Justin Giboney on YouTubeLast month, several members of the J&RR team trekked across the bridge to Bethany Community Church for their annual Ministry of Racial Justice and Reconciliation Speaker Event. This year featured Justin Giboney, the founder and president of the AND Campaign, an organization dedicated to helping Christians offer a more faithful public witness and engagement.
Giboney spoke about what it looks like to be a peacemaker today in the public square in our public faith, drawing from his new book Don't Let Nobody Turn You Around. Noting that our current environment feels very polarized, he pointed out that the context that Jesus lived in was also very polarized. Living under Roman occupation, different groups within Jesus' Jewish community responded to that tension in different ways. Some responded with violence and terrorism, some with assimilation, and others used the occupation to maintain power within their own community.
But Jesus doesn't join any of these groups. He does something completely different. He changes how we see ourselves and how we see our enemies. Giboney points out, "He even goes so far as to say crazy things like love your enemy." To be peacemakers in this moment, we start with changing how we see ourselves and changing how we see others, especially our opposition. He notes that there are important debates to be had about issues in our country, but that how these debates happen and how we treat people who disagree with us when they happen is what matters most.
Giboney defines our public witness as "a testimony to society about what we believe is good and true and what is false, immoral, and unjust. It tells others what we value, what we represent, and who we serve." He also notes that our public witness doesn't belong to us, it belongs to God. 2 Corinthians 5:20 says, "We are ambassadors of Christ as though God were making his appeal through us." Giboney challenges us to take that verse seriously and consider how it might change how we interact with others.
Using the Black Church in the Civil Rights Movement as an example, Giboney laid out four ways that their public witness was distinctive. They connected the spiritual to the sociopolitical. They sang gospel hymns as they marched as a discipline to remind them who they were supposed to be and what Christian principles they needed to stand by. They upheld social justice AND moral order. A society that is morally disordered will not have justice, and an ordered society will not be moral without justice. Giboney said, "You can lean left or lean right, but you have to have a prophetic distance to be able to critique both sides." They acknowledged the potential of wickedness not just in their opponents, but also in themselves.
When we have disagreements, it should look different in a way that points people to Christ. "We should always look at people and value people not just based on their behavior at the moment, but who they are and whose image they were made in." They chose moral imagination over contempt and cynicism. "Moral imagination is the ability to see what ought to be and what will be based on God's character and God's promises."
We invite you to watch Giboney's whole talk as well as the panel discussion that followed:
Peacemaking and Public Faith: A Conversation with Justin Giboney
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By Nancy Gibson
Last fall, my husband Greg and I set out on a cross-country road trip in our campervan. With the help of ChatGPT, Greg drafted an itinerary. In the fall, we slowly worked our way to San Antonio. We flew home over the holidays, then flew back in January to resume our journey.
The second half took us to Key West and up to North Carolina before heading back west. In addition to National Parks and other key points of interest, I wanted to be sure to visit sites related to racial justice and civil rights.
By Heather Hedlund
When the BelPres Justice & Racial Reconciliation Team formed in 2016, one of our first activities was a book discussion of Let Justice Roll Down by John Perkins. This book has set the tone for the work we've been doing ever since. Dr. Perkins went home to Jesus on March 13, 2026, at the age of 95. As I've been reflecting on his legacy, I'd like to share some of the reasons his life and work have been so important to me.
A poem by Howard Thurman from his book The Mood of Christmas and Other Celebrations
When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
- To find the lost,
- To heal the broken,
- To feed the hungry,
- To release the prisoner,
- To rebuild the nations,
- To bring peace among brothers,
- To make music in the heart.
In November, three members of the J&RR Team participated in a Racial Justice Pilgrimage to learn from the witness of the Black Church during the Civil Rights Movement and to be formed by their courage, suffering, and hope.
In the wake of immigration sweeps in Los Angeles that provoked protests, faith leaders from across Southern California gathered to hold a prayer vigil calling for peace and solidarity with immigrants. Listening in on a prayer from the vigil can help us hear the pain of this community and join with them in calling on God for justice, peace, and healing.
Here are some highlights from Troy's talk.
On May 21, Bethany Community Church hosted their annual speaker event on racial justice. Troy Jackson spoke on the intersection of faith, racial justice, and political engagement. We invite you to watch his talk, followed by a panel discussion featuring Christians from around the Seattle area who are living it out.
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