In God’s Good Image: How Jesus Dignifies, Shapes, and Confronts Our Cultural Identities

Cultural identity matters--to us and to Jesus.

Culture--that nebulous and easily tossed-around term--is all around us. Nothing we think, do, or say is outside of it. For people of faith, experiences around cultural identity can lead to confusion and conflict, hurt and harm, even as we seek to follow Christ together.
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But the story of God is clear: We are all made in God’s good image, and God’s people are meant to be a diverse community. No matter where you come from and no matter how complex our cultural narratives, the Scriptures point to the One who embodied a particular identity--of a Jewish man in first-century Palestine--in order to shape our own. God dignifies our culture and wants us to shape it to look more like Jesus.
Looking to the example of Jesus, author J. W. Buck offers practical insights into how cultural identity fits into our walk as Christians. Jesus teaches those formed by majority culture to humbly embrace their own identity as they foster space for others. And he empowers those from minority cultures to resist unhealthy assimilation pressures and live into their God-given identity. We are meant to be like Jesus in our home culture, in our heart language, and throughout our collective journey to understand how our diversity of cultures points us to a better expression of God’s good image.

J. W. Buck is a church planter, filmmaker, teacher, and faith-based entrepreneur. He has a BA in biblical studies, an MA in ministry, and a PhD in intercultural studies. His doctoral work focuses on the problem of racial violence. In 2010, Buck planted a church in Los Angeles called Antioch City Church. In 2019, he helped start a Jesus-centered organization called Pax, where he serves as cofounder and executive director. Buck is the author of Everyday Activism: Following 7 Practices of Jesus to Create a Just World (Baker, 2022). He is married to Sarswatie and father to Aahana, Anaia, and Azariah. They live in Tucson, Arizona.