And Social Justice for All: Empowering Families, Churches, and Schools to Make a Difference in God's World
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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780825445064 |
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| Publisher: | Kregel Publications |
| Publication date: | 02/26/2019 |
| Pages: | 336 |
| Sales rank: | 1,267,881 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d) |
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And Social Justice for All: Empowering Families, Churches, and Schools to Make a Difference in God's World
5 out of 5
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4 reviews.
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Social Justice has become such a buzz word and sometimes an excuse to exacerbate division. And Social Justice for All cuts through the cultural platitudes and deals with the heart of the issues. Every chapter gives a concise, understandable definition of the issue, gives talking for kids (in three age categories) that help them internalize the problem, reviews what scripture says about the issue, gives memorable activity suggestions, and then helps families and organizations actually APPLY all they've learned. I can't wait to use this with my family.
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I don't know about you, but I am overwhelmed by the information out there. It is hard to hear our own thoughts sometimes among the noise of those whose voice and opinions get louder every day from all sides of situations. It can be a challenge for sure. It makes it difficult to really listen to one another.
It's complicated and not complicated all at the same time if that makes sense. The action we need to take is simple - LOVE, but the challenge is to know exactly how to show that among the can's and cannot's and do's and don'ts (not too sure about that grammar). What I know is that we should not ignore these hard conversations that may not be so hard after all.
Our kids are looking to us to help them understand. It is not easy to do that when we ourselves don't fully understand. I don't have all the answers, far from it. But what I do know is that I am thankful for those who are asking tough questions and challenging us to think and process these issues. Lisa Van Engen has some thoughtful words to help us make a difference in our world. Grab a copy and dig in to the conversations and action steps she provides to help us navigate topics like poverty, human trafficking, fair trade, education, disability, and more.
And so we set out to understand what is happening around us. And from there take a step of faith and action. And maybe that step is a small one...or a big one. You can decide. What if we all took one small step to be more just, merciful, and humble?
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I’ll be honest. This book surprised me. In the best of ways. And Social Justice for All, by Lisa Van Engen, opened my eyes to how I, and my children, can better see and meet needs in the world around us.
The book opens with a story that is probably the catalyst that developed in her a heart tuned to the needs of others. Van Engen spring-boarded from her early years to the many different people groups and the role social justice plays for them.
I loved how practical this book was. And the fact that I didn’t need a doctorate in social issues to follow her trains of thought and to have my heart stirred to action.
Van Engen covers thirteen different places where social justice is needed. Her language is geared to the normal person, which made this book enjoyable to read. She’s divided each chapter into sections to give readers a better understanding of aspects surrounding each issue, but she doesn’t stop there, including global impacts as well as how each issue impacts those in our neighborhoods and country.
Some of the issues presented in this book I expected: Disabilities, Human Trafficking, and Hunger are a few. But, she also touched on some surprising-to-me people groups/ideas, such as Creation Care and Families. She shares on each issue with a well-balanced Christian worldview.
At the end of each chapter, Van Engen directs age-appropriate questions toward various age groups to keep conversations going. She also shares a boatload of resources for people of all ages to research to learn more about each issue/people group covered in the book.
She shares Bible verses to look up to gain a deeper understanding of the issue from a biblical worldview.
As a mom, I found so much to love about this book! As a former teacher I can see how simple it would be for educators to incorporate some of what is shared in this book to expand student understanding of the world outside the towns and cities they live in and to call them to action.
I highly recommend this book as an amazing resource for people who want to become more conversant in the issues that most people in our world face every day. And it’s so practical for those who want to raise children whose perspectives expand beyond the familiar and have compassion for those who have different needs from their own.
*****I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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I killed a hi-lighter because of this book. I bled it dry. It was streaky, pressed hard against the last pages, and I felt it heave a sigh of relief when I finally set it down.
I have read a lot of important books in the past few years. Books that taught me about racial dynamics, books revealing my own privileges, books that churned my stomach because I needed it to be churned. Once you’ve begun to see the injustices in our world regarding poverty, healthcare, race, and so many other facets of daily life, a sense of hopelessness can settle in. Sometimes I plug my ears and run away from the news – I can’t take more, I can’t absorb it, it’s too much. Are you in that space too? Overwhelmed by the weight of it all?
But then I read this book. It is incredibly comprehensive. It addresses so many different angles of society, of struggles, of limitations, of the reality of our world. All things that we need to see – as Christians, as humans, as keepers of this world. And then, instead of sinking into that hopeless-helpless-awfulness state, the author describes not only ways that people and organizations are working on these harsh realities, but there are practical and possible ways for the reader to join in re-shaping the world.
So yes. Our world is broken in oh so many ways. But we can act. We can take inventory of where we are as individuals, as families, as churches, as schools, and then we can make plans to do better.
I read this book from the eyes of a mother, from the heart of a foster parent of refugee children, from the rose-tinted glasses of a privileged, white, middle-class woman, all with a persistent ache in my chest of wanting to know how I could do better. This book is filled with well-researched information, tangible ideas for how we can change our habits, plus a plethora of organizations and people that are already doing good in the world.
This is a must read. For you, for your community, for your leaders. I highly recommend picking up a copy, pulling out a fresh hi-lighter, and absorbing so much of the pages of this incredible book. And as the author so poignantly quoted in one of the chapters from Journalist Sasha Abramsky, “And now, knowing the challenges, and hearing the demands of conscience, our task is to act.”
Please Note: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. But you know what? I will be buying future copies. This isn’t a freebie that will sit on my shelf. This will be a call to action book that my friends and family will be hearing about. I hope you do the same.
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