This book is ever more timely. Using personal insight and experience, as well as meticulous research, the authors deconstruct the predominant image of Jesus among American Christians, with an emphasis on how that image arises from, reflects and reinforces white privilege. But the book then goes beyond that to offer resources and suggestions for working through that false image, either as an individual, in a group, or in a church setting. The writing is clear, the language is non-technical, the ideas may be revolutionary but the presentation is very approachable.

This book addresses a genuine problem in white American Evangelicalism: an attitude that says (though usually not in so many words) “serious racism doesn’t really exist anymore, you lazy, over-sensitive whiners.” However, for a book with “a new way forward” in the title, it offers relatively little practical help in dealing with the issue (just some “how do you think you can fix this?” questions in the discussion exercises).

The book as whole focuses almost exclusively on getting white Christians to acknowledge that they are cavalierly ignorant of systemic racism and shamefully benefited by white privilege. The lack of specific applications left me with little more than the (I’m sure unintended) message that “you and your ancestors are bad and you should feel bad.” Add to this occasional poisoning the well argumentation (“if this is painful for you or you disagree with this it’s because you’re racist/ignorant”) and I just wasn’t at all impressed (and slightly worried about writing this review). Basically, I think that these authors do have important things to say (I have observed and confronted serious racism in both churches I have pastored), but I don’t think that they were said in a helpful way.