Takeaway: One of the most significant hindrances to systemic change is the inability of White Christians to speak clearly about the reality of race. 

I am not sure how to discuss Faithful Antiracism. Over the past two years, I have participated in a zoom book discussion group centered on racial issues in the Church. It started as a Be the Bridge group and then discussed Jemar Tisby's Color of Compromise, and since then, it has discussed various books about race and the Church. As part of leading the discussion of Faithful Antiracism, I would listen to the audiobook early in the week. And then reread it in print on Thursday afternoons and make notes on how the section was structured and questions to ask. This means I listened to and read the print version of the book over five weeks.

Much of my thoughts are about how Faithful Antiracism is an example of the difficulty that the White Evangeical church has about addressing race, even in the more progressive parts of the Church. I am very familiar with Christina Edmondson. I have heard her speak in person a couple of times. I have listened to the Truth's Table podcast for years. I have read many Intervarsity Press books about race. I was not familiar with Chad Brennan before the book, but I was familiar with the research, which he helped to direct, from Barna, which is being formed into several books. Micheal Emerson, who coauthored Divided by Faith, spoke about this research in this 25 minutes talk, which I recommend. I also was in an earlier Be the Bridge group with one of the Barna staff who helped manage the research as it was being worked on over the past couple years.

Over and over, as we discussed Faithful Antiracism, we could not figure out why the book seemed to hold back and frame issues in the American Church as if they were universal problems and not problems centered in the White church. One straightforward example is in the chapter about truth-telling about the recent history of the Church and race. The chapter focused on Billy Graham as the moderate in conversation with the more racially progressive Carl Henry. The point of this chapter was that there were both progressives and moderates, and we can't claim the progressives and ignore the ways that the White church also upheld moderation (and opposed desegregation and integration of the culture as a whole.) But this framing ignores the third member of Evangelicalism's founding fathers, Billy Graham's father-in-law, the pro-segregationist Nelson Bell. The fuller picture is that while many White Evangelicals were moderate like Graham, and some were progressive like Henry, many were explicit segregationists like Bell. Without grappling with that whole history and the ways that both moderates and progressives often were willing to organize with segregationists like Bell for evangelism and institution building (see Bad Faith), we can't get a good picture of the history that needs to be grappled with.

I know that both Edmondson and Brennan know this from the rest of the book. I know that they are interested in systemic change and truth-telling, but consistently throughout the book, it felt like they were held back. I don't know if it was pressure from editors or a desire to make a more palatable message for white readers, but I felt like this happened regularly.

Chapter 9, where the book discusses evaluating our progress in antiracism, was regularly framed with the illustration of a doctor meeting with a patient about a health problem. But that framing confirms the individualistic orientation of White Evangelicalism. Instead, the more accurate illustration is not an individual doctor with an individual patient but a public health professional trying to address systemic health issues. Both primary care doctors and public health doctors address individual diseases like heart disease, but they do it differently. A primary care doctor may talk about exercise, eating right, and the targeted drug regimen. But a public health doctor will address the ways that the structure of our society as a whole is contributing to heart disease. It is not that individuals eating right and exercising aren't essential for the individual, but that only addresses that individual, not the whole system, which has subsidized unhealthy foods and oriented toward an economy based on private cars, which often do not have sidewalks to walk and exercise safely, etc. Until this point and even in this chapter, the importance of moving toward systemic change is emphasized (it is even part of the subtitle), but the illustration chosen as the center of the chapter undercuts the point by again emphasizing the individual.

Again, my main point here isn't that Faithful Antiracism is a lousy book. Instead, my point is that it is a book that is an excellent example of where even in the attempt to overcome white reluctance to discuss the systemic reality of race, it still centers the white reader, the individual model of change, and frames issues as problems for all of society to address instead of addressing racism as a problem of white ideology.

Every book on race published by Christians seems to have to convince the white reader that there is a problem. As my group has read a variety of books on race, we keep having discussions about the fact that every book seems to have an intended audience of people just being introduced to race as a problem and addressing those same people later in the book as if they are ready to lead their churches and community organizations in addressing the problems of an ideology white supremacy. People who had to be convinced of the reality of the problem of race at the start of a book are not the same people who should be reading about how to structure appropriate measurements of organizational change at the end of the book. And I don't know where the books are coming from evangelical publishers starting with more advanced assumptions. To use the academic metaphor, a book can't be a 101, a 201, and a 9999 class simultaneously. It can't even really have a 101 and a 401 audience at the same time.

I am far from an expert, and this is primarily a complaint from silence; at least part of the problem of race in the white evangelical Church is that we want to be inclusive, and when someone that is at a 101 or 201 stage expresses interest, the whole group is asked to go back and center their perspective instead of centering the perspective of those that are experienced.

