Healing Racial Divides
Finding Strength in Our Diversity
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- £18.99
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- £18.99
Publisher Description
Can the church help America emerge from its racist shadows empowered to heal racial divides? Church pastor and former police officer Terrell Carter says yes.
While our faith inarguably calls Christians to unity, the hard fact remains: we're still tragically divided when it comes to race, even - and especially, many say -- in our churches. Racism pervades our faith, our relationships, and our institutions in deep, often imperceptible ways. In Healing Racial Divides, Terrell Carter, a pastor, professor and former police officer takes us on a revelatory journey into the abyss of the racial divide and shows us how we've arrived at this divisive place. Understanding racism's roots - and our place in it - we surface more committed and empowered to defeat racism once and for all.
Drawing from the Bible, scholarly research, and personal experience as a both a former police officer and a black pastor serving white congregations, Carter unpacks the deep roots of racism in America, how it continues to be perpetuated today, and practical strategies for racial reconciliation. Looking forward, he shapes a bold and faithful vision for healing racial division through multicultural communities focused on relationship, listening, and learning from each other.
With a pastor's heart and an academic's head, Carter invites us to look at where we've been-and where God calls us as spiritually mature Christians, seeking healing and true unity on earth.
In Healing Racial Divides, Terrell Carter helps us:
· Understand the roots of racism in the world, the church, and ourselves
· Gain a biblical perspective on the sin of racism, as well as the biblical call to Christian unity
· Examine how racism continues to be perpetuated in America today
· Explore the concept of "white normality" and its aftereffects
· Discover a way across the divide through the creation of multi-cultural relationships, churches and communities
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Carter (Leadership in Black and White), pastor of Webster Groves Baptist Church in St. Louis, Mo., considers racism in America and American churches in this balanced, informative book. He begins by walking readers through the civil rights movement, the roots of racial division, the "normality of Whiteness," and the subjugation of minorities before turning to strategies for healing racial divides in America. Carter uses the metaphor of the high school lunch room to speak about society at large. In his estimation, the popular kids (the majority class) create normative behaviors, and unpopular kids (minorities) comply with and assimilate to the popular behavior or remain subjugated. Though Carter admits that racial animus appears nearly intractable and is based on white-centric ideas that have dominated the laws and institutions of America for centuries, he calls on readers to be receptive to the perspectives of others and cites Jonah as a guide for divided times: "And, every now and then, God calls us to participate in the process, even when we consider those people our enemies." He also presents three internal problems churches should focus on resolving in order to recruit minorities: viewing other races as suspect, speaking at potential members rather than with them, and refusing to leave white spaces in order to engage minorities. Carter's wise work will compel white Christian readers to engage in race relations in a more up-front, graceful, and honest manner. Correction: An earlier version of this review misstated the location of Webster Groves Baptist Church.
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