David Swanson

David W. Swanson is the founding pastor of New Community Covenant Church and lives with his family on the South Side of Chicago. He is the founder and CEO of New Community Outreach, a non-profit organization dedicated to healing community trauma through restorative practices. David is the author of Rediscipling the White Church: From Cheap Diversity to True Solidarity and Plundered: The Tangled Roots of Racial and Environmental Injustice. Connect with David at his website.

Latest Articles

Featured image for “Faithful Mission Through The Chaos (Part 2)”
David Swanson

Faithful Mission Through The Chaos (Part 2)

Featured image for “Faithful Mission Through The Chaos (Part 1)”
David Swanson

Faithful Mission Through The Chaos (Part 1)

Featured image for “Sexism in the Church Decreases Missional Effectiveness”
Heather Matthews

Sexism in the Church Decreases Missional Effectiveness

Featured image for “Biblical Justice Includes Justice for Women”
Heather Matthews

Biblical Justice Includes Justice for Women

Featured image for “Reconciling to Place”
David Swanson

Reconciling to Place

Featured image for “Listening to Black Voices Experiencing Oppression”
Dennis R. Edwards

Listening to Black Voices Experiencing Oppression

Featured image for “Every Bombed Village Is My Hometown”
Todd Deatherage

Every Bombed Village Is My Hometown

Featured image for “Listening to Black Voices Experiencing Oppression”
Dennis R. Edwards

Listening to Black Voices Experiencing Oppression

Featured image for “The Blessing of Discomfort: A Global Church Perspective”
Ruth Padilla DeBorst

The Blessing of Discomfort: A Global Church Perspective

Featured image for “I Need A Good Shout!”
Natasha Sistrunk Robinson

I Need A Good Shout!

Featured image for “2023: A Year In Review”
Missio Alliance

2023: A Year In Review

Featured image for “Advent: The Nexus of Humility, Justice, and Joy”
Dennis R. Edwards

Advent: The Nexus of Humility, Justice, and Joy

Featured image for “Hungry People and Full People”
Oneya Okuwobi

Hungry People and Full People

Featured image for “Dr. King Shines a Light Forward for Justice Work Today (‘I Have A Dream’ 60th Anniversary Version)”
Michelle Ferrigno Warren

Dr. King Shines a Light Forward for Justice Work Today (‘I Have A Dream’ 60th Anniversary Version)

Featured image for “Origin Stories Matter: On Juneteenth”
Natasha Sistrunk Robinson

Origin Stories Matter: On Juneteenth

Featured image for “Dr. King Shines a Light Forward for Justice Work Today”
Michelle Ferrigno Warren

Dr. King Shines a Light Forward for Justice Work Today

Featured image for “Wait for Each Other: Receiving One Another As Siblings in Christ (Pt. 2)”
Dennis R. Edwards

Wait for Each Other: Receiving One Another As Siblings in Christ (Pt. 2)

Featured image for “Wait for Each Other: Disrupting the Status Quo for the Sake of Solidarity (Pt. 1)”
Dennis R. Edwards

Wait for Each Other: Disrupting the Status Quo for the Sake of Solidarity (Pt. 1)

Featured image for “Truth-Telling: An Integrated Engagement With Our Differentiated Self (More Than Words, Pt. 2)”
Sahr Mbriwa

Truth-Telling: An Integrated Engagement With Our Differentiated Self (More Than Words, Pt. 2)

Featured image for “Truth-Telling: A Just Movement Toward Human Flourishing (More Than Words, Pt. 1)”
Sahr Mbriwa

Truth-Telling: A Just Movement Toward Human Flourishing (More Than Words, Pt. 1)

Featured image for “The Pursuit of Justice Through Proximity, Advocacy, and Faith-Rooted Activism”
Michelle Ferrigno Warren

The Pursuit of Justice Through Proximity, Advocacy, and Faith-Rooted Activism

Featured image for “How Our Ignorance Slows Racial Justice and What We Can Do About It”
Derek Vreeland

How Our Ignorance Slows Racial Justice and What We Can Do About It

Featured image for “Contemplative Spirituality Provides a Trauma-Informed Approach to Growing Healthier Churches”
Juliet Liu

Contemplative Spirituality Provides a Trauma-Informed Approach to Growing Healthier Churches

Featured image for “Is the Church Creating a Fragmented Spirituality in Emerging Adults?”
Steve Noble

Is the Church Creating a Fragmented Spirituality in Emerging Adults?

Featured image for “Top 10 Articles of 2021”
Chris Morton

Top 10 Articles of 2021

Featured image for “What Will Keep Us from Building a Church in the Ruins?”
Kyuboem Lee

What Will Keep Us from Building a Church in the Ruins?

