Customer Reviews

Social Justice Handbook: Small Steps for a Better World (Bridgeleader Books)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you are interested in effectively influencing others to take action on issues of social action, then I would highly recommend "Social Justice Handbook: Small Steps For A Better World" by Mae Elise Cannon. I am not familiar with any other resource of this kind. Cannon provides a comprehensive guide to the topic of social justice that is not only rooted in Scripture, but is replete with tangible ways to pursue justice through the local church.

The handbook is divided into two main parts. Part one, which includes five chapters, titled "Foundations of Social Justice," is meant to provide a biblical and theological framework for justice, and addresses how individuals and churches can get involved.

Chapter one, "God's Heart for Justice," is a broad view of the theological foundation for social justice. Chapter two focuses on definitions and questions about social justice. Chapter three, provides a history of Christian social justice in the United States. Chapter four addresses the process people must embark on to allow their hearts to be opened and broken toward those who are most affected by injustice and oppression. And chapter five focuses on the roles individuals, church, community and government can play in advocating social justice.

While each of the chapters are excellent, my favorite is chapter four. In it Cannon shares a very helpful process of moving people from apathy to advocacy, that I believe has broad implications for ministry. She writes:

"Though social justice cannot be simplified to a step-by-step program, I have identified nine components to be consistently helpful in the movement from apathy to advocacy: prayer, awareness, lament, repentance, partnership and community, sacrifice, advocacy, evangelism, and celebration. Sometimes these elements happen in a linear progression, sometimes they happen simultaneously, and at other times they are cyclical. In any case, they are part of the ongoing process of personal transformation and spiritual growth toward Christlikeness."

Part two, "Social Justice Issues," is arranged alphabetically and includes more than eighty justice "topics." This section of the book is designed to be both a reference guide and a reflective tool. Cannon has included multiple ministry profiles, spiritual reflection and awareness exercises, and simple (not easy) action steps. Lastly, the book includes a wonderful set of appendixes, that include organizations, books and movies that deal with a variety of justice issues.

I appreciate the words of Gilbert Bilezikian as he sums up his recommendation of this resource: "The moment you open Social Justice Handbook, it will vibrate in your hands with the heart-passion that inspired its making, a passion generated by him who described his life-mission as bringing good news to the poor, release to captives, sight to the blind, freedom to the oppressed and the time of God's grace."

This book is an academic work of ART. Mae Cannon did a meticulous job of explaining the theological basis for Christian's living out justice. But more importantly this is the first practical guide to action and I don't believe there is NOTHING out there like it.

How I could have used this book when I returned back from my first Mexico trip in 91..and in 1999 when I started working in the urban pocket of Concord. Many will benefit from its practical side. It is simply too scary for churches to engage without some sort of guide and this book is a comprehensive guide that helps on so many levels.

This book will be a companion for those whose hearts are broken and want to move from feelings into action. Theologically sound and pratical in its approach.

This book is timely and very truth-based in its assertions and suggestions and I highly recommend it to anyone who is involved in community service and efforts to achieve more fairness and justice within society. But, I think everyone should read this book!

Social Justice Handbook: Small Steps for a Better World,
Mae Elise Canon, InterVarsity Press, 2009

How's your heart? That's the question whispered on every page of Mae Cannon's book, Social Justice Handbook: Small Steps for a Better World. It's a question that gets beyond the regular sorting between liberals or conservative Christians, red ones or blue. By getting to the heart, Mae does more than accomplish her goal of giving practical starting points for being a great neighbor from a biblical foundation; she invites us to search our hearts for God's pulse and leading, and then participate in more of God's fun and joy, each in our own way!
Jesus re-started God's plan to re-form hearts and bring rest to all people, however they were categorized in society. Slave or free, male or female, nationality b or a, included or excluded, sick or healthy; all were included and invited to make the good in this world better with Jesus help. In a tough political and economic time, Jesus publicly repeated the words of Isaiah, inviting all to participate: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor" (Luke 4:19, Isaiah 61:1-2).
These words challenged and invited followers of God to really worship God, providing the litmus test for life, and remind us again that we authentic worship integrates all of life. "Is not this the kind of fasting (concrete spiritual practice) I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?" (Isaiah 58:6).
Thank you Mae, for helping us get started when our heart breaks over AIDS, Bioethics, Genocide, or Race Relations; for inviting us to a life bigger than ourselves as we work toward and experience God's rest in troublesome times. Thank you for whispering the reminder that life is essentially about the soft heart God implanted in each of us. Thank you for giving us another place to start watering our souls with ours souls with friends!

