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A Many Colored Kingdom: Multicultural Dynamics for Spiritual Formation
How do ethnic and cultural diversity affect spiritual formation? The authors of A Many Colored Kingdom explore Christian formation and teaching in the church, with a particular focus on intercultural and interethnic relationships.
Well-qualified to speak on issues of diversity, the authors describe relevant aspects of their own personal journeys; key issues emerging from their studies and teaching germane to race, culture, and ethnicity; and teaching implications that bring right practice to bear on church ministry. A final chapter contains a conversation among the authors responding to one another's insights and concerns.
This book will be required reading for those engaged in as well as those preparing for a life of teaching and ministry in our increasingly multicultural world.
Well-qualified to speak on issues of diversity, the authors describe relevant aspects of their own personal journeys; key issues emerging from their studies and teaching germane to race, culture, and ethnicity; and teaching implications that bring right practice to bear on church ministry. A final chapter contains a conversation among the authors responding to one another's insights and concerns.
This book will be required reading for those engaged in as well as those preparing for a life of teaching and ministry in our increasingly multicultural world.
228 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2004
31 people are currently reading
117 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Conde-Frazier
18 books3 followersReverend Dr. Conde-Frazier has over three decades of experience in higher education and ministry, in a variety of settings and roles. As the Academic Dean of Esperanza College, she sets the vision and strategic direction for the institution, and provides leadership and management for the faculty and staff, including direct oversight of curriculum and instruction.
Dr. Conde-Frazier founded the Orlando E. Costas Hispanic and Latin American Ministries Program at Andover Newton Theological School. She holds a Ph.D. from Boston College and a M.Div. from Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary. She is also the recipient of an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Palmer Theological Seminary (2010).
Dr. Conde-Frazier founded the Orlando E. Costas Hispanic and Latin American Ministries Program at Andover Newton Theological School. She holds a Ph.D. from Boston College and a M.Div. from Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary. She is also the recipient of an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Palmer Theological Seminary (2010).
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
June 4, 2012
I have recently been reflecting on how my spirituality, theology and general approach to faith has been influenced and shaped by my middle class, white, Western cultural background. With that in mind I picked up this book written by the dean of Esperanza College (Eastern University) and two professors from Gordon Conwell seminary (that is their current status but not when they wrote the book in 2004). The authors represent a diversity of culture (Puerto-Rican, Korean-American, and a Euro-American married to a Korean wife), but a unity of commitment to seeing the evangelical church become more consciously and proactively multi-cultural. Using a mixture of personal experience and secondary sources, the authors make a clear and strong case not only for the church being more multi-cultural but also showing how they as professors of theology and Christian education model a multi-cultural approach to teaching and thinking about the Christian faith. As such the book is chocked full of practical applications and illustrations as well as a rich resource of sources in the footnotes. As evangelicals are wont to do, they tend at times to justify each sentence or declaration with a Scriptural prooftext, but if one can get past that annoyance, this book is rich resource of ideas and concepts to aid one seeking to be more culturally competent in their teaching, preaching and general relationships with people of different races and ethnicities.
June 24, 2020
I started this one in seminary and read a lot of it for a class, but never finished it. So I decided it was finally time to finish it off. There’s some really good food for thought in here, though I’m not sure that I subscribe to everything in it. It’s a little dry and uneven, since it was written by three authors.
August 6, 2019
I remember first reading this book in seminary and not really enjoying it that much. I think at that point I was way too naive and wondered if the church really needed a book like this. I had the idea that Christianity was Christianity and struggled with the thought that culture would really be much of an influence. That naivety has been removed as I've seen churches I've been in struggle with other cultures and races. Due to this, my second read was a much more positive experience.
This book is written by three authors which makes for an interesting approach in the first place. Most of the time a chapter is written by an author and occasionally there are chapters that involve all three authors all from different cultural backgrounds. This approach really serves as an example of what they're trying to argue for, that experiencing life and faith with people of other cultures benefits us greatly in our understanding of life and faith.
There was much that I enjoyed about the book. It was good hearing each of the author's stories as they related their own experiences with prejudice and being different within the majority culture. I enjoyed the argument that they provide from the Scriptures that argues that God is Lord of all the nations, not just Lord of Europe, Canada, and the United States. This is how they set up for the rest of their book, and while there is still some good stuff in the rest of the book, this is also where I have to put up a critique.
