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RACIAL RECONCILIATION RESOURCES

One of InterVarsity's Core Values is "to pursue ethnic reconciliation by practicing mutual empowerment, grace and truth and by promoting personal and systemic justice." These resources are designed to help you explore ways to "honor, celebrate, and utilize the diversity God has given us for the sake of His Kingdom, reaching people of every ethnicity and culture."

 Reading List  

Divided by Faith ​by Michael O. Emerson and Christian Smith

Through a nationwide telephone survey of 2,000 people and an additional 200 face-to-face interviews, Michael O. Emerson and Christian Smith probed the grassroots of white evangelical America. They found that despite recent efforts by the movement's leaders to address the problem of racial discrimination, evangelicals themselves seem to be preserving America's racial chasm. In fact, most white evangelicals see no systematic discrimination against blacks. But the authors contend that it is not active racism that prevents evangelicals from recognizing ongoing problems in American society. Instead, it is the evangelical movement's emphasis on individualism, free will, and personal relationships that makes invisible the pervasive injustice that perpetuates racial inequality. Most racial problems, the subjects told the authors, can be solved by the repentance and conversion of the sinful individuals at fault.

The Next Evangelicalism ​by Soong-Chan Rah

 

The future is now. Just as global Christianity is shifting away from the Western church to the South and East, so too is the North American church diversifying in terms of race, ethnicity and culture. In this book professor and pastor Soong-Chan Rah calls the North American church to escape its captivity to Western cultural trappings and to embrace a new evangelicalism that is diverse and multiethnic. This prophetic report casts a vision for a dynamic evangelicalism that fully embodies the cultural realities of the twenty-first century. Spiritual renewal is happening within the North American church, from corners and margins not always noticed by those in the center. Come, discover the vitality of the next evangelicalism.

Being White ​by Paula Harris & Doug Schaupp

 

What does it mean to be white?

 

When you encounter people from  other races or ethnicities, you may become suddenly aware that being white means something. Those from other backgrounds may respond to you differently or suspiciously. You may feel ambivalence about your identity as a white person. Or you may feel frustrated when a friend of another ethnicity shakes his head and says, "You just don't get it because you're white."So, what does it mean to be white? How can you overcome the mistakes of the past?How can you build authentic relationships with people from other races and ethnicities?In this groundbreaking book, Paula Harris and Doug Schaupp present a Christian model of what it means to be white. Filled with real-life stories, life-transforming insights and practical guidance, this book is for you if you are aware of racial inequality but have wondered, So what do I do? Discover here a vision for just communities where whites can partner with and empower those of other ethnicities.

The Heart of Racial Justice ​by Brenda Salter McNeil

 

Racial and ethnic hostility is one of the most pervasive problems the church faces. It hinders our effectiveness as one body of believers. It damages our ability to witness to and serve seekers. Why won't this problem just go away? Because it is a spiritual battle. What should our response be in a world torn apart by prejudice, hatred and fear? We must employ spiritual weapons--prayer, repentance, forgiveness. In this book Brenda Salter McNeil and Rick Richardson reveal a new model of racial reconciliation, social justice and spiritual healing that creates both individual and community transformation. Read this book if you want to learn how to

  • use your faith as a force for change, not as a smoke screen for self-protection

  • embrace your true self and renounce false racial identities

  • receive and extend forgiveness as an act of racial reconciliation

  • experience personal transformation through the healing of painful racial memories

  • engage in social action by developing ongoing crosscultural partnerships

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