Abstract
Aaron Wessman’s The Church’s Mission in a Polarized World offers a timely examination of what missional Christian engagement can look like in today’s polarized American culture. His focus is not on specific political arguments but rather on the wider spiritual and missional effects of polarization on Christians.
Wessman begins by outlining historical, behavioral, and sociological factors that contribute to polarization in Chapters 1-2. Chapter 3 draws from the Nicene Creed to remind readers of the church’s identity and mission. In Chapter 4, Wessman critiques the “culture war” metaphor as a case study of the effects of polarizing rhetoric. Wessman then explores healthy ways forward, with Chapters 5-7 outlining Christlike responses to a political or cultural “other.”
Throughout the book, Wessman emphasizes Jesus’s willingness to sacrificially “cross over” and meet human beings at their point of need. Wessman argues that by imitating Christ and “crossing over” political or cultural differences to engage compassionately with others, Christians can rise above polarization and participate in God’s “salvific encounters” with humanity. Wessman is hardly naive about the potential costs of “crossing over,” as some of his examples make clear, but his overall tone remains refreshingly pastoral and hopeful.
It is especially helpful that The Church’s Mission in a Polarized World brings a distinctly Catholic voice to contemporary conversations about American polarization. Wessman thus complements a wider popular focus on polarization within American Evangelical congregations. As he explains, American Catholic congregations have also felt the effects of polarizing rhetoric, and helpful examples of Christian responses to polarization exist within both Catholic and Protestant missionary history as well as present-day ministries. Wessman’s ecumenical approach itself crosses over confessional differences, making his book meaningful to a wide range of readers.
In addition, Wessman emphasizes the spiritual dimensions of polarization, reminding readers to prayerfully consider their own personal reactions to the “other” in order to understand how they have been affected by polarization. His tone is honest and self-effacing, which encourages readers to cultivate similar self-awareness. The Church’s Mission in a Polarized World thus functions in part as an examination of conscience for Christians living in polarized times, which makes it a helpful resource for lay Christians and church leaders.
The Church’s Mission in a Polarized World will prove valuable for students, seminarians, and educated lay readers seeking to understand the effects of polarization on American Christians or to describe healthy Christian responses to deep cultural divisions.