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Roadmap to Reconciliation 2.0: Moving Communities into Unity, Wholeness and Justice
We can see the injustice and inequality in our lives and in the world. We are ready to rise up. But how, exactly, do we do this? How does one reconcile? What we need is a clear sense of direction. Based on her extensive consulting experience with churches, colleges and organizations, Rev. Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil has created a roadmap to show us the way. She guides us through the common topics of discussion and past the bumpy social terrain and political boundaries that will arise. In this revised and expanded edition, McNeil has updated her signature roadmap to incorporate insights from her more recent work. Roadmap to Reconciliation 2.0 includes a new preface and a new chapter on restoration, which address the high costs for people of color who work in reconciliation and their need for continual renewal. With reflection questions and exercises at the end of each chapter, this book is ideal to read together with your church or organization. If you are ready to take the next step into unity, wholeness and justice, then this is the book for you.
152 pages, Hardcover
First published June 16, 2020
67 people are currently reading
300 people want to read
About the author
Brenda Salter McNeil
22 books39 followersRev. 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
July 24, 2022
I believe this book could have employed far more theology than it did; but I realize that this is ultimately not intended to be a theological treatise—and its theology is sufficient, if fairly conventional. There is also a clear political bias and one-sidedness that may be frustrating to some readers. Nevertheless, you would be hard-pressed to find a more passionate, practical, accessible, and effective guide for pursuing reconciliation—particularly racial reconciliation—in your local community. I see this being an invaluable tool for church leadership, and/or a helpful “curriculum” for church classes. McNeil envisions Kingdom communities that beautifully and profoundly exemplify the horizontal dimensions of the gospel delineated in Eph. 2:11ff; and she offers an abundance of practical tools to help local communities realize that vision.
June 23, 2020
The Bible begins with a family and ends with a multitude. Its narrative arc thus includes unity and diversity. Because of creation, all who bear the image of God are also children of Adam and Eve. Because of the new creation, the “great multitude” gathered before God’s throne in adoration encompasses “every nation, tribe, people and language” (Revelation 7:9).
We do not live at either the beginning or end of the biblical story, however. We live in the middle, in a world divided by sin from God and from one another. The reason Jesus Christ entered the world was to overcome both divisions.
The apostle Paul makes this clear in Ephesians 2:15–16, where he writes: “[Christ’s] purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.” The Cross, in other words, is the place where Christ reconciles us both to God and to one another.
The Church’s mission, following in Christ’s steps, is to advance the work of this twofold reconciliation in both word (the gospel we proclaim) and deed (the gospel we practice). In my opinion, American Christians are better at the former than the latter. We have well-developed systems of evangelism but underdeveloped systems of racial reconciliation.
Brenda Salter McNeil’s Roadmap to Reconciliation 2.0 helps rectify that problem by outlining how Christians can pursue racial reconciliation personally, in their churches, and in their communities.
She defines racial reconciliation as “an ongoing spiritual process involving forgiveness, repentance and justice that restores broken relationships and systems to reflect God’s original intention for all creation to flourish.”
She then outlines “five primary landmarks as signs that will produce lasting personal and cultural change in people and groups” committed to such reconciliation:
1. catalytic events: “painful but necessary experiences that happen to individuals and organizations that serve to jump-start the reconciliation process”;
2. realization: “a state of awareness that requires a response because it literally changes everything we thought we understood about an experience”;
3. identification: “where we begin to identify with and relate to other people who are experiencing the same thing”;
4. preparation: where we move “from the personal and relational to the structural and the transformational, and the gap between the two is huge”; and
5. activation: where we begin “to repair broken systems together.”
Throughout the book, Salter McNeil roots her counsel in biblical teaching, insights from social science, historical analysis, and long personal experience doing the work of racial reconciliation. The result is theologically rich, thought-provoking and eminently practical.
Salter McNeil argues that efforts at racial reconciliation usually break down in the preparation phase because personal relationships begin to impinge upon powerful structures. “Folks typically tend to gravitate to the first half of the model, engaging in the realization and identification phases with urgency and focus,” she writes.
Building personal relationships across lines of race and ethnicity is comparatively easy. Changing powerful structures is really hard. In the end, though, she writes, “relational connections cannot be sustained without structural intentionality.”
America is at an inflection point, and its churches have been given a kairos moment. The deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, among others, have reopened the wounds of our nation’s longest injury, and the Church has a gospel capable of healing it through a call to repentance, the offer of forgiveness, and a commitment to justice.
