Becoming Brave: Finding the Courage to Pursue Racial Justice Now - Paperback

by Brenda Salter McNeil (Author), Austin Channing Brown (Foreword by)

Foreword INDIES 2020 Book of the Year Award (BRONZE Winner for Religion)

"[A] powerful work. . . . Provides a road map for any Christian seeking greater racial justice."--Publishers Weekly

Reconciliation is not true reconciliation without justice! Brenda Salter McNeil has come to this conviction as she has led the church in pursuing reconciliation efforts over the past three decades. McNeil calls the church to repair the old reconciliation paradigm by moving beyond individual racism to address systemic injustice, both historical and present. It's time for the church to go beyond individual reconciliation and "heart change" and to boldly mature in its response to racial division.

Looking through the lens of the biblical narrative of Esther, McNeil challenges Christian reconcilers to recognize the particular pain in our world so they can work together to repair what is broken while maintaining a deep hope in God's ongoing work for justice. This book provides education and prophetic inspiration for every person who wants to take reconciliation seriously.

Becoming Brave offers a distinctly Christian framework for addressing systemic injustice. It challenges Christians to be everyday activists who become brave enough to break the silence and work with others to dismantle systems of injustice and inequality.

Back Jacket

Foreword INDIES 2020 Book of the Year Award (BRONZE Winner for Religion)

Reconciliation is not true reconciliation without justice!

In Becoming Brave, Brenda Salter McNeil calls us out of passivity and into action. Looking through the lens of the biblical narrative of Esther, McNeil challenges us to be everyday activists who become courageous enough to break the silence and work together with others to repair broken systems of injustice.

"Part confession, part biblical reflection, part call to storm the gates, Becoming Brave declares that the Christian call to do justice cannot and shall no longer be guided, shaped, and defanged by sensibilities more loyal to white people's comfort than to God. A must-read."
--Lisa Sharon Harper, founder and president, Freedom Road

"There is no one who understands more clearly what is necessary to move white evangelicals forward beyond their racial captivity than Brenda Salter McNeil, and there is no more important book that must find its way into the hands of students, pastors, Christian activists, and all those who understand the urgency of this moment than Becoming Brave."
--Willie James Jennings, professor, Yale Divinity School; author of After Whiteness: An Education in Belonging

"Real prophets lovingly criticize and truthfully energize. McNeil does both with clarity and rare vulnerability. This book will move your heart and compel your feet to move as well, with others, in response to God's call to do justice."
--Jennifer Harvey, author of Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America

"Through a combination of personal reflection, cultural awareness, and biblical exegesis of the book of Esther, Dr. McNeil provides a roadmap for leaders to become and to be brave."
--Bishop Claude Alexander, senior pastor, The Park Church, Charlotte, North Carolina

"This book is light in our darkness and an urgent, prophetic wake-up call to a church that has lost its reconciling credibility."
--In?s Vel?squez-McBryde, pastor, speaker, and reconciler; chaplain, Fuller Theological Seminary

"There is not a more credible, seasoned, and dynamic voice in the country that could speak to us about leadership and reconciliation than Brenda Salter McNeil. I cannot recommend Becoming Brave strongly enough."
--Daniel Hill, pastor; author of White Awake

Author Biography

Brenda Salter McNeil (DMin, Palmer Theological Seminary) is a dynamic speaker, award-winning author, professor, and thought leader. Her mission is to inspire, equip, and empower emerging Christian leaders to be practitioners of reconciliation. Dr. Brenda is associate professor of reconciliation studies at Seattle Pacific University and director of the Reconciliation Studies program. She is also associate pastor of preaching and reconciliation at Quest Church in Seattle. Dr. Brenda is an international trailblazer, leading individuals, communities, and organizations to biblical reconciliation. She was featured as one of the fifty most influential women to watch by Christianity Today in 2012. She is the author of Roadmap to Reconciliation, Roadmap to Reconciliation 2.0, A Credible Witness: Reflections on Power, Evangelism, and Race, and The Heart of Racial Justice: How Soul Change Leads to Social Change, coauthored with Rick Richardson.