Social Justice Handbook: Small Steps for a Better World, By Mae Elise Cannon

Social Justice Handbook

Small Steps for a Better World

BridgeLeader Books

by Mae Cannon
Foreword by John M. Perkins

Social Justice Handbook
Paperback
  • Length: 304 pages
  • Dimensions: 7 × 10 in
  • Published: September 11, 2009
  • Imprint: IVP
  • ISBN: 9780830837151
Other Formats:

Outreach Magazine Resource of the Year

Every day we are confronted by challenging societal problems, from poverty and institutional racism to AIDS and homelessness. It can all seem so overwhelming. But while none of us can do everything, all of us can do something. This handbook will help you discover what you can do.

Mae Elise Cannon provides a comprehensive resource for Christians like you who are committed to social justice. She presents biblical rationale for justice and explains a variety of Christian approaches to doing justice. Tracing the history of Christians in social engagement, she lifts out role models and examples from the Great Awakenings to the civil rights movement. A wide-ranging catalog of topics and issues give background info about justice issues at home and abroad, such as

  • sex trafficking
  • domestic violence
  • living wage initiatives
  • debt relief
  • environmental stewardship
  • bioethics
  • and much, much more

This handbook includes dozens of practical exercises for taking action, as well as profiles of key figures and movements like William Wilberforce, the Salvation Army, and Bono, highlighting how Christiansand churches can make a difference. Also included are spiritual practices and resources to help us move from immobility to advocacy.

God has always worked through his people to accomplish improbable tasks, and he can use you too. This handbookwill be an essential companion for living justly, loving mercy and walking humbly with your God.

"'The LORD . . . was displeased that there was no justice. . . . He was appalled that there was no one to intervene' (Isaiah 59:15-16). Churches have engaged in evangelism, teaching and compassion for years, while we have sat on the sidelines of justice. Mae moves us . . . from feet that are frozen to walking, from a framework to a path, and from inspiration to hard work and action. This is the most comprehensive and compelling work I've read on justice. This book has the potential to make our churches into the unstoppable forces God intended them to be, with justice for all."Nancy Ortberg, author of Looking for God: An Unexpected Journey Through Tattoos, Tofu and Pronouns
"The Social Justice Handbook serves as a veritable global, ecclesial terminal, a launching-off point to the myriad ways that the shalom of Christ has gloriously broken forth in and through his rebellious and needy creation. Mae Cannon does this with the unequivocal passion of one who cares deeply about what the church is called to be. Through the Handbook, Cannon generously offers Christians tangible points of access to taste, and enter into, what God is doing in his world.Craig Wong, executive director, Grace Urban Ministries, San Francisco, California
"People often ask me for resources on what they can do about injustice in the world. Now I can point them to Mae Cannon's Social Justice Handbook. This guide is packed full of resources and ideas for following the God of justice both at home and around the globe."Gary A. Haugen, president and CEO, International Justice Mission
"Jesus was about the justification of souls and justice for every soul and society. The church when at its best has been devoted to both. This is a hands-on book on how to understand issues of justice and tangible ways to pursue it through local churches. Thank you, Mae."Lon Allison, executive director, Billy Graham Center, Wheaton College
"The moment you open Social Justice Handbook, it will vibrate in your hands with the heart-passion that inspired its making, a passion generated by him who described his life-mission as bringing good news to the poor, release to captives,sight to the blind, freedom to the oppressed and the time of God's grace. This book will simply not allow all those great intentions to become lost in theory. It will take you by the hand and lead you step by step into their glorious implementation.Gilbert Bilezikian, Professor Emeritus, Wheaton College, and a founding leader of Willow Creek Community Church
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Mae Elise Cannon

Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon is the executive director of Churches for Middle East Peace and an ordained minister in the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC). She formerly served as the senior director of advocacy and outreach for World Vision US on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. She is the author of Social Justice Handbook and Just Spirituality, and coeditor of Evangelical Theologies of Liberation and Justice.