Changing Yourself to Change the World

The description for the new book, Practicing: Changing Yourself to Change the World by Kathy Escobar, caught my attention right away. In particular the tag lines that Christians want to "live a life of love, mercy, and justice," but "it's easy to feel overwhelmed" was a siren song that enticed me to pick up the book. Escobar details a variety of practices that are a blend of spiritual disciplines and actions in ten chapters. The practices include a variety of items that also focus focus on bringing people together across differences and divides in order to promote healing, reconciliation, and change the world by empowering those who have been denied or stripped of power due to sex, color, economic status, or gender.

Each chapter contains numerous stories and examples of how Escobar has lived out these practices in her own life and through the church she co-pastors. Escobar draws upon other writers for several spiritual traditions to demonstrate the practices. Many suggestions are provided which give hands-on, specific ways to incorporate the practices described. Each chapter also includes questions for personal reflection, group discussion, practice, and suggested readings titled "Dig Deeper" which include a variety of titles from both a faith-based and secular point of view.

I found Escobar's writing thought-provoking. Several practices, particularly statements about "with" rather than "to" or "for" regarding the practice of including, really resonated with me. Some other statements I'm still chewing on and I'm not quite sure I agree with. Regardless whether you agree with the entire book, anyone will come away from reading Practicing with new ideas and new practices to consider and will be stretched in their thinking. The discussion questions and other additional resources make this a perfect book to read and discuss with others.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received Practicing from Westminster John Knox via NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.