Stop outsourcing justice! Many local churches don't know what to do about justice. We tend to compartmentalize it as merely a strategy for outreach, and we often outsource it to parachurch justice ministries. While these organizations do good work, individual congregations are left disconnected from God's just purposes in the world. Adam Gustine calls the local church to be just and do justice. He provides a theological vision for our identity as a just people, where God's character and the pursuit of shalom infuses every aspect of our congregational DNA. As we grow in becoming just, the church becomes a prophetic alternative to the broken systems of the world and a parable of God's intentions for human flourishing and societal transformation. This renewed vision for the church leads us into cultivating a just life together-in community, discipleship, worship, and more-extending justice out into the world in concrete ways. Let's hold being and doing together, so we can become just, compassionate communities that restore shalom and bring hope to the world.
"Adam Gustine writes with the heart of a pastor and the imagination of a prophet. Immersed in sincerity from Gustine's ministry journey, this is a lived story of repentance, a testament of how personal-even ecclesial-privilege can cede to God's transformative love. Becoming a Just Church provides a biblical approach for churches to seek shalom in their contexts, living as God's demonstration for the world to witness with wonder. Like a hearty Sunday benediction, every chapter shouldinspire many to live into God's dream of tomorrow for our world right now."
José Humphreys, author, Seeing Jesus in East Harlem, pastor, Metro Hope Covenant Church, N
"There is a generation of white evangelical Christians who are discovering God's beautiful and risky call to seek justice in this world. Unfortunately, many of these younger women and men were discipled in churches where justice was viewed as being either tangential to the gospel or a threat to it. The result is that as they grow close to God's heart for justice, these young Christians often move away from church. Becoming a Just Church demonstrates how unnecessary the gap between justice and church is. Rather than being an impediment to justice, Adam contends that our congregations are meant to provide the spiritual formation that matures us into people who don't simply do justice but who are just. He has written a book that is wise and practical. If we let these pages shape our imaginations, it's possible that generations of Christians will mature within just congregations. And what a hopeful future that would be!"
David Swanson, pastor, New Community Covenant Church, Chicago
