Beyond Colorblind - by Sarah Shin (Paperback)

About the Book

While society may try to be colorblind, we can't ignore that God created us with our ethnic identities, and he made them for good. Ethnicity and evangelism specialist Sarah Shin reveals how our broken ethnic stories can be restored and redeemed, demonstrating God's power to others and bringing good news to the world. Discover how your ethnic story can be transformed for compelling witness and mission.

Book Synopsis

Outreach Magazine Resource of the Year
Foreword INDIES Award Finalist

For a generation or so, society has tried to be colorblind. People say they don't see race. But this approach has limitations. In our broken world, ethnicity and racial identity are often points of pain and injustice. We can't ignore that God created us with our ethnic identities. We bring all of who we are, including our ethnicity and cultural background, to our identity and work as God's ambassadors.

Ethnicity and evangelism specialist Sarah Shin reveals how our brokenness around ethnicity can be restored and redeemed, for our own wholeness and also for the good of others. When we experience internal transformation in our ethnic journeys, God propels us outward in a reconciling witness to the world. Ethnic healing can demonstrate God's power and goodness and bring good news to others. Showing us how to make space for God's healing of our ethnic stories, Shin helps us grow in our crosscultural skills, manage crosscultural conflict, pursue reconciliation and justice, and share the gospel as ethnicity-aware Christians.

Jesus offers hope for healing, both for ourselves and for society. Discover how your ethnic story can be transformed for compelling witness and mission.

Review Quotes

"Beautifully written and astute. Sarah Shin takes readers on a deep, honest, and spiritual journey through the complications of our racial history. Along the way, she dismantles the objections of thin thinking and religious sentimentality while depositing a rich, nuanced, and healthy soil in its place. Whatever your background or level of experience in this conversation, Sarah's voice and wisdom will add rich texture to your understanding. I can't recommend Beyond Colorblind highly enough."

--Ken Wytsma, author of The Myth of Equality

"I will never forget hearing Dr. John Perkins say that if we want to disciple people in the Christian faith, a primary focus should be on stewarding ethnic identity. I also will never forget having no idea what that meant or how to do it! I wish I had Beyond Colorblind when I first heard those words. In this critical work, Sarah Shin lays the foundation for ethnic identity in a winsome manner and with a thoughtful approach. I'm convinced that when the light bulb turns on for the importance of ethnic identity, this book will become a can't-miss resource."

--Daniel Hill, pastor, author of White Awake

"In Beyond Colorblind, Sarah Shin offers us a personal and practical resource as we explore the issues of ethnicity, race, and diversity in our fractured world. This important book will prod at your heart at times, perhaps challenging you to reflect on your own assumptions. But it also serves to equip you--as a friend or neighbor, as a church or community leader, in work or in love. With humility, wisdom, and compassion, Sarah calls us to 'become ethnicity aware in order to address the beauty and brokenness in our ethnic stories and the stories of others.' Essential reading for today."

--Jo Saxton, chair of 3DMovements, speaker, author of More Than Enchanting

"Sarah Shin is brilliant! Beyond Colorblind is revolutionary; it is a prophetic, pragmatic, and plucky guide for recovering the gifts and blessings of our ethnic journey. Grounded in Scripture and empowered by personal narratives, this masterpiece is kingdom-focused, Christ-centered, and full of healing. Beyond being a 'must-read' book, this is a 'must-study' resource."

--Emmett G. Price III, executive director, Institute for the Study of the Black Christian Experience, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

About the Author

Sarah Shin is associate national director of evangelism for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF). She is a speaker and trainer in ethnicity, evangelism, and the arts, and she previously served IVCF as an area director in Boston and as a regional coordinator of multiethnicity. A fine artist and painter, Sarah has a master's degree in theology from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and a master's in city planning and development from MIT. She and her husband live in Cambridge, Massachusetts.