Living in Color - Annotated by Randy Woodley (Paperback)

About the Book

Randy Woodley, a Keetowah Cherokee, casts a biblical, multiethnic vision for people of every nation, tribe and tongue to live in community together. Includes a study guide.

Book Synopsis

"We would never give Picasso a paintbrush and only one color of paint, and expect a masterpiece," writes Randy Woodley. "We would not give Beethoven a single piano key and say, 'Play us a concerto.' Yet we limit our Creator in just these ways." Though our Christian experience is often blandly monochromatic, God intends for us to live in dynamic, multihued communities that embody his vibrant creativity.Randy Woodley, a Keetowah Cherokee, casts a biblical, multiethnic vision for people of every nation, tribe and tongue. He carefully unpacks how Christians should think about racial and cultural identity, demonstrating that ethnically diverse communities have always been God's intent for his people. Woodley gives practical insights for how we can relate to one another with sensitivity, contextualize the gospel, combat the subtleties of racism, and honor one another's unique contributions to church and society. Along the way, he reckons with difficult challenges from our racially painful history and offers hope for healing and restoration. With profound wisdom from his own Native American heritage and experience, Woodley's voice adds a distinctive perspective to contemporary discussions of racial reconciliation and multiethnicity. Here is a biblical vision for unity in diversity.

Review Quotes

"Living in Color is dynamic, thoughtful and pointed. You may not agree with everything Randy Woodley writes, but I know you will think deeply about multicultural ministry. Be prepared to feel a little uncomfortable, but most of all, be prepared to follow the insights suggested in the book to help build churches unified around the Lord Jesus Christ."

"Living in Color is a dynamic and insightful message that the church today needs to hear. I believe that Randy Woodley has done no less in these pages than pen the heart of the Father. The body of Christ is like a jigsaw puzzle, each piece unique and beautiful--yet only when each piece is interlocked with the others does God's true picture of the church emerge. Through the pages of this book, Randy has brought that picture to light so that all who read it can catch a fresh vision of the body of Christ, the way the Father intended it to be."

"This book is very much needed in our world today and a must-read. Randy states eloquently and clearly the truth behind each people group--that is, God created all of us to be different from one another, and diversity among people groups and their cultures is part of his creation and plan. To learn this is the first step toward being Jesus to other cultures and accepting how they worship him within that culture."

"When I finished Randy Woodley's Living in Color, I wept with joy--for good reason. Having been drawn by Christ from the civil rights movement of the 1960s and early '70s, I was grieved to see that movement shatter into warring hordes of special interests alienating each other and 'balkanizing' our land. But Randy Woodley here offers us a mighty, biblically based vision of a path to wholeness and unity in God's Spirit through understanding his true plan to express himself uniquely through his ever-diverse creation 'from every tongue, tribe and people' of a new nation, distinct in its parts yet appreciative of each."And Randy gives us more than mere vision; he lays out practical steps to help us reach diversity without division, reconciliation without recrimination, restitution without retribution--all in the healing Spirit of Christ's love! I pray that Randy's work will move the hearts of millions as a restorer of a godly dream and a 'repairer of the breach' in our land (and the entire world's) torn and tormented social fabric."

About the Author

Randy Woodley (PhD, Asbury Seminary) is Distinguished Professor of Faith and Culture and the director of intercultural and indigenous studies at George Fox Evangelical Seminary. Woodley is a Keetoowah Cherokee Indian who has been in ministry among First Nations people since 1984. He is a teacher, poet, activist, former pastor, missiologist and historian. He and his wife, Edith (Eastern Shoshone/Choctaw), are cofounders of Eagle's Wings Ministry and are considered early innovators in the Native American Contextual Movement. He is a founding board member of NAIITS, the North American Institute for Indigenous Theological Studies, and he administers the Fox/ NAIITS cooperative Master of Arts Intercultural Studies degree.Woodley is active in the ongoing discussions concerning new church movements, racial and ethnic diversity, peace, social justice, interreligious dialogue and mission. He regularly blogs in these areas and is the author of Shalom and the Community of Creation: An Indigenous Vision and Living in Color: Embracing God's Passion for Ethnic Diversity.