Book Review - Uncommon Ground: Living Faithfully in a World of Difference
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In Fred Craddock's Preaching, he teaches a habit that has served me well across the last three decades. He says he sits down every evening after supper and reads for thirty minutes. Since the average chapter in a business book takes around fifteen minutes to read, a person can get through two chapters in that time. This makes it possible to get through a book every week or so.
Sometimes I eat too fast and usually regret it. Sometimes I read a book too quickly. Other times I slow down and savor it. Let me recommend a savory treat best taken a chapter at a time. Uncommon Ground: Living Faithfully in a World of Difference, edited by Timothy Keller and John Inazu, is worth slowing down for the purpose of thorough pondering.
In the conclusion, the authors ask and answer this question: What does faithful presence actually look like? First, Christians should not overidentify with any particular political party or platform. Second, Christians should approach the community around them through a posture of love and service.
Third, Christians should recognize that the gospel subverts rival stories and accounts of reality. Fourth, Christians should reach out to others with humility, patience, and tolerance.
It may seem unfair to tell you the end of the story before the beginning, but trust me, the process of arriving at these conclusions is well worth the effort.
The book is arranged in three parts: Framing Our Engagement, Communicating Our Engagement, and Embodying Our Engagement. Each chapter is written by a unique contributor. Among the writers are Keller and Inazu, Sara Groves, Lecrae, and Trillia Newbell. The diversity of race, gender, background, and professions provides wonderful insights and applications.
Return to the introduction where Keller and Inazu set the tone for the book. Here are some of my favorite quotes:
- "Christians can be patient with others because we place our hope in a story whose end is already known," (p. xiii).
- "Tolerance is a practical enduring of beliefs and practices that we do not share. It does not mean accepting those beliefs or approving those practices," (pp. xiii-xiv).
- "Christians can demonstrate tolerance for others because of our love of neighbor flows from our love of God, and our love of God is grounded in the truth of the gospel," (p. xiv).
- "The Christian calling is to be shaped and reshaped into people whose every thought and action is characterized by faith, hope, and love—and who then speak and act in the world with humility, patience, and tolerance," (p. xiv).
Now that you know how this book begins and ends, it's time to sit down and enjoy a wonderful dessert of thoughtful Christians showing us how to engage our increasingly pluralistic world with the grace we have received, and by which we stand.
 | David Bowman, (DMin, PCC) is the Executive Director of Tarrant Baptist Association in Fort Worth, Texas. He also serves as a Multiplying Trainer for Future Church Co. Learn More » |
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