With a title like A Many Colored Kingdom: Multicultural Dynamics for Spiritual Formation you may expect a book dealing with how multicultural experiences can help us become Christians who act more like Christ. A book that deals with some ground level practicalities of faith. This isn't really the case. It does contain some things like that, but it also spends a good amount of time focusing on these things from an educators point of view, which makes sense since all three of the authors are professors, but isn't exactly what you would expect. This focus also makes the book delve into some more academic topics around teaching and teaching styles. It connects well with their theme, but looking at the title you may not expect such content.
Overall, I thought this book was a good resource to have. While it didn't hit me the first time I read it, it did on my second. I found the way that the book talked about other cultures and how we as Christians should approach these cultures and even mutually benefit from cross-cultural relationships to be helpful and very much needed in the church. The book does delve more into educational related topics than one may expect by the title, but I felt that this material was good too. I felt that this material was more academic in nature, so it's impact will probably not be as great, but I was even able to enjoy these sections to a certain degree.
This book is written by three authors which makes for an interesting approach in the first place. Most of the time a chapter is written by an author and occasionally there are chapters that involve all three authors all from different cultural backgrounds. This approach really serves as an example of what they're trying to argue for, that experiencing life and faith with people of other cultures benefits us greatly in our understanding of life and faith.
There was much that I enjoyed about the book. It was good hearing each of the author's stories as they related their own experiences with prejudice and being different within the majority culture. I enjoyed the argument that they provide from the Scriptures that argues that God is Lord of all the nations, not just Lord of Europe, Canada, and the United States. This is how they set up for the rest of their book, and while there is still some good stuff in the rest of the book, this is also where I have to put up a critique.
With a title like A Many Colored Kingdom: Multicultural Dynamics for Spiritual Formation you may expect a book dealing with how multicultural experiences can help us become Christians who act more like Christ. A book that deals with some ground level practicalities of faith. This isn't really the case. It does contain some things like that, but it also spends a good amount of time focusing on these things from an educators point of view, which makes sense since all three of the authors are professors, but isn't exactly what you would expect. This focus also makes the book delve into some more academic topics around teaching and teaching styles. It connects well with their theme, but looking at the title you may not expect such content.
Overall, I thought this book was a good resource to have. While it didn't hit me the first time I read it, it did on my second. I found the way that the book talked about other cultures and how we as Christians should approach these cultures and even mutually benefit from cross-cultural relationships to be helpful and very much needed in the church. The book does delve more into educational related topics than one may expect by the title, but I felt that this material was good too. I felt that this material was more academic in nature, so it's impact will probably not be as great, but I was even able to enjoy these sections to a certain degree.
December 5, 2018
I had the opportunity to attend a training by Dr. Conde-Frazier a few years ago as a Mission Year team member when she was still the dean of Esperanza College, just a few blocks from my house. I remember describing it as if I'd been "firehosed by holy water;" I was floored by her deep well of wisdom and was eager to learn more from her. While she's the only author listed here, this is actually a co-written text that also features entries from S. Steve Kang and Gary Parrett, both professors themselves. While I think I may have ultimately preferred 200 pages from her alone, I did enjoy their unique contributions as well!
As a whole, this is a terrific resource for Christians seeking to pursue or enrich multicultural ministry, and particularly those looking to heed the wisdom of non-white perspectives (although Dr. Parrett is a white man). I think the book does an excellent job of maintaining a tone at the exact border between academic and accessible, offering a robust reading experience that incorporates a variety of scholarly perspectives that's still engaging and features a number of illustrative personal stories and reflections. While I think much of this is applicable to pastors and lay ministers, I did find that (perhaps intentionally?) the primary audience seemed to be teachers, particularly those in higher education like the authors themselves.
It's not a perfect book. The way that chapters are structured internally and in conversation with each other can at times be either redundant/repetitive or a bit haphazardly moving from one subject to another without a super clear train of thought. For this reason, I found myself loving pieces of each chapter far more than the whole, highlighting shining gems and skimming past other portions. The exception is the final chapter, "From Hospitality to Shalom" by Dr. Conde-Frazier, which is still a bit awkwardly structured but was jam-packed with wisdom and insight that I'm eager to process and eventually implement in the coming months and years. The (male) authors also seem just slightly preoccupied with signaling their avowed orthodoxy, a reflection of the evangelicalism that's more prominent here than most theology I've read in recent years, which at times inspired an eye-roll from me but ultimately is a real asset, I'd say. It's no surprise that evangelicalism is in desperate need of hearing a Gospel that acknowledges the importance of culture, amplifies the voices of people of color, and advocates passionately for a faith community that crosses dividing lines, and this book is an excellent resource for engaging with all of that.