At this moment, whether the nation hears that gospel may very well turn on whether it sees Christians putting racial reconciliation into practice first.
Book Reviewed
Brenda Salter McNeil, Roadmap to Reconciliation 2.0: Moving Communities into Unity, Wholeness and Justice (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2020).
P.S. If you liked this review, please click “Helpful” on my Amazon review page.
P.P.S. This review appears in the July-August 2020 issue of Influence magazine and is cross-posted here by permission.
We do not live at either the beginning or end of the biblical story, however. We live in the middle, in a world divided by sin from God and from one another. The reason Jesus Christ entered the world was to overcome both divisions.
The apostle Paul makes this clear in Ephesians 2:15–16, where he writes: “[Christ’s] purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.” The Cross, in other words, is the place where Christ reconciles us both to God and to one another.
The Church’s mission, following in Christ’s steps, is to advance the work of this twofold reconciliation in both word (the gospel we proclaim) and deed (the gospel we practice). In my opinion, American Christians are better at the former than the latter. We have well-developed systems of evangelism but underdeveloped systems of racial reconciliation.
Brenda Salter McNeil’s Roadmap to Reconciliation 2.0 helps rectify that problem by outlining how Christians can pursue racial reconciliation personally, in their churches, and in their communities.
She defines racial reconciliation as “an ongoing spiritual process involving forgiveness, repentance and justice that restores broken relationships and systems to reflect God’s original intention for all creation to flourish.”
She then outlines “five primary landmarks as signs that will produce lasting personal and cultural change in people and groups” committed to such reconciliation:
1. catalytic events: “painful but necessary experiences that happen to individuals and organizations that serve to jump-start the reconciliation process”;
2. realization: “a state of awareness that requires a response because it literally changes everything we thought we understood about an experience”;
3. identification: “where we begin to identify with and relate to other people who are experiencing the same thing”;
4. preparation: where we move “from the personal and relational to the structural and the transformational, and the gap between the two is huge”; and
5. activation: where we begin “to repair broken systems together.”
Throughout the book, Salter McNeil roots her counsel in biblical teaching, insights from social science, historical analysis, and long personal experience doing the work of racial reconciliation. The result is theologically rich, thought-provoking and eminently practical.
Salter McNeil argues that efforts at racial reconciliation usually break down in the preparation phase because personal relationships begin to impinge upon powerful structures. “Folks typically tend to gravitate to the first half of the model, engaging in the realization and identification phases with urgency and focus,” she writes.
Building personal relationships across lines of race and ethnicity is comparatively easy. Changing powerful structures is really hard. In the end, though, she writes, “relational connections cannot be sustained without structural intentionality.”
America is at an inflection point, and its churches have been given a kairos moment. The deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, among others, have reopened the wounds of our nation’s longest injury, and the Church has a gospel capable of healing it through a call to repentance, the offer of forgiveness, and a commitment to justice.
At this moment, whether the nation hears that gospel may very well turn on whether it sees Christians putting racial reconciliation into practice first.
Book Reviewed
Brenda Salter McNeil, Roadmap to Reconciliation 2.0: Moving Communities into Unity, Wholeness and Justice (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2020).
P.S. If you liked this review, please click “Helpful” on my Amazon review page.
P.P.S. This review appears in the July-August 2020 issue of Influence magazine and is cross-posted here by permission.
April 1, 2021
Good book. It's so practical that it's hard for me to evaluate without putting its words into practice.
Read
November 29, 2021Will one book ever have all the answers? No. But in my personal journey to educate myself about racism, and to learn to recognize systemic racism--around me and within me, this small volume gives me a lot to work with. It won't take as long to read as what my dates suggest; I read this as part of a church commission to help us address racism within our church, and we got sidetracked in our group a lot. I had to start it over and read it through once more when I picked it up. That's not a bad idea--I learn more with each reading.
Whatever I do to educate myself is a good thing.
Whatever I do to educate myself is a good thing.
March 20, 2023
Roadmap to Reconciliation is both practical and compelling. I loved Salter McNeil's dissection and analysis of conflict and how conflict can be a catalyst for transformation. I also enjoyed that she included practical questions for discussion and consideration. Topics like "reconciliation" can sometimes be too heady or intellectual. However, this text brings it down to earth without compromising its theological or academic foundations.
