The Heart of Racial Justice: How Soul Change Leads to Social Change

by Brenda Salter McNeil, Rick Richardson, John M. Perkins (Foreword by)

Overview

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 witness. Why won't this problem just go away? Because it is a spiritual battle.In response, we must employ spiritual weapons—prayer, repentance, forgiveness. In this book Brenda Salter McNeil and Rick Richardson provide a model of racial reconciliation, social justice, and spiritual healing that creates both individual and communal 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

This classic is now part of the IVP Signature Collection, which features special editions of iconic books in celebration of the seventy-fifth anniversary of InterVarsity Press. It includes a list of definitions and a discussion and activity guide for groups. A new companion Bible study is also available.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780830848737
Publisher:	InterVarsity Press
Publication date:	01/11/2022
Series:	The IVP Signature Collection
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.53(d)

About the Author

John Perkins, the son of a sharecropper, grew up in Mississippi amid dire poverty and rampant racism only to become a recognized civil rights leader as an adult. He is the founder of Voice of Calvary Ministries in Mendenhall, Mississippi, Harambee Ministries in Pasadena, California, and the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA). His books include Let Justice Roll Down, With Justice for All, and Making Neighborhoods Whole.

Brenda Salter McNeil is a dynamic speaker, an author, and a trailblazer with over thirty years of experience in the ministry of racial, ethnic, and gender reconciliation. She is an associate professor of reconciliation studies in the School of Theology at Seattle Pacific University and is also the author of Roadmap to Reconciliation 2.0 and A Credible Witness.

Rick Richardson is director of the Billy Graham Center Institute and its Church Evangelism Initiative and professor of evangelism and leadership at Wheaton College Graduate School. His books include You Found Me, Reimagining Evangelism, and Evangelism Outside the Box.

Table of Contents

Foreword John M. Perkins 5

Preface to the Signature Edition 9

Acknowledgments 13

Introduction 15

1 Is There Still a Race Problem? 17

2 Mission Impossible? 24

3 A Better Way 32

4 A New Model 44

5 How Worship Builds Bridges 59

6 Embracing Our True Selves 73

7 Receiving and Extending Forgiveness 95

8 Denouncing the Powers and Principalities 111

9 Ongoing Partnerships 133

10 The Trumpet Call 153

Appendix 1 Definitions 160

Appendix 2 The Principalities and Powers 166

Appendix 3 Exploring the Heart of Racial Justice: A Strategic Tool for Leaders 173

Notes 192

Bibliography 196

Recommended Resources 199

What People are Saying About This

Rev. Ronald V. Myers Sr.

"The combination of profound spiritual insight and powerful social application is unique! Brenda and Rick have written an important book for communities of every ethnicity. Read it and be transformed!"

Keith R. Anderson

"In a time when we are surrounded by social cynicism toward issues of race, The Heart of Racial Justice welcomes us back to the table of redemptive love and community. It is not set with easy answers but with honest and passionate conversation about the irrefutable reconciling nature of the gospel. We are drawn to this table because the authors embody in their own lives the very nature of the reconciliation which they envision. They are wise teachers more than harsh prophets, loving mentors more than judgmental critics, and experienced guides more than sermonizing spectators. They dare to believe there is hope at this table, and we leave nurtured with provisions to join the movement for reconciliation."

Geri Rodman

"Brenda and Rick, through their partnership and new paradigm, are providing us a way through the increasing racial and ethnic divide in our world. Racial and ethnic divisions require reconciliation that transforms the whole person and issues in corporate change. This new paradigm does not make the process easy but provides a path of hope forward for an increasingly troubled and divided world."

Peter T. Cha

"This is a much-needed work that properly and firmly locates the ministry of racial reconciliation in the biblical context of spiritual warfare and of spiritual transformation. The book identifies God, not us, as the main actor of this kingdom ministry, passionately calling us to join him."

From the foreword by John M. Perkins

"What Rick and Brenda do in this biblically grounded book is to make reconciliation practical through the example of their friendship, reflecting on those who have gone on before them and building on (and appreciating) what each one has to offer. I highly recommend that you take time to read The Heart of Racial Justice. It is a blueprint for the Christian church."

Jo Kadlecek

"If there is hope that our country will ever see progress in race relations, it undoubtedly lies in the hands of our next generation. Thankfully, this book by Brenda Salter McNeil and Rick Richardson equips them—and the rest of us slow learners—with astute insights, grounded strategies, practical help and heavenly visions. It reminds us that diversity was no accident; it was God's idea all along, and these two visionaries invite us to embrace it and celebrate it as it was always meant to be."

Dr. Keith R. Anderson

"In a time when we are surrounded by social cynicism toward issues of race, The Heart of Racial Justice welcomes us back to the table of redemptive love and community. It is not set with easy answers but with honest and passionate conversation about the irrefutable reconciling nature of the gospel. We are drawn to this table because the authors embody in their own lives the very nature of the reconciliation which they envision. They are wise teachers more than harsh prophets, loving mentors more than judgmental critics, and experienced guides more than sermonizing spectators. They dare to believe there is hope at this table, and we leave nurtured with provisions to join the movement for reconciliation."

John M. Perkins

"What Rick and Brenda do in this biblically grounded book is to make reconciliation practical through the example of their friendship, reflecting on those who have gone on before them and building on (and appreciating) what each one has to offer. I highly recommend that you take time to read The Heart of Racial Justice. It is a blueprint for the Christian church."

