Addressing topics of discipleship, politics, race, mental health, and community development, practitioners and scholars from North America, Africa, and the Middle East come together in a single volume to share insights that can guide the evangelical church to effectively engage the injustices of the world.
“Things do exist that are worth standing up for without compromise. To me it seems that peace and social justice are such things, as is Christ himself.”
– Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945)
Written by evangelicals from around the world, Social Injustice, Volume 2: Evangelical Voices in Tumultuous Times engages the diversity of evangelicalism in an accessible conversation about social justice.
What Others are Saying about Social Injustice, Volume II
“From my context of India and missions, this book is extremely breath-taking and pertinent for the Christian community to be radically accountable to address and engage in social justice in all areas of humanity by being salt and light. I ardently commend this book because the five categorical topics and these prophetic voices will educate and inspire the global church towards eradicating social injustice which is contrary to the tenets of the gospel.”
Dr. Saji Lukos
President and Founder
Reaching Indians Ministries International/Mission India
“In a time when we face two pandemics, one about health and the other about racial tensions, and where too many question if justice is even a God idea, a book like this needed to be birthed by people on the inside of evangelicalism to say what needs to be said to redirect the Church to its purpose, to be salt and light, the hands and feet of Jesus, and a mouthpiece that proclaims the gospel that seeks the flourishing of all. This book reminds Jesus followers that proclamation goes hand-in-hand with demonstration.”
Dr. Elizabeth “Liz” Rios
Founder and President
Passion2Plant Network
“In the spirit of Bonhoeffer, this book calls its readers to a costly discipleship. It boldly takes-on some of the hot-button issues of our times like race, politics, poverty, mental health, and development. Listen to these global voices and take heed to pursue justice in our world. This is a must read for every serious follower of Jesus Christ.”
Dr. Sam George
Lausanne Movement and Wheaton College Billy Graham Center, and
Co-editor of Refugee Diaspora.
“The contributors to this volume are passionate about social justice and have penned exemplary essays on a variety of subjects. Their suggestions and examples have great merit for the church to seriously consider and act upon.”
Dr. James J. Stamoolis
Missiologist
Author, Eastern Orthodox Mission Theology Today
“There is something both profound and poetic about an invitation to reflect on justice through the eyes and scholarship of such a diverse chorus of voices. I can hardly think of a more important topic to take on in our time and, after reading this volume, I can hardly think of a better way to approach it. I was inspired and challenged by this careful, thoughtful and poignant treatment of one of our deepest biblical concerns.”
Brian Sanders
Founder of the UNDERGROUND Network and
author of Underground Church
“Social problems are blatantly obvious in our day, but solutions to those problems are still challenging. Social Injustice, Volume IIdisplays a variety of Christian voices explaining the culture and speaking prophetically to the Church. We need to hear every voice in this book.”
Michael D. Reynolds, D.Min.
Director, Ministerial Development and Lilly Initiative
Division of EducationChurch of God (Cleveland, TN)
Table of Contents
Introduction to Volume II – Kathryn Richards Bhatia and Michael T. Cooper
A Palestinian Reflection on Overcoming Injustice: Seeking a Christ-like Response in Matthew and Luke – Grace Al-Zoughbi Arteen
A Reorientation to Discipleship: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Social Justice – Michael T. Cooper
Dismantling Injustice: American Evangelical Politics in Tumultuous Times – Mae Elise Cannon
The Illusion of Ideology: Christian Nationalism, Critical Theory & the Battle for America – Ronald P. Hesselgrave
Media and Social Justice: Perspectives from the MENA Region – George Makeen
Toward an Imago Dei Missiology for Biblical Justice – Gary Fujino
Viewing Jesus as an Ally: Evangelism in Times of Racial Tension – Devlin Scott
Trauma and Compassionate Resilience in the Ministry of Social Justice – Kathryn Richards Bhatia
Looking at Mental Health as a Social Justice Issue – Michaela K. Cooper and Brian Salveron
Curing Water and Education Injustice in Ghana – Cromwell Awadey and Joseph Gordon-Mensah
Asset-Based Church-Driven Development – Michael T. Cooper
Conclusion – Kathryn Richards Bhatia
Afterword – James J. Stamoolis
About the Contributors
Grace Al-Zoughbi Arteen – Grace is a Palestinian Christian, born and raised in Bethlehem. Grace holds a B.A in Biblical Studies from Bethlehem Bible College and an MA in Theology from the London School of Theology. Her thesis sought to explore the ways in which women can seek to defend and promote personal dignity, particularly within strongly patriarchal contexts. She served as a lecturer and Head of Biblical Studies department at Bethlehem Bible College 2011-2018. Grace is currently studying for her PhD degree also through the London School of Theology with special focus on the theological education of Arab women in the Middle East. She has published several articles on Arab women in theological education. In her day-to-day life, she participates in leading a variety of programs through her local church in Bethlehem and has been involved in various translation projects. She is married to Rev. Michael Arteen and together they are passionate about seeing God’s kingdom advance in the Middle East.
