COMMITTED TO AUTHENTIC DIVERSITY
LISTEN. LEARN. GROW.
We are committed to continue growing to become the multiethnic church God intends us to be. We desire to be in deep relationship with one another. For this to be real, it has to go beyond appearances into learning about and dismantling systems of racism and white privilege. The resources below are helpful in learning to authentically grow into the community Christ has called us to be here at Madison Church.
mART:Madison Antiracism Team
MART falls under the part of our Reaching Across mission. While Reaching Across has been a part of Madison’s DNA, in the early 2000’s Madison Council made a conscious decision to become an anti-racist church. Shortly thereafter, MART was formed as a sub-committee of Council with the mandate to be an advocacy and advisory resource for Council moving our church toward becoming an anti-racist, multicultural, beloved community transformed by Christ! With some long-time members rotating off and it is time for a few new faces to fill out this team. If you are interested or would like more information, please review their call for new team members and consider joining this work.
CORE: Understanding Racism Training
Madison was one of the founding members of this organization, and believes this is a great way to begin your journey towards anti-racism.
Books and Resources
Getting Started
Rain Ministries encourages Indigenous Peoples to realize and fulfill the destiny the Creator has given them through his Son Jesus Christ and to partner with them in developing culturally significant ways to express their worship of Creator and to make him known to others. They also encourage and facilitate reconciliation between Christian churches and First Nations people.
The First Nations Version New Testament is a new translation of the Sacred Scriptures by and for Native North Americans, to tell the story of the Bible to Native Americans, in a culturally relevant context. This Bible is a result of a group of Natives translating the entire New Testament.
Growing up in the American South, Esau McCaulley knew firsthand the ongoing struggle between despair and hope that marks the lives of some in the African American context. He calls the church to a dynamic theological engagement with Scripture, in which Christians of diverse backgrounds dialogue with their own social location as well as the cultures of others.
Woke Church: An Urgent Call for Christians in America to Confront Racism and Injustice
Dr. Eric Mason calls the evangelical church to a much-needed reckoning. In a time when many feel confused, complacent, or even angry, he challenges the church to:
Be Aware
Be Redemptive
Be Active
The Color of Compromise is both enlightening and compelling, telling a history we either ignore or just don’t know. Equal parts painful and inspirational, it details how the American church has helped create and maintain racist ideas and practices. You will be guided in thinking through concrete solutions for improved race relations and a racially inclusive church.
White Awake by Daniel Hill
This book is easy to read and from a Christian perspective. If you can’t attend a CORR training, this book is a great way to get a lot of the same information.
Systemic Racism Explained
Systemic racism affects every area of life in the US. From incarceration rates to predatory loans. Here’s a closer look at what systemic racism is, and how we can solve it.
103 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice
A list of resources and ideas to combat racism.
Movies To Watch
Other Resources
- Justice too Long Delayed from Christian Today
- How has Racial injustice Benefitted me by Phil Vischer Blog and Video
- The Heart of Racial Justice: How Soul Change Leads to Social Change by Brenda Stalter McNeil
Other Helpful Books:
- I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown
- Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
Going Deeper
Faith-Based Resources:
- Why We Must Learn to Grieve to Confront Racial InJustice
- America’s Original Sin by Jim Wallis
- Tears We Cannot Stop by Michael Eric Dyson
- Roadmap to Reconciliation 2.0 by Dr, Brenda Salter McNeil
Other Helpful Books:
- Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehishi Coates
- White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
- How to be an Anti-racist by Abram X. Kendi
- Brainwashed by Tom Burrell
- The New Jim Crow By Michelle Alexander
- A City within a City: The Black Freedom Struggle in Grand Rapids, Michigan by Todd Robinson
Resources for Parents:
