argues, we must first take steps to address the faulty discipleship that has led to our segregation in the first place. Drawing on the work of philosopher James K. A. Smith and others, Swanson proposes that we rethink our churches' habits, or liturgies, and imagine together holistic, communal discipleship practices that can reform us as members of Christ's diverse body.
Brief description:
David W. Swanson is the pastor of New Community Covenant Church, a multicultural congregation in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood. He helps lead New Community Outreach, a nonprofit that collaborates with the community to reduce sources of trauma, and he speaks around the country on the topics of racial justice and reconciliation. He is the author of Rediscipling the White Church, and he has written articles for Christianity Today, the Englewood Review of Books, and theCovenant Companion. He lives in Chicago with his wife and two sons.
Review Quotes:
"'Rediscipling' is the operative assertion and action at the heart of David Swanson's powerful book about the white church. This means for him that exposing and dismantling racism in the church is not primarily a political task but a spiritual andtheological one. It has to do with a deep reformation of Christian practice that reflects the just heart of God rather than hiding racial injustice within sometimes false language and practices of Christian faith. Swanson's book and his example, interacting with key insights from James K. A. Smith, present a raw, compelling, and urgent call."
--Mark Labberton, president of Fuller Theological Seminary