Who Will Be A Witness: Igniting Activism for God's Justice, Love, and Deliverance

by Drew G.I. Hart

Overview

Churches have begun awakening to social and political injustices, often carried out in the name of Christianity. But once awakened, how will we respond?

Who Will Be a Witness offers a vision for communities of faith to organize for deliverance and justice in their neighborhoods, states, and nation as an essential part of living out the call of Jesus.

Author Drew G. I. Hart provides incisive insights into Scripture and history, along with illuminating personal stories, to help us identify how the witness of the church has become mangled by Christendom, white supremacy, and religious nationalism. Hart provides a wide range of options for congregations seeking to give witness to Jesus’ ethic of love for and solidarity with the vulnerable.

At a time when many feel disillusioned and distressed, Hart calls the church to action, offering a way forward that is deeply rooted in the life and witness of Jesus. Dr. Hart’s testimony is powerful, personal, and profound, serving as a compass that points the church to the future and offers us a path toward meaningful social change and a more faithful witness to the way of Jesus.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781513806587
Publisher:	MennoMedia
Publication date:	09/01/2020
Pages:	276
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Drew G. I. Hart is a public theologian and professor of theology at Messiah University. He has ten years of pastoral ministry experience and is the recipient of multiple awards for peacemaking. Hart attained his MDiv with an urban concentration from Missio Seminary and his PhD in theology and ethics from Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. He is a sought-after speaker at conferences, campuses, and churches across the United States and Canada. His first book, Trouble I’ve Seen: Changing the Way the Church Views Racism, utilizes personal and everyday stories, theological ethics, and anti-racism frameworks to transform the church’s understanding and witness. Hart lives with his wife, Renee, and their three sons in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Table of Contents

1: Introduction
2: Trouble Won’t Always Last: Jesus Strategically Shuts Down the Jerusalem Establishment
3: Liberating Barabbas
4: The Supremacist Captivity of the Church
5: “Talking Back, Talking Black”: Unveiling America’s Sins and its Myth of Exceptionalism
6: The Politics of Church: Belonging, Power, and Jesus Our Center
7: Justice and the Worshiping Community
8: Economic Injustice and the Church
9: The Things that Make for Peace: Conducive Strategies and Tactics for the Church to Do Justice
10: The Politics of Love
 

Editorial Reviews

Drew Hart has prophetic fire and pastoral grace. He is one of America’s sharpest young theologians. Let this book stir up in you a holy indignation and put a fire in your bones.
 

SHANE CLAIBORNE

Drew Hart helps us reimagine what love must be—and do—in a world desperately in need of God’s justice, true healing, and life-giving good news.”
 

JEFF CHU

Drew Hart is fast becoming a go-to voice for articulating a practical and prophetic Christianity in our time.”
 

JARROD MCKENNA

The most challenging and enriching book that I have read in a very long time—a book brimming over with moral urgency, uncommon wisdom, and spiritual insight.”
 

RICHARD T. HUGHES

Drew Hart is an important rising voice in American Christianity. A searching critique of compromised American Christianity and a richly detailed proposal for a better way forward in theology, church life, and social justice practice. I strongly recommend this book!”
 

DAVID P. GUSHEE

Drew Hart offers us a powerful vision to be a people on the liberating journey. I’m inspired by his depth of insight, social and spiritual analysis, and the demanding—yet accessible—ways he names for living faithfully to God. I highly recommend this book!”
 

RICH VILLODAS

Using powerful imagery and a historical framework, Drew Hart challenges the church to roll up our sleeves.”
 

GLEN GUYTON

This brilliant public intellectual, preacher, and cultural critic is uniquely gifted to cross denominational, racial, political, and class lines to offer a vision of hope and healing our nation is yearning to hear. Do yourself a favor and purchase this book.”
 

OTIS MOSS III

A must-read—offering a tangible and compelling way forward for everyone who claims to be a follower of Jesus.”
 

GAIL SONG BANTUM

An excellent, accessible introduction to Christian activism—and, indeed, its necessity—this book is thoroughly biblical, theologically rich, engagingly practical, and tremendously urgent.”
 

MICHAEL BARRAM