Social Justice Handbook: Small Steps for a Better World

Every day we are confronted by challenging societal problems, from poverty and institutional racism to AIDS and homelessness. It can all seem so overwhelming. But while none of us can do everything, all of us can do something. This handbook will help you discover what you can do.

Mae Elise Cannon provides a comprehensive resource for Christians like you who are committed to social justice. She presents biblical rationale for justice and explains a variety of Christian approaches to doing justice. Tracing the history of Christians in social engagement, she lifts out role models and examples from the Great Awakenings to the civil rights movement. A wide-ranging catalog of topics and issues give background info about justice issues at home and abroad, such as sex trafficking, domestic violence, living wage initiatives, debt relief, environmental stewardship, bioethics, and much, much more.

This handbook includes dozens of practical exercises for taking action, as well as profiles of key figures and movements like William Wilberforce, the Salvation Army and Bono, highlighting how Christians and churches can make a difference. Also included are spiritual practices and resources to help us move from immobility to advocacy.

God has always worked through his people to accomplish improbable tasks, and he can use you too. This handbook will be an essential companion for living justly, loving mercy and walking humbly with your God.

About the author

Mae Elise Cannon serves as senior director of advocacy and outreach - Middle East for World Vision USA. She is a minister, writer and academic who cares deeply about God's heart for the poor and the oppressed. She is the author of Social Justice Handbook: Small Steps for a Better World (IVP, 2009) and Just Spirituality: How Faith Practices Fuel Social Action (IVP, 2013). Cannon is an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC), was formerly the executive pastor of Hillside Covenant Church in Walnut Creek, California, and has served as director of development and transformation for extension ministries at Willow Creek Community Church in Barrington, Illinois.

Prior to joining World Vision, Mae lived in East Jerusalem and served as a consultant to the Middle East for child advocacy issues for Compassion International. Cannon holds an M.Div. From North Park Theological Seminary, an M.B.A. from North Park University's School of Business and Nonprofit Management, and an M.A. in bioethics from Trinity International University. She is now a doctoral candidate in American History with a minor in Middle Eastern studies at the University of California - Davis, focusing her dissertation on the history of the American Protestant church in Israel and Palestine.