Favorite quote:
"Chaos is a necessary stage in the community-building process. It won’t last forever, but we can’t skip this part no matter how much we might like to pass over it. Chaos is counterintuitive and problematic because our human nature craves equilibrium and a sense of stability. This is normal. However, we can value equilibrium too highly. Human beings actually need disorder and a sense of disequilibrium in order to grow and change. We need chaos in order for transformation to take place. There is no new life without the disruption of chaos. In fact, it is the heart of the Christian faith to believe that life comes from death" (p. 56)
Favorite quote:
"Chaos is a necessary stage in the community-building process. It won’t last forever, but we can’t skip this part no matter how much we might like to pass over it. Chaos is counterintuitive and problematic because our human nature craves equilibrium and a sense of stability. This is normal. However, we can value equilibrium too highly. Human beings actually need disorder and a sense of disequilibrium in order to grow and change. We need chaos in order for transformation to take place. There is no new life without the disruption of chaos. In fact, it is the heart of the Christian faith to believe that life comes from death" (p. 56)
February 20, 2022
Summary: The second edition of an introduction to making reconciliation a real and tangible reality to Christian communities.
Generally, my approach to reading is to find areas I can agree and learn from. It is not that I am not ever critical in my reading, but that I tend to work to be charitable. I say that because the reading of this book was much more critical than I tend to because it was read in a small group discussion. The group is all committed to racial reconciliation within my church, and they are not brand new to the conversation. So our critical reading was not based in opposition to the real need for racial reconciliation but in trying to test this roadmap to our experience and context. We were often challenged about being too critical, but the criticism was not about diminishing Dr. Salter McNeil's work or thought but about challenging ourselves to think more deeply. I think that part of what I take out of this book is that there needs to be more theoretical work put into reconciliation.
Dr. Salter McNeil has a lifetime of work in racial reconciliation. And similar to my concerns of critiquing John Perkins, I am not at all critiquing the reality that they have given their lives to the service of Christ. But because they have served well does not mean that we can take their history as prescriptive to the future. In her book Becoming Brave, Dr. Salter McNeil notes that she has changed over time. Going forward, racial reconciliation within the evangelical protestant world must change to be more focused on reparations and repair and less focused on reparations and repair relational and visible diversity. That critique has become widespread and has been made for more than 20 years, from Emerson and Smith's Divided by Faith to I Bring the Voice of My People to Elusive Dream and more. In her book Dear White Christians: For Those Still Longing for Racial Reconciliation, Jennifer Harvey specifically called out Brenda Salter McNeil for her coddling white Christians. And it is to Dr. Salter McNeil's credit that she not only took that critique seriously but has noted it in both Becoming Brave and Road to Reconciliation.
In the context of my group discussion, there was quite a bit of discussion about basics, definitions, theoretical approaches, and the relationship between Christianity and reconciliation. Not every book can, or needs to, have a fully developed theoretical framework, but I think Road to Reconciliation needed more. For instance, the not so simple concept of race was not explored enough. Race is not a concept in scripture because it is a modern idea. But that does not stop many Christians from taking concepts that were in biblical ideas, like ethnicity and cultures, and transporting them to the modern idea of race. The modern idea of race is a socially constructed reality that inherently assumes a heirarchy and rankings. That does not mean that I don't think that the modern idea of race cannot be redeemed, but I do think that if we are going to attempt that, we have to be aware of the pitfalls and point them out.
So much of our theology impacts our social thought, and it is only when we critically investigate those basics do we see how there are strengths and pitfalls. That does not mean that we can't work with those Christians that we have differences of theology with on areas like racial reconciliation. Still, we need to investigate those assumptions because uninvestigated assumptions lead to misunderstanding. There are several examples of where I think Dr. Salter McNeil's theology that leans to light dispensationalism and reformed theology (she is ordained and operated within the Evangelical Covenant Church) makes some theological leaps that were not explored enough. But, again, I don't want to complain about what is not here because a book that I am looking for here would be much different from what was written. Road to Reconciliation is a lay-oriented book that is a bit over 200 pages. A book that explores theology and sociological basics of race and reconciliation more would necessarily be both longer and denser.