Cromwell Awadey – Cromwell is the Executive Director of International Needs Ghana. He is a Community Development and Project Management practitioner with about twenty years of experience. Cromwell is the Greater Accra West Regional Coordinator of the Assemblies of God Campus Ministry in Ghana, working with students in colleges and universities, a role he has been in since 2008. He is also the District Missions Representative of the Newtown Dzorwulu District of the Assemblies of God, Ghana and a final year student of the Assemblies of God Theological Seminar at Saltpond, Ghana. He is married to Dzifa and they are blessed with four children.
Kathryn Richards Bhatia – Kathy’s life objective is to bring the incarnational presence of Christ to people in traumatic or challenging life circumstances. To that end, she has served since 2014 as Regional Director in the Middle East and North Africa for She Is Safe, a non-profit ministry working with women and girls at extreme risk of abuse and slavery. She is a board certified chaplain, after having worked for five years as a chaplain at a level one trauma center. Born and raised in the Middle East, a third-culture kid, a fourth-generation minister of the Gospel, and mother of five adult children, she brings extensive intercultural experience and communication skills into her pastoral leadership roles. She is married to Dr. Amit Bhatia, with whom she shares a love for Indian food, international travel and hiking in the beauty of the Pacific Northwest.
Michael T. Cooper – Dr. Cooper earned a PhD in Intercultural Studies with a focus on religious movements and a minor in theology from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He currently serves as a missiologist for East West where he focuses on missiological research and equipping missionaries for effective cultural engagement. Additionally, he is professor of missiological theology and program director of the Master of Arts Missiology of Movements at Mission India Theological Seminary. He has more than thirty years of missions experience, including ten years as a pioneer church planter in Romania after the fall of communism as well as six years in international development. He has helped equip church planters and leaders in Africa, Europe, North America, South America, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. He has written and contributed to more than 30 books and academic articles and has presented conference lectures at the London School of Economics, University Bordeaux Montaigne, Loyola University, Baylor University, and many others. His recent book, Ephesiology: The Study of the Ephesian Movement is a best seller at William Carey Publishing.
Michaela K. Cooper – Michaela is a licensed social worker with a BS in Social Work from Grand Valley State University and a Masters in Social Work from the University of Maryland, Baltimore. She aspires to utilize her degrees to reach individuals, both here and abroad, who may face life difficulties due to mental health or trauma. As a graduate student, Michaela worked in a middle school with adolescents who had been diagnosed with an emotional disability. This work aligned with her passion for children and adolescents, a passion that led her to her current career as a school social worker at the Kennedy Krieger Institute working with students who have a wide variety of emotional and intellectual disabilities. She also has a passion for missions and travel – one that she shares with her family – and has been on several mission trips to Eastern Europe and South America. Michaela loves learning about and exploring new cultures, and looks forward to being able to travel abroad again.
Mae Elise Cannon – Rev. Dr. Cannon is the executive director of Churches for Middle East Peace and an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC). She holds a Ph.D in History from University of California — Davis, a D.Min in Spiritual Formation, an MDiv from North Park Theological Seminary, an MBA from North Park University’s School of Business and Nonprofit Management, and an MA in bioethics from Trinity International University. She is the author of the award-winning Social Justice Handbook and most recently Beyond Hashtag Activism among other books. Her work has been highlighted in The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, Chicago Tribune, Christianity Today, and other international media outlets.
