As the country moves into the 2020 election season InterVarsity Press has announced that it is releasing and providing resources to equip voters in understanding as well as engaging the issues of our day from a faith perspective. On Tuesday, July 21, IVP will release Compassion (&) Conviction: The AND Campaign’s Guide to Faithful Civic Engagement, which will be included among the titles on the newly launched webpage “Books on Politics & Government” at ivpress.com.

Jeff Crosby, publisher at IVP, said, “As a publishing house, we desire to speak thoughtfully and in a balanced but bold manner to questions on the integration of faith, discipleship, and politics, on what constitutes the common good and building a just society—not only in election years but every year. That mission is hopefully reflected in the titles we’ve gathered for our ‘Books on Politics & Government’ webpage.” 

Coauthored by Justin Giboney, Michael Wear, and Chris Butler, Compassion (&) Conviction will serve as an especially timely resource that addresses the current political divisions within the United States. The authors represent the AND Campaign, which exists to educate and organize Christians for faithful civic and cultural engagement. With diverse backgrounds and political experience within the Obama White House, all three authors bring a unique perspective to what it means to stay true to your faith and engage in the public square today. They insist that not only are we called to love our neighbors through the political process but also that doing so requires us to transcend the binary way the debates are usually framed. In simple, understandable language, they lay out the biblical case for political engagement and help Christians navigate the complex world of politics with integrity, from political messaging and the politics of race to protests, advocacy, and more.

Wear is chief strategist of the AND Campaign and founder of Public Square Strategies LLC. He is the author of Reclaiming Hope: Lessons Learned in the Obama White House About the Future of Faith in America. He said, “In a political environment rife with manipulation, propaganda, and conflicting narratives, Compassion (&) Conviction provides a framework that can help orthodox Christians think and act faithfully in our politics for the good of [our] neighbors. There’s a lot of theory and ruminations about politics out there, but with this book we wanted to provide a practical guide for how Christians can make a difference in our politics while staying true to [our]selves and [our] faith.”

The “Books on Politics & Government“ webpage will feature twenty-seven additional titles covering a range of topics from cultural criticism and history to spiritual formation and political engagement. The newest books include 

• “Here Are Your Gods”: Faithful Discipleship in Idolatrous Times by Christopher J. H. Wright
• The Liturgy of Politics: Spiritual Formation for the Sake of Our Neighbor by Kaitlyn Schiess
• The Other Side of the Wall: A Palestinian Christian Narrative of Lament and Hope by Munther Isaac
• The Myth of the American Dream: Reflections on Affluence, Autonomy, Safety, and Power by D. L. Mayfield

Crosby said, “Books are vehicles for promoting liberty, for shedding light in darkness. They help us, the citizens of our country, sort out issues related to this messy, fragmented, exercise we know as politics and faithful civic engagement. In a time when many of us are distracted by clickbait and popular opinion, books still have a tremendous impact. Here’s to reading widely, thoughtfully, carefully, deeply—to engaging voices from the margins, voices we may disagree with, voices who may have something of importance to say to us.”