Featured image for “Rejecting the Lie that Life Has to Be This Way”
Donnell Wyche

Rejecting the Lie that Life Has to Be This Way

Featured image for “Finding a Home in the Brown Church: A One-Year Retrospective”
Robert Chao Romero

Finding a Home in the Brown Church: A One-Year Retrospective

Featured image for “A Verdict to Both Lament and Praise”
David Swanson

A Verdict to Both Lament and Praise

Featured image for “Why Do White Christians Remain Silent?”
Derek Vreeland

Why Do White Christians Remain Silent?

Featured image for “Ten Characteristics of Biblical Justice”
David Swanson

Ten Characteristics of Biblical Justice

Featured image for “Looking Back, Looking Ahead: Part 2”
Rose Lee-Norman

Jon Houghton

Looking Back, Looking Ahead: Part 2

Featured image for “The 2020 <em>Ezer</em> Surge”
Carolyn Custis James

The 2020 Ezer Surge

Featured image for “Five Steps to Marathon Together in Peacemaking and Justice Seeking”
Fred Liggin

Five Steps to Marathon Together in Peacemaking and Justice Seeking

Featured image for “A Moment or a Movement?”
David Swanson

A Moment or a Movement?

Featured image for “The Pure and Undefiled Job Description of the Christian”
Vince Bantu

The Pure and Undefiled Job Description of the Christian

Featured image for “Free-ish: the Here-but-Not-Yet Reality of Racial Justice”
Rich Villodas

Free-ish: the Here-but-Not-Yet Reality of Racial Justice

Featured image for “Forgiveness is Free…But Repentance Comes With a Cost”
Leeann Younger

Forgiveness is Free…But Repentance Comes With a Cost

Featured image for ““Pastor, Can’t We Just Preach The Gospel?””
Andrew Arndt

“Pastor, Can’t We Just Preach The Gospel?”

Featured image for “A Prayer of Lament for These Troubled Times”
Rich Villodas

A Prayer of Lament for These Troubled Times

Featured image for “A Word for the Exhausted”
Montague Williams

A Word for the Exhausted

Featured image for “Terrible Truths for the Church to Face”
David Swanson

Terrible Truths for the Church to Face

Featured image for “Eight Black Church Leaders on Ahmaud Arbery Injustice”
Gena Thomas

Eight Black Church Leaders on Ahmaud Arbery Injustice

Featured image for “Tremble this Advent”
David Swanson

Tremble this Advent

Featured image for “The Church’s Complicity in Mass Incarceration”
Dominique Gilliard

The Church’s Complicity in Mass Incarceration

Featured image for “Becoming a Just Church”
Adam Gustine

Becoming a Just Church

Featured image for “Immigrants Under Attack: Five Ways the Church Can Respond”
David Swanson

Immigrants Under Attack: Five Ways the Church Can Respond

Featured image for “Addressing the Elephant in the Church: Seven Necessary Components of Integrated Discipleship”
Derek Vreeland

Addressing the Elephant in the Church: Seven Necessary Components of Integrated Discipleship

Featured image for “Thinking Differently About Rest: What Communities of Color Can Teach the Church”
Christine Yi Suh

Thinking Differently About Rest: What Communities of Color Can Teach the Church

Featured image for “Church, Today We Need Dr. King’s Vision of Justice”
Derek Vreeland

Church, Today We Need Dr. King’s Vision of Justice

Featured image for “Racism and The Dying American Church”
Joy Craun

Racism and The Dying American Church

Featured image for “This Advent, Let the Gospel of Luke Reawaken Your Hope”
Lesa Engelthaler

This Advent, Let the Gospel of Luke Reawaken Your Hope

Featured image for “Caring for Orphans Globally: How Can the Church in the West Do Better?”
INFEMIT

Caring for Orphans Globally: How Can the Church in the West Do Better?

Featured image for “Whatever You Do, Do Not “Just Do It””
Greg McKinzie

Whatever You Do, Do Not “Just Do It”

Featured image for “4 Practices for Discipling Kids Who Live Justly”
Tony Caldwell

4 Practices for Discipling Kids Who Live Justly

Featured image for “Take a Knee for the Children”
Carolyn Custis James

Take a Knee for the Children

Featured image for “The Fourth of July: Four Perspectives on Celebrating”
Rich Villodas

The Fourth of July: Four Perspectives on Celebrating

Featured image for “Pretending Power Dynamics Don’t Exist Can Be Just as Dangerous As Abusing Power”
Adam Gustine

Pretending Power Dynamics Don’t Exist Can Be Just as Dangerous As Abusing Power

Featured image for “5 Ways Your Predominantly White Church Can Work for Racial Justice and Reconciliation”
Rich Villodas

5 Ways Your Predominantly White Church Can Work for Racial Justice and Reconciliation

Featured image for “Shall We Go Be Among The Oppressed? James Cone’s, “The Cross and the Lynching Tree” (Part 2)”
David Fitch

Shall We Go Be Among The Oppressed? James Cone’s, “The Cross and the Lynching Tree” (Part 2)