There was a lot of value in discussing this book with our group. The group largely agreed with the goals and general thoughts and emphasis. Having something to disagree with is helpful in the areas where we have to work through our thoughts, biases, and values. Racial reconciliation is something that doesn't have a simple roadmap. There are too many differences in context to make a roadmap work. That doesn't mean that there is no value in books like this that give ideas about how to proceed. But a model that works in one place will not translate to other areas. And as Dr. Salter McNeil says toward the end,
"Reconciliation is truly a journey, not a destination. It is a process that leads to personal, spiritual, social and systemic transformation...Reconciliation is a dynamic process and an objective. Like all living systems, reconciliation is a nonlinear process that is progressive and at times cyclical in nature. Having gone through the process once doesn’t mean that you have “arrived.” Further growth and transformation are continually before you, and you may find yourself perpetually on the journey...We need to understand the dynamics of the journey and to focus on a few key skills that will help us stay the course and resist derailment."
The value of books like this is to prepare people for the ongoing nature of racial reconciliation. One of the most significant harms to racial reconciliation in the church is the frequency people give up on the journey because they did not measure the cost before they started. I do not think that we can fully understand the total costs (or joys) before we start, but if we think we are running a sprint, we will not approach it in the right way when the race is an ultra marathon. And I think a lot of the frustration in racial reconciliation circles is based on inappropriate expectations, and books like Road to Reconciliation help prepare people for reality, even if I wanted more.
August 4, 2020
Many churches and ministries are talking about reconciliation. But do they have an action plan for moving forward? In the landmark work Roadmap to Reconciliation 2.0, Brenda Salter McNeil provides a plan to move communities into unity, wholeness, and justice.
Biblical Truth, Relevant Research, and Personal Anecdotes
McNeil defines reconciliation as an ongoing spiritual process involving forgiveness, repentance and justice that restores broken relationships and systems to reflect God’s original intention for all creation to flourish. Our theology informs our anthropology, which in turn informs our sociology. What we believe about God will tell us what we believe about people; and what we believe about people will tell us what kinds of communities and societies we believe we should strive to create.
McNeil grounds her points in Biblical truth, relevant research, and personal anecdotes. I learned many new concepts and terms, including hot conflict (shooting, bombing, raping, and genocide) and cold conflict (indirect ongoing ideological confrontation that does not offer hope of peace or honor for those who engage in it).
Five Primary Landmarks
There are five primary landmarks in the roadmap to reconciliation: catalytic events, realization, identification, preparation, and activation. Catalytic events shake us up and push us into a new reality. Saul’s conversion on the Damascus Road is a Biblical example of a catalytic event.
The realization phase is when we can come to an awareness that is contextually connected which requires a response. Two vital components of the identification phase are embracing the stories of others and building empathy. Stories and metaphors also play a crucial role in helping others be on mission together.
Renewing, Connecting, and Recharging
The preparation and action phases are tied together and McNeil calls us to care, communicate, advocate, relate, and educate. Within the restoration cycle are the steps of renewing, connecting, and recharging.
The book ends with help to help us stay the course as well as a vision of a flourishing future. As more churches and ministries are talking about reconciliation, this book provides a useful tool with questions to consider.
Move Forward
This book does not only helps me process what is going on in the world, but it is giving me the strength to talk and teach about it. This roadmap to reconciliation is the framework we need to push us and move forward.
I received a media copy of Roadmap to Reconciliation 2.0 and this is my honest review.
Biblical Truth, Relevant Research, and Personal Anecdotes
McNeil defines reconciliation as an ongoing spiritual process involving forgiveness, repentance and justice that restores broken relationships and systems to reflect God’s original intention for all creation to flourish. Our theology informs our anthropology, which in turn informs our sociology. What we believe about God will tell us what we believe about people; and what we believe about people will tell us what kinds of communities and societies we believe we should strive to create.
McNeil grounds her points in Biblical truth, relevant research, and personal anecdotes. I learned many new concepts and terms, including hot conflict (shooting, bombing, raping, and genocide) and cold conflict (indirect ongoing ideological confrontation that does not offer hope of peace or honor for those who engage in it).
Five Primary Landmarks
There are five primary landmarks in the roadmap to reconciliation: catalytic events, realization, identification, preparation, and activation. Catalytic events shake us up and push us into a new reality. Saul’s conversion on the Damascus Road is a Biblical example of a catalytic event.
The realization phase is when we can come to an awareness that is contextually connected which requires a response. Two vital components of the identification phase are embracing the stories of others and building empathy. Stories and metaphors also play a crucial role in helping others be on mission together.
Renewing, Connecting, and Recharging
The preparation and action phases are tied together and McNeil calls us to care, communicate, advocate, relate, and educate. Within the restoration cycle are the steps of renewing, connecting, and recharging.
The book ends with help to help us stay the course as well as a vision of a flourishing future. As more churches and ministries are talking about reconciliation, this book provides a useful tool with questions to consider.