Gary Fujino – Dr. Fujino earned a PhD in Intercultural Studies from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School focusing on how biblical forgiveness is appropriated differently among expat and Japanese Christians in an intercultural context. He is currently Professor of Diaspora Studies for the online Missional University with a focus on diaspora theory and practice for mission. He is a member of the Global Diaspora Institute, Global Diaspora Network and the North American Diaspora Educators Forum. He formerly served as an evangelist and church planter in Japan and among the Japanese diaspora with the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. Dr. Fujino has written extensively on diaspora both generally and specific to the Japanese context, as well as on church planting and issues of identity, race and ethnicity.
Ronald P. Hesselgrave – Dr. Hesselgrave (M.Div., Trinity Evangelical Divinity School; MUPP, Masters in Urban Planning/Policy, University of Illinois, Chicago; PhD, Drew University) is a retired missionary and educator. He has taught at Rutgers University, Alliance Theological Seminary and Nyack College (Nyack, NY), and Trinity International University (Deerfield, IL). He also worked as a researcher/writer for the Chicago Rehab Network, a coalition of not-for-profit housing development organizations in Chicago. Prior to retirement, he served for seventeen years as a home-based missionary, most recently as an education/resource coordinator and member of the Marginal Mission Network of EFCA ReachGlobal/Europe. He the author of Public Ethics for a Pluralistic Society (2001), The JustMissional Church: Pursuing God’s Path for Justice (2014); I Know That My Redeemer Lives: Suffering and Redemption in the Book of Job (2016); and The Supper: New Creation, Hospitality and Hope in Christ (2019) and God’s Mandate for Justice: Studies in the Book of Luke (2021). Ron and his wife Kathi helped co-found of an aftercare ministry for survivors of sex trafficking in the Chicago area.
George Makeen – George is from Cairo, Egypt. His education includes a BA in Theology and an MA in Biblical Theology from The Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo. His previous work experience expands from script writing and translating to publishing and advertising. George joined SAT-7 in 2003, working as an assistant to the head of programs. As SAT-7 grew to a network of five channels, George played a major role in the development and growth of that expansion. Now he is responsible for all SAT-7 Arabic channels.
Joseph Gordon-Mensah – Joseph is the Business Development and Communications Manager of International Needs Ghana. He also serves as the Board Secretary of International Needs Ghana and the Walter Pimpong Educational Foundation. Joseph is a Chartered Marketer with over two decades of experience in brand development, public relations and advertising as well as development communications. He is a Leader and Lay Preacher of the Methodist Church Ghana and loves to work within the Youth and Children’s Ministry where he has served as facilitator since 1992. Joseph is married to Esther, a fellow leader and youth worker. They have been blessed with a son.
Brian Salveron – Brian is a registered nurse and Clinical Coordinator for the Program of Assertive Community Treatment Program at the University of Maryland Medical Center. He has worked with this clinic for over 16 years and has a passion for working with people with Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, and other serious mental illnesses. Mr. Salveron lives in the Baltimore area with his wife and daughter.
Devlin Scott – Rev. Scott is a relationship leader dedicated to Christianity, committed to diversity and inclusion, and passionate about people. As a cultural driver, he seeks to be active in the significant cultural conversations of our day. As a justice seeker, he speaks to the injustices in our society through charitable dialogue and courageous action. As a Gospel Bearer, he seeks to exegete the social climate to find the relevant point to apply the message of hope. Devlin has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Trinity International University, a Master of Arts in Biblical Studies from Midwest Theological Seminary, Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and Master of Arts in Bioethics from Trinity Graduate School. With over 16 years of ministerial experience, Devlin serves as Senior Pastor of NewCity Church, a church plant outside of Boston. Devlin’s unique experience as a diversity trainer and speaker, an emerging bioethicist, and a theological practitioner brings a thoughtful and skilled approach to the role of the Church in culture and the vital importance of Christian faith in action
James J. Stamoolis – Dr. Stamoolis is a consultant to educational and missionary organizations. A cradle Greek Orthodox, his spiritual journey led him to evangelical Protestantism while retaining his love for the Eastern Churches. His first ministry assignment was as a missionary in South Africa. He has also been Theological Secretary for the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students, Graduate Dean of Wheaton College, Senior Vice President and Dean of the College at Trinity International University and CEO of a mission organization. He has been adjunct faculty at Wheaton College, Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, Trinity International University and Columbia International University. He is also the author of Eastern Orthodox Mission Theology Today (Orbis), Gen. ed. of Three Views on Eastern Orthodoxy and Evangelicalism (Zondervan) and numerous journal and encyclopedia articles.
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