Curtiss Paul DeYoung

"Brenda Salter McNeil is one of the most compelling voices for reconciliation in our day. She has joined with Rick Richardson, one of her long-term partners in the ministry of racial reconciliation, to write this important book. In this book the authors challenge emerging leaders in the church to choose to become a reconciliation generation. To this end The Heart of Racial Justice provides spiritual tools to equip people to dismantle the social construction of racism. This book makes a valuable contribution to the growing conversation on racial reconciliation."

Editorial Reviews

"What Rick and Brenda do in this biblically grounded book is to make reconciliation practical through the example of their friendship, reflecting on those who have gone on before them and building on (and appreciating) what each one has to offer. I highly recommend that you take time to read The Heart of Racial Justice. It is a blueprint for the Christian church."

John M. Perkins

"The combination of profound spiritual insight and powerful social application is unique! Brenda and Rick have written an important book for communities of every ethnicity. Read it and be transformed!"

Rev. Ronald V. Myers Sr.

"If there is hope that our country will ever see progress in race relations, it undoubtedly lies in the hands of our next generation. Thankfully, this book by Brenda Salter McNeil and Rick Richardson equips them—and the rest of us slow learners—with astute insights, grounded strategies, practical help and heavenly visions. It reminds us that diversity was no accident; it was God's idea all along, and these two visionaries invite us to embrace it and celebrate it as it was always meant to be."

Jo Kadlecek

"Brenda Salter McNeil is one of the most compelling voices for reconciliation in our day. She has joined with Rick Richardson, one of her long-term partners in the ministry of racial reconciliation, to write this important book. In this book the authors challenge emerging leaders in the church to choose to become a reconciliation generation. To this end The Heart of Racial Justice provides spiritual tools to equip people to dismantle the social construction of racism. This book makes a valuable contribution to the growing conversation on racial reconciliation."

Curtiss Paul DeYoung

"Brenda and Rick, through their partnership and new paradigm, are providing us a way through the increasing racial and ethnic divide in our world. Racial and ethnic divisions require reconciliation that transforms the whole person and issues in corporate change. This new paradigm does not make the process easy but provides a path of hope forward for an increasingly troubled and divided world."

Geri Rodman

"This is a much-needed work that properly and firmly locates the ministry of racial reconciliation in the biblical context of spiritual warfare and of spiritual transformation. The book identifies God, not us, as the main actor of this kingdom ministry, passionately calling us to join him."

Peter T. Cha

"In a time when we are surrounded by social cynicism toward issues of race, The Heart of Racial Justice welcomes us back to the table of redemptive love and community. It is not set with easy answers but with honest and passionate conversation about the irrefutable reconciling nature of the gospel. We are drawn to this table because the authors embody in their own lives the very nature of the reconciliation which they envision. They are wise teachers more than harsh prophets, loving mentors more than judgmental critics, and experienced guides more than sermonizing spectators. They dare to believe there is hope at this table, and we leave nurtured with provisions to join the movement for reconciliation."

Keith R. Anderson

"Brenda Salter McNeil is one of the most compelling voices for reconciliation in our day. She has joined with Rick Richardson, one of her long-term partners in the ministry of racial reconciliation, to write this important book. In this book the authors challenge emerging leaders in the church to choose to become a reconciliation generation. To this end The Heart of Racial Justice provides spiritual tools to equip people to dismantle the social construction of racism. This book makes a valuable contribution to the growing conversation on racial reconciliation."

--Curtiss Paul DeYoung, professor of reconciliation studies, Bethel University

"In a time when we are surrounded by social cynicism toward issues of race, The Heart of Racial Justice welcomes us back to the table of redemptive love and community. It is not set with easy answers but with honest and passionate conversation about the irrefutable reconciling nature of the gospel. We are drawn to this table because the authors embody in their own lives the very nature of the reconciliation which they envision. They are wise teachers more than harsh prophets, loving mentors more than judgmental critics, and experienced guides more than sermonizing spectators. They dare to believe there is hope at this table, and we leave nurtured with provisions to join the movement for reconciliation."

--Keith R. Anderson, coauthor of Spiritual Mentoring

"What Rick and Brenda do in this biblically grounded book is to make reconciliation practical through the example of their friendship, reflecting on those who have gone on before them and building on (and appreciating) what each one has to offer. I highly recommend that you take time to read The Heart of Racial Justice. It is a blueprint for the Christian church."

--John M. Perkins, author of Let Justice Roll Down, from the foreword

From the Publisher

"In a time when we are surrounded by social cynicism toward issues of race, The Heart of Racial Justice welcomes us back to the table of redemptive love and community. It is not set with easy answers but with honest and passionate conversation about the irrefutable reconciling nature of the gospel. We are drawn to this table because the authors embody in their own lives the very nature of the reconciliation which they envision. They are wise teachers more than harsh prophets, loving mentors more than judgmental critics, and experienced guides more than sermonizing spectators. They dare to believe there is hope at this table, and we leave nurtured with provisions to join the movement for reconciliation."

Dr. Keith R. Anderson

"What Rick and Brenda do in this biblically grounded book is to make reconciliation practical through the example of their friendship, reflecting on those who have gone on before them and building on (and appreciating) what each one has to offer. I highly recommend that you take time to read The Heart of Racial Justice. It is a blueprint for the Christian church."

From the foreword by John M. Perkins