Move Forward
This book does not only helps me process what is going on in the world, but it is giving me the strength to talk and teach about it. This roadmap to reconciliation is the framework we need to push us and move forward.
I received a media copy of Roadmap to Reconciliation 2.0 and this is my honest review.
July 4, 2020
I loved how practical this book is. Highly recommend to any organization or group. It’s a bit less applicable for individuals, however, I still learned a valuable framework for seeking racial justice. This is a book I’ve been wanting to read for a while so I am glad I finally got around to it, and now, with an updated version. Had the pleasure of hearing Salter McNeil speak about five years ago and I could hear her passion through the pages.
Though the term “reconciliation” is widely contested in justice work, given the fact that to reconcile requires a previously harmonious relationship, Salter McNeil use the term because she feels it’s the best one available. And for Christians, reconciliation is appropriate as it is a spiritual responsibility and it calls back to the original intention of creation. God did not create humans to dehumanize others. The essence of God is shalom.
“Reconciliation is an ongoing spiritual process involving forgiveness, repentance, and justice that restores broken relationships and systems to reflect God’s original intention for all creation to flourish.”
Though the term “reconciliation” is widely contested in justice work, given the fact that to reconcile requires a previously harmonious relationship, Salter McNeil use the term because she feels it’s the best one available. And for Christians, reconciliation is appropriate as it is a spiritual responsibility and it calls back to the original intention of creation. God did not create humans to dehumanize others. The essence of God is shalom.
“Reconciliation is an ongoing spiritual process involving forgiveness, repentance, and justice that restores broken relationships and systems to reflect God’s original intention for all creation to flourish.”
June 22, 2020
This is an excellent update to Roadmap to Reconciliation and is a must-read for anyone concerned with repairing historical harms caused by racism, classism, and other divisive issues of our time.
Taking a deep dive into mental, social, and ideological roadblocks along the way, Roadmap to Reconciliation 2.0 will move you beyond theory to effective action. Salter McNeil provides practical tools to recognize these roadblocks and to move forward, together, in ways that build authentic, long-lasting communities of wholeness and justice.
As the title implies, this is not a prescription or magic formula for reconciliation, it is a practical roadmap that lays a solid foundation to build upon in your unique setting. As a leader, I also found this helpful for identifying where and why others get stuck along the journey, and how to help them move forward.
Taking a deep dive into mental, social, and ideological roadblocks along the way, Roadmap to Reconciliation 2.0 will move you beyond theory to effective action. Salter McNeil provides practical tools to recognize these roadblocks and to move forward, together, in ways that build authentic, long-lasting communities of wholeness and justice.
As the title implies, this is not a prescription or magic formula for reconciliation, it is a practical roadmap that lays a solid foundation to build upon in your unique setting. As a leader, I also found this helpful for identifying where and why others get stuck along the journey, and how to help them move forward.
September 30, 2020
This book was selected for study in a church school class. It addresses antiracism and more broadly is a manual to move communities and churches toward racial and social reconciliation.
The author presents a model of steps to work toward becoming a cohesive group to work toward established goals in the areas of social justice. Dr. Salter is very candid about both personal development and group development that must become uncomfortable while working toward common goals.
Overwhelming, challenging, inspirational, compelling, Roadmap to Reconciliation 2.0 is a thorough plan that can be modified to some extent to meet needs of communities. It clearly calls for thorough self-examination, group cohesion and patience on the part of the group.
The author presents a model of steps to work toward becoming a cohesive group to work toward established goals in the areas of social justice. Dr. Salter is very candid about both personal development and group development that must become uncomfortable while working toward common goals.
Overwhelming, challenging, inspirational, compelling, Roadmap to Reconciliation 2.0 is a thorough plan that can be modified to some extent to meet needs of communities. It clearly calls for thorough self-examination, group cohesion and patience on the part of the group.
October 7, 2024
This book is a call for repairing broken systems leftover from centuries of white supremacy. Although more directed towards black Americans, the principles of reconciliation hinted here may be useful for other marginalized groups in the US, like Native Americans, new immigrants/refugees from Mexico, Syria, Afghanistan, African nations, Haiti, South America, and Asia for starters.
“… you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, restorer of the streets to live in.” - Isaiah 58:12
It took generations to get to this point and it’s going to take many generations of relentless work to keep the ongoing journey of repair going. Are you willing to jump in? This book is a good start.
