A Credible Witness: Reflections on Power, Evangelism and Race

by Brenda Salter McNeil, Tony Campolo (Foreword)

Meet Jesus and Sam. Evangelist and teacher Brenda Salter McNeil thinks evangelism that only introduces people to Jesus is incomplete. The picture is much larger than that, she Christ's death and resurrection reconcile us to God and to each other across gender, race and social lines. Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman, introduced here as Brenda's friend Sam, gives you the full picture of gospel reconciliation--reconciliation to God and to each other. In her powerful, prophetic way, Brenda expounds their interaction recorded in John 4 and shares her own story of coming to Christ and learning to relate to other Christians. A Credible Witness tells you why both types of reconciliation are necessary, and moves you to be a person whose evangelism happens through a right relationship with God and others. In today's world, Brenda writes, we too are called to embody more than one type of reconciliation. The good news brings us to God, and it also brings life and healing to a broken, dying and divided world. Anything less is not the gospel.

Genres: Christianity, Justice, Theology, Race, Evangelism, Faith, Christian Living

159 pages, Paperback

First published March 30, 2008

About the author

Rev. Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil is a dynamic speaker, author, and trailblazer with over twenty-five years of experience in the ministry of racial, ethnic, and gender reconciliation. She was featured as one of the fifty most influential women to watch by Christianity Today in 2012 and is an associate professor of reconciliation studies in the School of Theology at Seattle Pacific University, where she also directs the Reconciliation Studies program.

Salter McNeil was previously the president and founder of Salter McNeil & Associates, a reconciliation organization that provided speaking, training, and consulting to colleges, churches, and faith-based organizations. She also served on the staff of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship for fourteen years as a Multiethnic Ministries Specialist. She is an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Covenant Church and is on the pastoral staff of Quest Church in Seattle.

Reviews

[Stephanie Ridiculous · Rating 3 out of 5]

This starts strong & makes some really solid points & is definitely a worth while read. I didn't care for the level of conjecture, though, and felt like there were a few times where it went entirely too far. For example, stating that the Samaritan woman was idolizing marriage because she had been divorced 5 times, in a culture where women had very little agency in their lives, is (in my mind) a baseless stretch made just so a point could be made. The point was a good one, but this passage was put to work in ways I don't think it was intended to. 

All in all a decent read, but could use some work.

[Drick · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise of this book is that racial reconciliation and evangelism should go together. As far as it goes this book is right on. However, my own feeling is that the author does not deal realitically with the social and political inequities of race and class that often accompany the differences in the church. Furthermore, she does not address the need for justice as well as reconciliation. As such, it was a book that held great promise but failed to deliver.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil influenced me a lot as a speaker, but this is the first time I've taken the opportunity to read one of her books. The language/anecdotes in Credible Witness feel a little outdated (it was published in 2008). However, I still found it to be a classic introduction to the intersection of evangelism and racial reconciliation. I appreciated her explanations of how evangelism and all interpersonal reconciliation (including racial) at inseparable. She illustrates that both our reconciliation to God and our reconciliation with one another were accomplished in the death and resurrection of Christ. She writes that to choose Christ is to choose Christ's community! I also found compelling her points that in order to have a credible Christian witness, we must develop cross-cultural competency and demonstrate the power of the gospel through our actions in multi-ethnic community. Lastly, it's a valuable read to learn from a African American woman's perspective on the Biblical story of the woman at the well and her experiences in race relations.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars because I don't think this book fully explored / defined what "a credible witness" is, though there were some hints at what a credible witness might need to do. There were wonderful reflections on power and racial dynamics as they play out in the evangelistic encounter Jesus has with the woman at the well in John 4. The author uses her own conversion / commitment to fully follow Jesus as a lens through which she discusses different witnesses she encountered in her own journey.

[Aaron Z Carlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing book on evangelism. The discussion questions were terrific for reflection. I ended up passing this book around to a few people. I thought the author gave great examples on how churches today can go outside the walls of their church and truly connect with community.

[Caleb Jenkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was very good! Basically a break down of the account of Christ and the Samaritan women at the well to argue for and explain how to cross boundaries in order to be like Christ.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

four stars for the start and three stars for the end.

Brenda Salter McNeil (one of my favorite preachers) shares her thoughts on the ministry of racial reconciliation and evangelism through the prism of the encounter of Jesus and the Samaritan woman.

I love the premise of the book. It had some good concrete actions and reflections. Perhaps I was a bit disappointed at the end because it felt like McNeil was trying too hard to make the story work for her points and also perhaps because she was 'preaching to the choir' and so it was less impactful for me.

I would still recommend this book to someone who is at the beginning of the journey of how racial reconciliation fits into their Christian faith.

[Suzanne Burden · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went looking for something different style-wise, but the content is what shines in this book. A simple call to cut through the clutter, calling the Church to leave behind notions of power and embrace diversity and change. Not written at an academic level; it's very approachable.

[Jenny]

I got to hear Dr. Salter Mc Neil speak today and am interested in her book. :)

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of the best books I have read lately