If you have read more than a handful of books on race and the church, Faithful Antiracism probably will not have a lot that is new. But I don't think that is fundamentally the problem of the book, but instead the problem with even progressive publishers centering the white evangelical experience. There are no simple solutions. A book has to break even if it does not make money. A book published by evangelical publishers that speaks more clearly about race than most white Christians want them to won't make money and will likely be targeted for institutional backlash. White Evangelicals tend to not want to attend churches that were founded by Black or other minority denominations and leaders. They tend to want to attend churches that are white-led but inviting racial minority Christians into them to create more diverse but still white-centered spaces. I do not really know a solution until that fundamentally changes.

This is a well-written book that covers anti racism from a Christian perspective. I thoroughly enjoyed the format of book, especially how it offered views from the two authors. The two authors are of different racial ethnicity. This was very helpful. This offered a unique perspective. I especially loved how each chapter ended with a prayer. These prayers offered an affirmation to do better & be better as Christian. This book would be an excellent read for a book club.

"Faithful Antiracism" stands out from other recently published books addressing racism within Christian contexts for a few reasons. Having one Black and one White author allows issues to be addressed from both perspectives. Many of the books I've read recently were by Black authors, and I needed their insights. I also needed Brennan's humble admissions of ways he has made mistakes in his approaches to racism. Edmondson and Brennan skim over topics that are addressed more in depth in other bookss, such as Jemar Tisby's "The Color of Compromise". They themselves point out that their book moves fast so they can stay focused on "measurable change". This is my one criticism. So often I wanted more about topics they only skim over, so at times, I felt like the book lacked depth. However, I don't think they could address more without the book becoming unwieldy. They end with an imagined vision, not of paradise, but of a world where actual change has begun to take place. This epilogue was compelling because it replaces a focus on large problems with glimpses of doable solutions that will start change. Another excellent book to add to a growing (and needed) collection of Christian books about racism.

This was a really good read! The authors did a great job with this one; both of them are Christian anti-racists. This book focuses on teaching Christians on how to be an anti-racist. It was very well researched. I actually learned some new things especially as a black women myself. I was familiar with a lot of things the book discussed. I was already familiar with anti-racism having read some literature. But this one is different because it’s through a Christian perspective. Both authors shared stories, give history lessons, and showcases bible verses and passages and interpret them. Christians of any race needs to come together, with God as our guide, to combat racial Injustice.

I highly recommend this book for those who want to be a faithful antiracist!

When I read this book’s description, I was definitely intrigued. I appreciated some of the statistics and studies that were mentioned, as that does feel important to include. At the same time, though, it felt like a weird conversation to even be having with Christians. Yes, there are people in the Church that need this information, but I worry the only people reading it will be those who already know a lot of what was included here. I hope I’m wrong and that this was simply not the right fit for me.

Faithful Antiracism is a book that is written for people who see past and present systemic racism and ask, "well what can I do about this?" Built on the premise of research done by Chad Brennan and Dr. Christina Edmonson from 2019 to 2020 (called the Race, Religion, and Justice Project, or RRJP for short) and how scripture addresses the way we should engage with racial justice, Mr. Brennan and Dr. Edmonson equip their readers with practical steps towards having a more racially inclusive church environment and lifestyle.

On pages 2 and 3, the authors define faithful racism as:

"We are using two senses of the term faithful. First, faithful describes someone who is trustworthy and loyal: faithful antiracists are steadfastly committed to working towards antiracism. Second, faithful antiracists are full of faith or faith-full. We believe it is essential to rely on God's power and leading in order to make progress. As Jesus said, "I am the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing" (John 15:5).

By racism, we mean race-based discrimination and social hierarchies where individuals receive advantages or disadvantages because of perceived racial differences. If you find that sentence confusing, hang in there. We will explain what we mean by these concepts. By antiracism, we mean working against the forces that sustain racism."

From there, the authors tell their stories of how they've been affected by racism and race in general and what lead to them writing this book and explain their research. The research was particularly noteworthy to me and I would have loved to see more information on the research, but I understand that having more of that would also make the book significantly less accessible for the general public to read. They also made it clear that they weren't able to include the views of biracial/mixed (they use multiracial, but as someone that is biracial/mixed, that's generally not the term I choose to use for myself) people or Indigenous people because their sample size didn't have a significant number of people in either group, so they couldn't make accurate statements about the views of each group. As I understand it, the book was in the process of being written before the US census information had been released, so the authors may not be aware that racially mixed Americans now make up about 8.8% of the population. While I understand why our voices were not heard in the research, it is unfortunate nonetheless.

The first 5 chapters outline what it looks like to be an antiracist further, by looking at how an antiracist should have wisdom, read and apply scripture, stand for justice, understand the past, and understand the present. At chapter 6, the book turns to look at racial trauma, which was one of the most helpful chapters to read and it was very compelling. I highlighted many parts of the text because not only did it highlight so much of Dr. Edmonson's expertise and passion, but it also resonated strongly with me while pointing to God's care for his children and his heart for justice in these situations.

After chapter 6, the book primarily looks at solid action points that Christians can take to work towards racial justice. One of the most important things to me was how much Dr. Edmonson and Mr. Brennan emphasized that this is not easy work, it will take time, and it will be uncomfortable. Yet, it is also worthwhile and should be done. While I appreciate many of the action points given and agree with a lot of the diagnosed issues given, I don't know if I am fully on board with some of the proposed solutions. Additionally, parts of the book were hard to read, not because I couldn't understand them or was disinterested, it was just a writing style that doesn't necessarily appeal to me. That said, I do recommend this book as a way to grow and give food for thought. I'd recommend reading it in the context of a group, especially if you are in ministry, so that you can discuss together ways to implement some of the suggestions given.

A good, well-researched look at how the church has handled racism in the past and focuses on helpful and not-so-helpful ways that the church can and does handle racial diversity. The authors back up their points with personal examples, excerpts of interviews and surveys from other people, as well as factual data. Excellent discussion questions are included that make you delve into your own perceptions and practical next steps are given. Definitely a book that churches and other Christian institutions should read.

I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is an excellent and necessary book that tackles the Church's historic and modern-day roles in racism and antiracism.

Recommended for anyone looking to learn more about how Christians should approach racial issues within and outside of the Church, even if they are new to (or even skeptical towards) the idea of antiracism.

The chapters are supported both by scripture and data. The authors frequently referenced survey data which showed how opinions on systemic racism differed between Christians vs. non-Christians. This was particularly heartbreaking and really emphasized how we need to do better. Many Christians just are not thinking about racism in a biblical way, and reading books like this can be great stepping stones to progress.

I read this by myself, but the discussion questions at the end of each chapter would make this perfect for a Bible study or discussion group.

Excellent book for church small groups and Sunday school classes. This book includes scripture, eye-opening research data, history, terminology and more. I appreciated the discussion questions and prayer at the conclusion of every chapter. Faithful Antiracism would make a wonderful choice for starting honest conversations and raise awareness about racism.

Thank you to NetGalley and InterVarsity Press for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is a great book for discussion groups, particularly in a religious context like a Sunday School class. It was pretty light on substance and context, but it is a great way to launch into deeper discussions and serves as a good companion for other, denser texts.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

As a pastor, I often have conversations that end with someone telling me, “We don’t need to talk about racism. We just need to talk about [fill in the blank… usually The Bible or Jesus].”

What I love about Faithful Antiracism is that it’s a concise book that takes a few different avenues into a conversation about antiracism that is firmly rooted in the story of God’s people.

I imagine this would be a great book for a church group hesitant to discuss race to read together because of the ways it centers discussion in prayer and scripture. At different times, this book takes a historical approach, trauma-informed approach, and ultimately lands on an appeal to traditions of faith as expressed in scripture to make its point.

It’s a good addition to the conversation for its pragmatism and usefulness for beginning conversations where church folks may be more hesitant.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

"Faithful Antiracism: Moving Past Talk to Systemic Change" was co-written by Christina Edmondson and Chad Brennan. This book is practical, helpful, and very easy to read. According to the authors, people who are faithful antiracists are described as: having wisdom, applying the Bible, standing for justice, understanding the past and present, understanding racial trauma, and helping change society. In each section of this book, the authors give concrete evidence through graphs, charts, and personal anecdotes. Each chapter also has reflection questions and a prayer as well. I was surprised by the results of the surveys, specifically from white Christians.

This book would be an incredibly useful tool to use in a small group or working with Christians who have a sincere desire to be a part of the social change that is so very needed. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

This is the perfect book for a church book club that wants to learn how to be anti-racist and do better. If you are searching for how to learn more about anti-racism and are a Christian, you will find this book incredibly helpful.

"Faithful Antiracism" is timely, challenging, and inspiring. Anyone who takes race seriously, as well as Christianity seriously, will want to read this powerful book!

A necessary book, full of findings that assures Us that this subject must to be talked about in churches. It is urgent for believers of Christ to undestand and start to reflect about. The data research showed here is fantastically accurate and clear , and also hit the main purpose of this book: We have to start the change, of mind, of attitude and show the real justice, respect and love that Christ has showed to Us.

The authors provide a good mix of research-based claims and wise commentary, helping readers understand the need to be proactive about fighting racism and build a worldview that simultaneously revokes lies and promotes change.