“… you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, restorer of the streets to live in.” - Isaiah 58:12
It took generations to get to this point and it’s going to take many generations of relentless work to keep the ongoing journey of repair going. Are you willing to jump in? This book is a good start.
November 25, 2022
I just finished reading this book as part of a book club with people from my church. It led to a lot of rich discussion and ideas. I think the roadmap Salter McNeil offers is a really good guide for people seeking to reconcile diverse communities. The book obviously has a Christian bent to it, but I think her roadmap is a good example even for people discussing these topics in a more secular setting. It is very insightful I think about the points where people tend to falter in this work and why. Although, we didn't really use them in our book club, the chapters each end in some discussion/reflection questions useful for figuring out where you are in the journey.
August 1, 2020
I really enjoyed walking through this book with a group of people from my church. I enjoyed reaching about racial reconciliation from the biblical point of view. I think this is a great starting point for people--particularly white christians--who need to better understand the lives and struggles of people of color and how the church can play a positive role in making helpful change. I look forward to seeing what our church and the church as a whole does in this momemt to work toward TRULY loving other wells.
December 14, 2020
I found Brenda Salter McNeil to reflect my own positive experiences within college campus Christian fellowships and an multiethnic local church in New Jersey. The journey she takes us on with this book covers many continents across the globe but clearly identifies a pathway to get where we want to go for a truly global community that celebrates the best of every culture that reflects the true nature of the God we worship. The steps she identifies for getting to unity, wholeness and justice are rooted in practical experience and story, so an easy read, but very powerful!
September 2, 2020
This book may not be groundbreaking for practitioners of diversity, equity, and inclusiveness, but it is an incredibly practical and applicable guide for a faith community committed to racial justice. I read it as part of a small discussion group, and that is its ideal context. Brenda Salter McNeil is not attempting to write a theoretical explanation...she is attempting to help faith communities actually DO this work together. She absolutely succeeds.
July 7, 2020
This is an incredibly practical guide on the process of reconciliation. The chapter on the beginning of the reconciliation cycle, on "catalytic events," really opened my eyes to what is going on in our society today. These events are something to be acknowledged and pressed into, if we want to grow together as people and as a society.
September 19, 2020
So much wisdom and challenges suited for today, especially for multicultural spaces wanting to engage deeper with reconciliation. Most sentences in this book are wise and challenging enough to belong on a quote wall by themselves- as a whole, this book is one all church leaders should be familiar with. Worth reading and rereading.
November 23, 2020
An amazing thought-provoking novel, that articulated ways to get involved in the process of racial reconciliation. I loved this book as it really made me think about what unity means. Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil's novel shows you how to practically apply her techniques of reconciliation to your own life.
May 27, 2021
A fantastic guide book for those on the journey. This book gives a great process to help a community figure out “where are we going?” and “what is it going to take to get there?” It is full of practical exercises, questions, and guideposts. I will be holding on to this to reference for many years to come.
February 4, 2022
Wow. An amazing thought provoking message of hope and how to become an agent of change. Dr Brenda lays out a convincing of how to be an influencer in this ministry of reconciliation the way God intended His church. Highly recommended.
September 18, 2020
This book gives me language for some of my experiences and for some of the longings of my heart. Thoughtful, practical and challenging while somehow gentle.
October 10, 2020
I liked the practical tips and "workbook" feel to this one. would be great as a workbook for small groups diving into reconciliation.
January 5, 2021
I read this in the context of book club with an evangelical church. Version 2.0 is particularly helpful because Dr. Brenda more directly names the impact of White Supremacy.
August 4, 2021
Captures the hope for God's multicultural vision of the church and posits a process to move in that direction.
February 2, 2022
This one surprised me. I admit to discomfort around this subject and this book challenged me by helping me to face and learn from that discomfort and move toward change.
December 11, 2022
Shalom
This world needs reconciliation more than ever. We all need a roadmap to move us forward in a positive direction.
This world needs reconciliation more than ever. We all need a roadmap to move us forward in a positive direction.
March 15, 2024
A gem of a book about a process of reconciliation. I need a workshop to see it in action, but the content was spot on target.
June 25, 2020
This book is hugely relevant to any Christian organization. It focuses on promoting inclusion of People of Colour within predominantly white groups yet the principles can be applied in a much broader context.
I found this to be both a challenging and an encouraging read. I highly recommend everyone in leadership and HR to read this book!
I found this to be both a challenging and an encouraging read. I highly recommend everyone in leadership and HR to read this book!
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews