Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Faith in America

By: Michael Emerson & Christian Smith

Combining a substantial body of evidence with sophisticated analysis and interpretation, the authors throw sharp light on the oldest American dilemma. In the end, they conclude that despite the best intentions of evangelical leaders and some positive trends, real racial reconciliation remains far over the horizon.  The authors contend that it is not active racism that prevents evangelicals from recognizing ongoing problems in American society. Instead, it is the evangelical movement's emphasis on individualism, free will, and personal relationships that makes invisible the pervasive injustice that perpetuates racial inequality. Most racial problems, the subjects told the authors, can be solved by the repentance and conversion of the sinful individuals at fault.

The Color of Compromise: The Truth About the American Church's Complicity in Racism

By: Jemar Tisby

An acclaimed, timely study of how people of faith have historically—up to the present day—worked against racial justice. And a call for urgent action by all Christians today in response. The Color of Compromise is both enlightening and compelling, telling a history we either ignore or just don't know. Equal parts painful and inspirational, it details how the American church has helped create and maintain racist ideas and practices. You will be guided in thinking through concrete solutions for improved race relations and a racially inclusive church.

Generous Justice: How God's Grace Makes Us Just

By: Timothy Keller

In Generous Justice: How God's Grace Makes Us Just, former Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Tim Keller, explores the connection between when believer in Christ receive grace, and how that impacts the world around them. He argues that the Bible has been a regressive influence in the world. Sharing examples from the lives of beleivers around him, and giving support from the Bible, Keller outlines a hopefule manifesto for all who seek to show God's mercy to the world.

One Blood: Parting Words to the Church on Race and Love

By: John Perkins

The racial reconciliation of our churches and nation won't be done with big campaigns or through mass media. It will come one loving, sacrificial relationship at a time. The gospel and all that it encompasses has always traveled best relationally. We have much to learn from each other and each have unique poverties that can only be filled by one another. The way forward is to become "wounded healers" who bandage each other up as we discover what the family of God really looks like. Real relationships, sacrificial love between actual people, is the way forward. Nothing less will do.

Insider Outsider: My Journey as a Stranger in White Evangelicalism and My Hope for Us All

By: Bryan Loritts and John Ortberg

This seminal book on race and the church will help Christians discover how they can learn the art of listening to stories unlike their own, identify the problems and pitfalls that keep Sunday morning the most segregated hour of the week, and participate in an active movement with God toward a holy vision of what Dietrich Bonhoeffer calls "life together."

Woke Church: An Urgent Call for Christians in America to Confront Racism and Injustice

By: Eric Mason, John M. Perkins, et al

Dr. Eric Mason challenges the church in America: Get up, sleeper, and rise up from the dead. It’s time to take a hard look at our history and stand together against the indignities and injustice in our world – to understand that justice is both theological and sociological – that there is no intimacy with God without justice in one’s heart.

Rediscipling the White Church: From Cheap Diversity to True Solidarity

By: David W. Swanson

"Many white Christians across America are waking up to the fact that something is seriously wrong―but often this is where we get stuck." Confronted by the deep-rooted racial injustice in our society, many white Christians instinctively scramble to add diversity to their churches and ministries. But is diversity really the answer to the widespread racial dysfunction we see in the church? In this simple but powerful book, Pastor David Swanson contends that discipleship, not diversity, lies at the heart of our white churches' racial brokenness. Before white churches can pursue diversity, he argues, we must first take steps to address the faulty discipleship that has led to our segregation in the first place. Drawing on the work of philosopher James K. A. Smith and others, Swanson proposes that we rethink our churches' habits, or liturgies, and imagine together holistic, communal discipleship practices that can reform us as members of Christ's diverse body.