As a whole, this is a terrific resource for Christians seeking to pursue or enrich multicultural ministry, and particularly those looking to heed the wisdom of non-white perspectives (although Dr. Parrett is a white man). I think the book does an excellent job of maintaining a tone at the exact border between academic and accessible, offering a robust reading experience that incorporates a variety of scholarly perspectives that's still engaging and features a number of illustrative personal stories and reflections. While I think much of this is applicable to pastors and lay ministers, I did find that (perhaps intentionally?) the primary audience seemed to be teachers, particularly those in higher education like the authors themselves.
It's not a perfect book. The way that chapters are structured internally and in conversation with each other can at times be either redundant/repetitive or a bit haphazardly moving from one subject to another without a super clear train of thought. For this reason, I found myself loving pieces of each chapter far more than the whole, highlighting shining gems and skimming past other portions. The exception is the final chapter, "From Hospitality to Shalom" by Dr. Conde-Frazier, which is still a bit awkwardly structured but was jam-packed with wisdom and insight that I'm eager to process and eventually implement in the coming months and years. The (male) authors also seem just slightly preoccupied with signaling their avowed orthodoxy, a reflection of the evangelicalism that's more prominent here than most theology I've read in recent years, which at times inspired an eye-roll from me but ultimately is a real asset, I'd say. It's no surprise that evangelicalism is in desperate need of hearing a Gospel that acknowledges the importance of culture, amplifies the voices of people of color, and advocates passionately for a faith community that crosses dividing lines, and this book is an excellent resource for engaging with all of that.
March 21, 2020
This is an amazing read regarding the Christian faith, culture, the harm of prejudice, and the integration of cultures within Christianity. It sparked a lot of great discussions between myself (caucasian) and my husband (mexican) about culture, racism, forgiveness and restoration, understanding, etc.
February 11, 2020
This was a good read for helping Christian educators move beyond prejudice to a view of the kingdom that is proactively inclusive. With that said, I am a little concerned that it is a product of its time and does not adequately take into account the full scope of history.
June 29, 2019
Worthy topic, approached in a very academic manner.
March 13, 2023
Great information, but the stats are from the late '90s and are likely no longer accurate.
May 20, 2024
Tons of wisdom in these pages. However, it was a bit repetitive and dry.
September 28, 2012
This was a book I both enjoyed and disliked. The discussion regarding diversity and educating diverse crowds or people who are different than you was fascinating. I especially enjoyed Gary's insight of being an outsider as a white man in a different culture of Koreans. There are tremendous insights on how to deal with dissimilar backgrounds and culture. Conde-Frazier however in her third of the book spends what too much time and effort on multicultural issues. I found her contributions to the book to be full of references to liberation theology and neo-socialism that presents what I consider to be a very unbiblical message of everyone is equal and must have equal power and opportunity. While racism and other "isms" are bad, this kind of political thought really doesn't mix well with true Christianity.
February 3, 2016
This one is worth the read if one is forming as any kind of congregational or group leader. There are a lot of salient points about diversity and the importance of seeking to connect to those outside our own bubble. It brings us closer to God. Though I loved many of the themes and feel they changed my own point of view, I also found myself skimming through certain parts of the book because I felt those points got a bit belabored at times.
February 5, 2014
Really important book with great insights that stirred up helpful questions and processing for me. I wish it were more focused on church settings but the authors are all seminary professors and speak from that experience. The writing can be a bit clunky and disjointed at times even within chapters by a single author. Even so, it's still well worth the time.
February 10, 2020
A worth wild read but not without issue
This was a good read for helping Christian educators move beyond prejudice to a view of the kingdom that is proactively inclusive. With that said, I am a little concerned that it is a product of its time and dose not adequately take into account the full scope of history.
This was a good read for helping Christian educators move beyond prejudice to a view of the kingdom that is proactively inclusive. With that said, I am a little concerned that it is a product of its time and dose not adequately take into account the full scope of history.
October 3, 2014
An uneven, but helpful book. I found Parrett's chapters most helpful, although Conde-Frazier's final chapter is also quite good.
January 2, 2015
Great read which shows the diversity that exists in the culture. Through diversity the author explores ways to educate various walks of life!
May 16, 2010
An eye-opening book. At the very least, it is making me think about others more.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews