Reviews: Books on race, self-worth and holiness

Race and Place: How Urban Geography Shapes the Journey to Reconciliation

By David P. Leong (InterVarsity Press)

The greatest strength of Race and Place: How Urban Geography Shapes the Journey to Reconciliation might be its ability to reach across the aisle to people on all sides of the race debate to demonstrate both the inescapable racial problems in contemporary America and the feasibility of positive change led by the church.

David Leong divides Race and Place into three sections. The first establishes the need for a conversation about race and the impact location has on race and equality. The second gives a detailed and approachable historical overview of race and geography in the last century in America. The final section discusses the importance of the church in the movement toward racial reconciliation, encouraging Christians to examine the problems at hand with optimism and imagination.

Leong’s book is highly approachable and delicate in its treatment of a difficult subject matter. Individuals interested in becoming better members of their community will benefit greatly from this book, and churches seeking to start discussions on race will be hard-pressed to find a better resource. Simply put, Leong’s Race and Place is one of the most graceful and optimistic takes on race in the United States in recent memory.

Race and Place: How Urban Geography Shapes the Journey to Reconciliation will be released in February 2017 and is available for pre-order through Intervarsity Press. 

Jake Raabe, student

Truett Theological Seminary

Waco

Worth Living: How God’s Wild Love for You Makes You Worthy 

By Mary DeMuth (Baker Books)

One woman’s long journey out of dark places qualifies her to explore the depths of personal insecurities we can fall into and then chart the way out. In Worth Living, Mary DeMuth attacks the “worth-less” specter head on by exposing lies that stand in opposition to truths about God’s love. She comes alongside “fellow worth-strugglers” to redirect them to the knowledge of who they are in Christ.

Worth Living specifically addresses Christian women who feel they are “not enough” due to abuse, neglect, rejection or a perceived failure to measure up in some way. DeMuth focuses on those who sometimes doubt if God truly sees them and loves them. But this book also speaks indirectly to others who need to understand hurting people.

Over the last decade, DeMuth has written more than 30 fiction and nonfiction books, most of them dealing with self-worth issues in some way. She also speaks widely to Christian groups on the transforming power of Christ. Having learned that honesty facilitates healing, DeMuth displays characteristic authenticity in Worth Living by sharing her challenges in overcoming a painful past.

DeMuth wants to see believers set free “instead of overflowing with insecurities” and moving toward what she calls a “re-storied life.” She points readers clearly to Christ as the necessary source of sufficiency, writing: “If our worth is settled, we no longer have to run around this life desperately trying to prove it.”

Patti Richter

Heath

Jesus Speaks: Holding Fast in a World of Compromise

By Mike Baker, J.K. Jones and Jim Probst (InterVarsity Press)

The three authors are Pastor Mike Baker and two of his pastoral staff—J.K. Jones and Jim Probst—at Eastview Christian Church in Normal, Ill.

The book references the seven churches in Revelation 2-3 plus another one—yours. That eighth church shows up in Appendix 2. The book’s basic emphasis is holiness, and the authors accentuate it by using the churches’ personalities—both positive and negative.

The authors also discuss personal holiness, examining what it means to be ready to become and be holy.

The book is interspersed with devotionals. A helpful set of discussion starters for group study parallels the chapters.

Jesus Speaks is a wonderful book for Christians interested in learning more about holiness or anyone involved in a study of Revelation.

Skip Holman, minister of discipleship

Northeast Baptist Church

San Antonio