PDF Race and Place How Urban Geography Shapes the Journey to Reconciliation David P Leong SoongChan Rah 9780830841349 Books
Download As PDF : Race and Place How Urban Geography Shapes the Journey to Reconciliation David P Leong SoongChan Rah 9780830841349 Books
Geography matters. We long for diverse, thriving neighborhoods and churches, yet racial injustices persist. Why? Because geographic structures and systems create barriers to reconciliation and prevent the flourishing of our communities. Race and Place reveals the profound ways in which these geographic forces and structures sustain the divisions among us. Urban missiologist David Leong, who resides in one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the country, unpacks the systemic challenges that are rarely addressed in the conversation about racial justice. The evening news may deliver story after story that causes us to despair. But Leong envisions a future of belonging and hope in our streets, towns, cities, and churches. A discussion about race needs to go hand in hand with a discussion about place. This book is a welcome addition to a conversation that needs to include both.
PDF Race and Place How Urban Geography Shapes the Journey to Reconciliation David P Leong SoongChan Rah 9780830841349 Books
"Leong takes a very complex, difficult subject and presents it in an eye-opening manner that is accessible to people from various starting points. What I enjoyed the most about this book is that it does not deter anyone from engaging complex issues and differences in their community. Rather, Leong invites us to live in the midst of struggle and uncertainty and challenges us to reflect and emulate the way Jesus modeled cultural engagement throughout his lifetime."
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Tags : Race and Place How Urban Geography Shapes the Journey to Reconciliation [David P. Leong, Soong-Chan Rah] on . <strong>Geography matters.</strong> We long for diverse, thriving neighborhoods and churches, yet racial injustices persist. Why? Because geographic structures and systems create barriers to reconciliation and prevent the flourishing of our communities. <em>Race and Place</em> reveals the profound ways in which these geographic forces and structures sustain the divisions among us. Urban missiologist David Leong,David P. Leong, Soong-Chan Rah,Race and Place How Urban Geography Shapes the Journey to Reconciliation,IVP Books,0830841342,Christian Life - Social Issues,Discrimination Race Relations,Sociology - Urban,Christianity and geography,Christianity and geography.,Cities and towns - Religious aspects - Christianity,Cities and towns;Religious aspects;Christianity.,Reconciliation - Religious aspects - Christianity,Reconciliation;Religious aspects;Christianity.,General Adult,Inspirational/Devotional - Christian,Multicultural,Non-Fiction,RELIGION / Christian Life / Social Issues,RELIGIOUS,Race;racial;place;urban;geography;reconciliation;racial reconciliation;Christian reconciliation;gentrification;neighborhood;city;segregation;justice;belonging;exclusion;new parish;Inhabit;street signs;story of place;story of race;communities;communit,Religion,Religion/Christian Ministry - Missions,Religion/Christian Theology - Soteriology,Religion/Ethics,SOCIAL SCIENCE / Discrimination Race Relations,SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sociology / Urban,Social Science/Discrimination Racism,Social Science/Sociology - Urban,United States
Race and Place How Urban Geography Shapes the Journey to Reconciliation David P Leong SoongChan Rah 9780830841349 Books Reviews :
Race and Place How Urban Geography Shapes the Journey to Reconciliation David P Leong SoongChan Rah 9780830841349 Books Reviews
- Dr. Leong has taken a complicated issue with so much loaded history and presented the problem and its solution clearly and hopefully. His primary lenses are theological and sociological, and he seems comfortable in both realms. I found Race and Place to be passionate without being preachy, academic without being condescending, and hopeful without relying on cliche or overly simplistic solutions. Leong is a thorough yet engaging guide, and I left Race and Place with a much better understanding of both the history and complexity surrounding issues of race.
This book is not full of blame or shame, yet neither did it let me off the hook just for having good intentions. After discussing the goodness of the universal human desire to belong to a community of like minded people in one place, he asks "could it also be true that our desire for belonging can be distorted by fear, pride, or self deception? Is it possible that our longing to be safe, known, or comfortable could lead us to places of isolation or even idolatry?" (pg. 35). Leong makes the case that it can and it does.
Leong explains the complexities of race issues simply and clearly, using geography, history, and his own personal stories to illustrate his arguments. I left with a much better understanding of the systemic nature of the problem, which no simple solution can adequately address. The call of his book seems to be for Christians like himself (and I) of all races to work against patterns of exclusion, rather than reinforcing them. In as much as Christianity in America often absentmindedly can reinforce them, this book provides an excellent roadmap forward. - David Leong provides clear insight into understanding how the context of neighborhoods and cities connects to our social fabric and understanding of ourselves. Our neighborhoods will only increase in diversity and its vital that we press into issues of diversity as a church. I recommend this book as a fresh voice into the topic of racially driven issues in the church.
- In “Race and Place,†Dr. Leong invites us to reflect on the places we live—or want to live—and ask ourselves how our geography has shaped our theology and mission as followers of Jesus Christ. He states that too many of us are “functionally segregated by race and class,†often relocating as part of our upward mobility. We forget that in our pursuit of more comfortable places, we take our financial and relational resources with us. But what and who do we leave behind?
Dr. Leong assures us that we all need “healthy forms of cultural familiarity and shared values that nurture our identity in important ways†but this often leads us to gravitate to places filled predominantly with people just like us--those who think like we think, eat what we eat, vote like we vote and worship who we worship. In contrast, we tend to run away from places of unfamiliarity, discomfort and even hostility. Without being aware of it, the geography of where we do life shapes our “unconscious biases,†influencing what we value and how we think about those not like us.
If we are to engage our neighborhoods in ways that point to a God who loves, a God of both justice and mercy, Dr. Leong invites us to listen closely to the deep wounds of those who have been “left behind,†“left without†or “kept outside†the gates of power and resources. He asks if the church of Jesus Christ will follow patterns of exclusion or disrupt them. Will the church move as it once did from an ethnocentric group called out by God, to become an unexpected, loving community of diverse races, classes, politics and gender?
Dr. Leong reminds us that Jesus himself continually moved outside the boundaries of his own social networks, going into places he didn’t belong, welcoming outcasts into his inner circle, and eating dinner in the homes of his “enemies.†God took people who didn’t “belong†and adopted them into the new family he was creating so that everyone could receive the same benefits and blessings of God no matter what their zip code was. - Leong takes a very complex, difficult subject and presents it in an eye-opening manner that is accessible to people from various starting points. What I enjoyed the most about this book is that it does not deter anyone from engaging complex issues and differences in their community. Rather, Leong invites us to live in the midst of struggle and uncertainty and challenges us to reflect and emulate the way Jesus modeled cultural engagement throughout his lifetime.
- I would recommend this book to anyone who has a heart to engage to see urban christian ministry done to truly serve the people living on the fringes of society. Reading this book will not be the end of the journey to understand what it looks like to serve in an urban context but this book will move the reader into the right direction.
