Bibliography -- "This is a list of books that have been helpful to me in the work of creating a set of resources to respond to political polarization. I’ve highlighted the books that were most useful." - Dr. Matt Cook
*** We are offering a FREE Beta Test to about twelve congregations that want to assess their “polarization risk.” It’s an online tool where you have people from your church log on and take a questionnaire. After they complete the individual questionnaire, they receive an individual score but when everyone in your assessment group has completed their individual assessments, a congregational report is generated that we’ll cover in a one hour zoom meeting (the link below is to a sample copy of the congregational assessment report). If anyone is interested. they can e-mail us at info@chchurches.org. When people sign up, we’ll be calling them and talking them through it, so basically I’d say if you’re interested then send us an e-mail and we’ll take it from there. There is also more information on our website at R12 – The Church Responds to Polarization - The Center for Healthy Churches & PneuMatrix (chchurches.org) ***
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How much political polarization are you experiencing in your congregation?
How equipped do you feel to respond to polarization?
How do you balance the need to love everyone with the need to speak the truth?
How do you balance the need to speak the truth with a sense of appropriate humility?
Join us as we learn from Dr. Matt Cook and discuss possible answers to these questions as we respond to increasing polarization AND how to keep from vilifying the people who we feel are irrational, erratic, or even preposterous.
Dr. Matt Cook is the Director of the Center for Healthy Churches, a nationwide consulting/coaching organization for congregations. Before coming to the Center, he served as a Pastor for twenty years in churches in Texas, Arkansas, and North Carolina. He has a Ph.D. in American Religious History and has taught at Belmont University, Baylor University, and Central Seminary. His current focus of research and development is on equipping ministers and congregations to respond to political and cultural polarization.
