Book Review

BIOGRAPHICAL ENTRY

Jones, L. Gregory, Musekura, Celestin, Forgiving As We’ve Been Forgiven, Downers Grove, Ill, InterVarsity Press Books, 2010, 139.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF AUTHOR

L. Gregory Jones (Ph.D., Duke University) is vice president and vice provost for global strategy and programs at duke University in Durham, North Carolina. He previously served as dean of Duke Divinity School. He also serves as president of leadership education at Duke Divinity, and as professor of theology. His books include Embodying Forgiveness, Transformed Judgment and Resurrecting Excellence.

Celestin Musekura (Ph.D., Dallas Theological Seminary) is president and founder of African Leadership and Reconciliation Ministries (ALARM, Inc.). ALARM is a ministry with African national staff training church and community leaders across East and central Africa in leadership, conflict resolution, forgiveness and tribal reconciliation. He spent six years pasturing in Rwanda and serving in administration with the Association des Eglises Baptistes au Rwanda. He cofounded the Sudan Evangelical Alliance to help the persecuted churches in southern Sudan unite in their suffering and in outreach to their nation. He is the author of An Assessment of Contemporary Models of Forgiveness.

SUMMARY OF CONTENTS

Introduction, Before We Get Started: In this introduction of the book, the authors L. Gregory Jones and Celestin Musekura introduce themselves, and they tell us about the purpose of this book on forgiveness.

Chapter 1, The Heart of the Gospel: In chapter 1 author Celestin Musekura gives a brief overview of the genocide between April and July in 1994 that took place in Rwanda. Musekura notes that his family and community are murdered during this crisis. He learns through these experiences that the heart of the Gospel is forgiveness and reconciliation instead of revenge. He cites 2 Corinthians 5:18, 19 as the message of reconciliation. Forgiveness involves not only personal forgiveness of our sins by God. It also includes members of hostile groups joining together as one new community of people who receive and forgive unconditionally. Forgiving others and receiving forgiveness is possible only through Jesus Christ.

Chapter 2, The Dance of Forgiveness: In chapter 2 author L. Gregory Jones states that forgiveness is the ministry of the church for reconciliation through Christ. Reconciliation is often limited to seeking counsel and finding ways to move on without really resolving the conflict. Jones describes forgiveness as a dance. The dance teacher knows the steps in the dance and teaches them to his student by dancing with her. He gives six steps in the dance: truth telling; acknowledging anger; concern for others; recognizing, remembering, repentance; commitment to change; hope for the future. Forgiving is a struggle and we must practice the steps with Jesus who is our teacher in forgiving and reconciling the conflicts that prevent relationships and communities.

Chapter 3, Putting On Christ: In chapter 3 author Musekura shows us that forgiveness is not a matter of intelligence and skill. Forgiveness is a gift that we receive from Christ. Forgiveness makes us new; gives us a new appearance to others; causes us to renounce behaviors that divide community and develop virtues that build community. Our wounded hearts that harbor hatred for others, for God, and for us need healing. Our wounded minds must be renewed and refocus from the things of the world to the things of Christ. A new mind leads to new actions. Toxic thoughts and bitter hearts cause us to hurt others; even members of our own families.

Chapter 4, Healing the Wounds of Memory: In chapter 4, author Jones states that we know by experience how our memories are compromised by sin. Remembering and forgetting is not a matter of choice. They are capacities within us that need to be redeemed, together with the whole creation. Learning to forgive requires that we remember. Our memories of past events may haunt us for the rest of our lives even when we were not guilty of the abuse and trauma done by others. Christ redeems our past. He does not undo it. Having new life in Christ enables us to bear the memory of past events, and eventually we forgive and forget traumas that haunt our lives.

Chapter 5, Communities of Forgiveness: In chapter 5 author Musekura writes to inform us of the need for forgiveness to move beyond individual conflicts to conflicts in communities and between communities. The violent atrocities and violence in Africa and around the world signal to us that a new community must rise up in the world. There must be forgiveness or we will become nonexistent. The community that Jesus prays for in John 17 is a people called to a new community; not to be removed but to live in the old community to be a light, that is to be a witness to make Jesus known. They are sent into their old community in which they must deal with the harsh realities of their community. They suffer because of their identity with Christ (John 17:14). The various Christian communities in the world must be reconciled together with Christ. Hutu and Tutsi church leaders have forgiven each other and they work together and are serving as communities of forgiveness that are contributing to the restoration of broken relationships but also to peaceful and prosperous community.

CRITICAL EVALUATION

The authors of this book have written a well coordinated book on forgiveness and reconciliation. The book consists of five chapters with each author writing every other chapter. They tell of their own work and experience and show us how the writing of the other author informs their own writing. Jones writes from an academia perspective. Musekura writes from a practical perspective that is mainly concerned about the conflict in Rwanda between the Hutu and Tutsi communities. Jones shows us the need for pastors and other church leaders to be trained in forgiveness and reconciliation. I believe that a lot of individual problems and conflicts within the congregation can reach a place in which God is pleased with their lives. The emphases of our worship will change and our attention to fellowship will become a more focused point in the membership.

When the church begins to place emphasis on forgiveness and reconciliation it will become a light to the world demonstrating that forgiveness and reconciliation is possible. Jesus came into the world to forgive sins and to reconcile people to God. This is the message that should be communicated in the church so that the church can communicate and demonstrate to the world God’s way of peace and community.

I recommend this book to all church pastors and Christian leaders as well as lay persons. It is hoped that the church will become the light that the world can see. It has helped me to reflect on incidents in my life and I believe it will do the same for others.