Healing the Divides

Revd Dr Israel Oluwole Olofinjana

There are not many books written by evangelical Christians in the UK context on racial justice and unity. Healing the Divides therefore fills a gap that is missing in our evangelical mission theology. One of the unique things about this book is the authors. One is a black British male of Caribbean background; the other is a white American woman. The authors’ different perspectives and experiences illuminate and animate the book.

John Root

‘Will Christians respond to the current turmoil over race with “wise actions” or as “passers-by”?’ That is the question posed by the authors. Drawing on wide-ranging biblical foundations, shrewd sociological understanding and closely detailed personal experience they point us to thoughtful and constructive ways ahead.

“An excellent book that helps all of us live as God calls us to”

Thank you for sharing your thoughts @Craig. I’m interested to understand where you get the idea that practicing love across racial difference is a distraction from the gospel. Given that the Bible doesn’t separate preaching the gospel from loving our neighbours and valuing all people with the dignity of those made in the image of God, I’m curious to know why you believe we should do one without the other? Jesus didn’t tell his disciples to “just preach the gospel” but to “make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you”. Living as a disciple of Christ includes preaching the gospel, pursuing justice for the poor, oppressed and marginalised and practicing love across racial and cultural difference. I cannot see that any of these are made optional in the Bible. Yes, there is a cost and it is hard but our Heavenly Father equips us for everything He asks us to do and I believe this book is one way He is graciously equipping all of us to take practical steps in this direction.

“Very practical”

In ‘Healing the Divides’, Jason Roach, and Jessamin Birdsall give us a short and practical book as they unpack the issues of race, culture, and class, and how the church should respond to these challenging topics as we strive for unity and justice in our local congregations.
 
Jason is a Black British pastor, born in London with parents of Bajan heritage, and Jessamin is a White American researcher and consultant at L’ Abri Fellowship, born in Tokyo.

The book has seven chapters. The first five chapters are co-written while chapters six and seven are written individually as the authors discuss what change looks like for the majority culture [Jessamin] and what change looks like for minority-ethnic people [Jason].
 
WHAT I LIKED:
 
I liked that the authors had and understanding and awareness of the differences in the British Racial Landscape compared to that of the United States. Chapter one explains that due to the historical and demographic differences between the US and the UK, all theories and policies are not a one size fits all, and therefore understanding the root of the racial disunity is key to achieving an effective solution.
 
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE:
 
What I didn’t like was the amount of time and effort expected (especially from the majority – White people) to be spent on these “social justice issues”. In my opinion, not enough attention is given to the Gospel. I understand that our God is a God of justice, and hates partiality (Rom 2:11, Acts 10:34, James 2:1), but what I am constantly seeing in our time and culture are Gospel distractions, and this book for me was another example of that.
 
FINAL THOUGHTS:
 
Personally, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the book (or books on this topic in general) for the reason I mentioned above. Perhaps others may find this helpful, but for me I felt it to be mentally draining, if I’m being honest.😣
 
This book was given to me by the @thegoodbookcompanyuk in exchange for an honest review.