Journal of European Baptist Studies, 2017

e refugee crisis and the seemingly large influx of migrants has spurred a debate on what it means to be British, European, Dutch, German, or Swedish, and whether there is a place for multiculturalism in our societies. This debate has not bypassed the church. In this book, the author draws on both his experience as a pastor and on his doctoral research. Patten starts by laying a foundation from the Old and New Testaments, showing that God’s people were multicultural communities; that God’s intention was never for a mono-ethnic community but one that would embrace the diversity of the nations. He then discusses the concept of multiculturalism and contrasts it with the idea of assimilation, especially when dealing with migrants. He draws on the work of Lord Bhikhu Parekh, the British political philosopher who states that identity is three dimensional - personal, social, and human, stating that these three identities ‘are inseparable and flow into each other’. Grasping this enables local churches to celebrate the uniqueness of individuals and yet build on all that binds us together in a common humanity. Patten then addresses the difficult issues of overcoming prejudices and of racism. He expands social psychologist Gordon Allport’s four conditions necessary to overcome racism and looks at the implications for the local church. Finally, he looks at the implications of multiculturalism in four dimensions of the church - approaches to worship, pastoral challenges, developing diverse leadership teams, and missions. Each chapter is filled with practical advice and suggestions. This is an extremely valuable resource for any pastor facing the challenges of leading a multicultural congregation. If there is one weakness in the book, it is that Patten does not discuss the different types of multicultural congregations, though he refers to them throughout. Early in the book, in the definition section, he does differentiate between multicultural, multiracial, and multiethnic churches, and later he refers to the possibility of hosting an expatriate congregation. While there are overlaps, migrant churches, ethnic churches, international churches, multicultural churches, and multiracial churches have their distinctives, and a discussion of these would have been helpful. The book is grounded in a proper understanding of the biblical narrative and in good theology. It is a timely contribution to understanding how a pluralistic society is impacting the church. Reviewed by Rupen Das Book Reviews 79 Homiletical Theology in Action: The Unfinished Theological Task of Preaching, ed. by David Schnasa Jacobsen (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2015), 202 pages. ISBN: 978-1498207836. This is a book not so much about the theology of preaching but more about the way in which theological understandings shape what preachers do, particularly as they engage in the process of preparing sermons. It consists of a series of chapters