A friend and fan,
Layne Kilbreath - Walnut Creek, CA
Feb 17, 2010

SOCIAL JUSTICE HANDBOOK: SMALL STEPS FOR A BETTER WORLD provides Christian readers with a survey of social justice issues and explains Christian approaches to justice. Suitable for both religious and social issues college-level collections, this surveys challenges form domestic violence and debt relief to homelessness and environmental stewardship, offering dozens of practical exercises for taking action. Highly recommended, it's more than another review of social issues, but a call to action.

If someone told me they were looking for some good resources on social-justice, The Social Justice Handbook is the first book I would recommend. The book's first half provides a biblical and historical overview of justice throughout Scripture and church history. The second half features dozens of encyclopedic articles on issues like cloning, micro-finance, and incarceration. Each article explains what you need to know about the issue and also what you can do about it. In addition, the book offers hundreds of recommended resources in case you want to go deeper into any one topic.

While many social-justice books focus either on "life" issues (abortion, euthanasia, bioethics, stem-cell research) or "justice" issues (poverty, race, war, the environment.), this book covers them all. However, being clearly written for a wide audience, The Social Justice Handbook doesn't take strong positions on many of the issues (and since the author is an Evangelical, you won't find necessarily find the Catholic view on each issue.) Nevertheless, I still count the book as the most comprehensive overview on social-justice.

The book is well researched and well written and just what I was hoping it would be. It covers quite a variety of justice issues and I think it would be a great tool for those who want to see how the various issues... poverty, human trafficking, racial inequality, etc. are related. Would make a really good book study and can be used as a text book... lots of book recommendations for further study on each of the subjects covered.

This is written by a Willow Creek activist/ pastor to help other concerned Christians express not just compassion but advocacy for more just systems. There are huge injustices in the world greater than we can often imagine. It can be daunting looking at the number of issues and their complexity of any one of them. These 304 pages are a Social Justice 101 textbook about "why" we can be involved and an action manual about "how to".

The first section unveils the "why" - the character of God as a God of justice and love and what God has been doing in Scripture and history as an advocate for the poor and marginalised. The writer offers a theological foundation for social justice, shows how it complements but goes beyond mercy ministry, and discusses the history of how Christians have balanced word and deed. A highlight of the book is her teaching/ She teaches from her experience how to move yourself and others from apathy to advocacy, including basic spiritual practices of discernment and prayer, journaling and blogging, and how to implement solutions to injustice.

The second section offers background on over eighty social justice issues - from AIDS, Bioethics, Consumerism and Domestic Abuse to Sex Trafficking, Tuberculosis, Urban Decay and Women's Body Image. This is a comprehensive volume offering historical background, resources, heroes (from Bono to Wesley) and examples of steps we can take to tangibly make a difference. Shane Claiborne describes it as "a cookbook for plotting goodness and stirring up holy mischief ... a recipe for revolution ... interrupting injustice with grace, surprising the world with joy and whispering God's love to a broken world."

I applaud Mae Cannon's approach in raising awareness, telling inspiring stories, offering achievable steps for action, and outlining spiritual exercises to empower and sustain us as agents of justice. This is an invaluable handbook to accompany any Christian, church, theology student or pastor seeking understanding and guidance about what small steps can be made to help bring the world more in line with God's dream.

Originally reviewed in Witness: The Voice of Victorian Baptists, Vol.91, No.2 (March 2011) 22.

This handbook:"Small Steps for a Better World" by Mae Elise Cannon, is a excellent resource for those interested in making an significant impact in the lives of others.
It shows relevance and a in-depth insight in helping the poor. If you have a passion for helping others, please purchase this handbook.
A GREAT resource and a must have for any library. (This is just my personal opinion).

Thanks so very much for keeping to your word. The Social Justice handbook was in perfect condition. I appreciate how quickly it took for me to receive it, just in time for my class to start!

2 Thumbs Up!