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Beyond Colorblind: Redeeming Our Ethnic Journey, By Sarah Shin

Beyond Colorblind

Redeeming Our Ethnic Journey

by Sarah Shin

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Beyond Colorblind
Paperback
$19.99
  • Length: 208 pages
  • Dimensions: 5.5 × 8.25 in
  • Published: November 14, 2017
  • Imprint: IVP
  • ISBN: 9780830845156
Other Formats:

Outreach Magazine Resource of the Year
Foreword INDIES Award Finalist

For a generation or so, society has tried to be colorblind. People say they don’t see race. But this approach has limitations. In our broken world, ethnicity and racial identity are often points of pain and injustice. We can’t ignore that God created us with our ethnic identities. We bring all of who we are, including our ethnicity and cultural background, to our identity and work as God's ambassadors.

Ethnicity and evangelism specialist Sarah Shin reveals how our brokenness around ethnicity can be restored and redeemed, for our own wholeness and also for the good of others. When we experience internal transformationin our ethnic journeys, God propels us outward in a reconciling witness to the world. Ethnic healing can demonstrate God's power and goodness and bring good news to others. Showing us how to make space for God's healing of our ethnic stories, Shin helps us grow in our crosscultural skills, manage crosscultural conflict, pursue reconciliation and justice, and share the gospel as ethnicity-aware Christians.

Jesus offers hope for healing, both for ourselves and for society. Discover how yourethnic story can be transformed for compelling witness and mission.

REVIEWS

"I will never forget hearing Dr. John Perkins say that if we want to disciple people in the Christian faith, a primary focus should be on stewarding ethnic identity. I also will never forget having no idea what that meant or how to do it! I wish Ihad Beyond Colorblind when I first heard those words. In this critical work, Sarah Shin lays the foundation for ethnic identity in a winsome manner and with a thoughtful approach. I'm convinced that when the light bulb turns on for the importance of ethnic identity, this book will become a can't-miss resource."
"Sarah Shin does what no one else has been able to do: connect a clear gospel summary with our stories of ethnic identity and reconciliation. I hope that not only all campus ministers but also every student leader in the country will read this book. I can't remember the last time I was so expectant for an upcoming book to arrive."
"How might Christian communities break away from the powerful grip of a colorblind narrative? By challenging Christians to reinterpret the significance and meaning of ethnicity through the lens of the good news of Jesus, this timely work points to a clear pathway forward that is biblical, pastoral, and prophetic. I strongly recommend Sarah Shin's work to all Christians who seek to better understand how our Christian and ethnic identities intersect in today's multicultural world."
"Beautifully written and astute. Sarah Shin takes readers on a deep, honest, and spiritual journey through the complications of our racial history. Along the way, she dismantles the objections of thin thinking and religious sentimentality while depositing a rich, nuanced, and healthy soil in its place. Whatever your background or level of experience in this conversation, Sarah's voice and wisdom will add rich texture to your understanding. I can't recommend Beyond Colorblind highly enough."
"The unbiblical and unhelpful approach of being colorblind in a diverse world has resulted in significant unintended negative consequences that have adversely impacted the work of the multiethnic church. Sarah Shin calls us to move beyond our superficial understanding of culture, race, and ethnicity toward a more biblical theological approach that offers the hope of healing."
"Sarah Shin is brilliant! Beyond Colorblind is revolutionary; it is a prophetic, pragmatic, and plucky guide for recovering the gifts and blessings of our ethnic journey. Grounded in Scripture and empowered by personal narratives, this masterpiece is kingdom-focused, Christ-centered, and full of healing. Beyond being a 'must-read' book, this is a 'must-study' resource."
"This is groundbreaking work: first, it highlights how a lack of ethnic identity is a barrier to being effective witnesses, and then it calls all people to ethnic identity, awareness, healing, and reconciliation through the gospel. It's brilliant and it's good news!"
"In Beyond Colorblind, Sarah Shin offers us a personal and practical resource as we explore the issues of ethnicity, race, and diversity in our fractured world. This important book will prod at your heart at times, perhaps challenging youto reflect on your own assumptions. But it also serves to equip you—as a friend or neighbor, as a church or community leader, in work or in love. With humility, wisdom, and compassion, Sarah calls us to 'become ethnicity aware in order to address the beauty and brokenness in our ethnic stories and the stories of others.' Essential reading for today."
"For some reason, the American church has decided that a disability should be considered an asset. The unbiblical and unhelpful approach of being colorblind in a diverse world has resulted in significant unintended negative consequences that have adversely impacted the work of the multiethnic church. Sarah Shin calls us to move beyond our superficial understanding of culture, race, and ethnicity toward a more biblical theological approach that offers the hope of healing."
"Ignoring our diversity is not faithful to the Scriptures, the reality that we live in, or the future of the church. Sarah's experience as a minister of the gospel as well as her voice as a woman of color bring a unique perspective that is both deeply theological and richly experiential. What a gift it is to have a resource on crosscultural fluency that is crafted for the whole church."
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Read an Excerpt

CONTENTS

Part I: Redeeming Our Ethnic Stories
1. Beyond Colorblind
2. Ethnicities Made for Good
3. The Cracks in Our Ethnicity
4. Ethnicities Restored for Better
5. Redeemed Ethnic Identities Sent Out to Heal

Part II: Stewarding Our Ethnic Identities
6. Trust-Building with Ethnic Strangers
7. Crosscultural Skills in Community
8. Responding to Crosscultural Conflict in Community
9. Prophetic Ethnic Justice
10. Culture Re-creators

Acknowledgments
Notes

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BONUS MATERIAL

This book has a corresponding video curriculum from the author available at
Seminary Now

Author Sarah Shin has created a resource guide for churches and organizations to use alongside the book. Click here to download a preview of the resource guide, and purchase the complete resource here.

Download the Press Kit.

Dive deeper with this book's YouVersion Bible reading plan

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ABOUT Sarah Shin

Sarah Shin

Sarah Shin is associate national director of evangelism for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF). She is a speaker and trainer in ethnicity, evangelism, and the arts, and she previously served IVCF as an area director in Boston and as a regional coordinator of multiethnicity. A fine artist and painter, Sarah has a master’s degree in theology from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and a master’s in city planning and development from MIT. She and her husband live in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

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