Rediscipling the White Church: From Cheap Diversity to True Solidarity
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.
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About the Author
Reviews
"David offers a new discipleship pathway by speaking honestly and precisely to white people and elevating the voices and histories of people of color, who have been calling for a more honest conversation about faith and race all along. Rediscipling the White Church is a unique contribution to this discussion because, unlike other white people who keep denying it, David tells the truth about the reality of whiteness in the church and society. . . . David knows that racism is insidious, and he has chosen to expose how it operates so we can all see it and be healed of its power and influence over us. I can't think of anybody I trust more to write this important book."
--Brenda Salter McNeil, from the foreword"Rediscipling the White Church illuminates the worldviews and customs hindering white Christianity's witness. Swanson prophetically models how confession, repentance, and renewed minds liberate captive congregations and embolden them to holistically redefine discipleship. Through reimagined liturgical, spiritual, and ecclesial practices, this book offers a tangible framework for producing Christlike disciples who will in turn make Christlike disciples."
--Dominique DuBois Gilliard, author of Rethinking Incarceration"Having journeyed with David Swanson over the last decade, he has shown up and locked arms with people of color. David has learned that any approach to diversity that ignores discipleship simply rearranges the church furniture. In Rediscipling the White Church he offers a down-to-the-marrow look at how whiteness can be named and supplanted as a framing identity. Through reclaiming its rhythms, namely in its collective discernment and practices, he invites the church to reimagine itself through life in the embodied Christ. This book is incisive, winsome, and hopeful, and will be a gift to future generations of churches."
--José Humphreys, author of Seeing Jesus in East Harlem: What Happens When Churches Show Up and Stay Put"Rediscipling the White Church is deeply needed, richly informed, wonderfully organized, and profoundly impactful. Framing the issue as a discipleship problem, David Swanson helps us down a clear path to be authentic Christ followers. I will recommend this book often."
--Michael O. Emerson, professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, author of Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America"David Swanson offers all Christians a gift in Rediscipling the White Church. He not only presents redemptive practices that white Christians might engage as discipleship pathways, he challenges white Christians by offering us his intellect and his story as sacred entry points into the work of confronting racism. The end is good news--Christ's reconciliation is an invitation wide enough and deep enough to save our lives and our communion."
--Michelle Clifton-Soderstrom, professor of theology and ethics, director of the School of Restorative Arts, North Park Theological Seminary"Let us not come up with more white solutions to the problems of white Christianity in the United States. Instead let us all follow a discipleship that shapes us beyond segregation, racial habits, and other cultural captivities to a new way of being . . . a way of being we call church. Allow David Swanson to lead us to the 'uncomfortable truth' that can free us to a whole new world of embodied solidarity as Christians of all colors. Read Rediscipling the White Church and awaken to discover Jesus at the center of a flourishing that includes all people in the Kingdom of God."
--David Fitch, author Faithful Presence, Lindner Chair of Evangelical Theology at Northern Seminary, Chicago"I guarantee you will disagree with something David Swanson has to say in Rediscipling the White Church. That is exactly why leaders like me (and you) need to read this book! It is in listening that we learn and in exposing ourselves to dissenting opinions that we discover our own blind spots. For anyone who wants to learn and grow in their understanding of discipleship, race, and justice, read this book!"
--Dave Ferguson, lead pastor of Community Christian Church, Naperville, Illinois
