A gifted leader in evangelism and spiritual formation, Michelle Sanchez discovered that matters of racial equity and inclusion are also essential to healthy discipleship.
Michelle Sanchez always expected perfection. Growing up, that expectation guided her to great success. Yet God had a much greater plan for her in mind; a plan that required a journey of untangling her toxic pursuit of perfection from the racial dynamics of her past. Today that journey has led her to become a voice for change and fueled her passion for using discipleship to help heal racial inequalities and build a beautifully diverse and beloved community in a nation (and world) fractured by division and distrust.
Guest Bio:
Michelle T. Sanchez (MDiv, ThM) has served in various discipleship and evangelism leadership roles for more than a decade, most recently as executive minister of Make and Deepen Disciples for the Evangelical Covenant Church. She’s the author of a trilogy of books that provides Christ-centered racial discipleship for all ages: Color-Courageous Discipleship, Color-Courageous Discipleship Student Edition, and the picture book, God’s Beloved Community.
After studying international business at NYU, Michelle worked as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs and ministered to international students with Cru in New York City. She has served in various capacities with the Institute for Bible Reading and the Lausanne Movement. She is a frequent conference speaker, a regular columnist with Outreach Magazine, and a contributor to The Message: Women’s Devotional Bible (forthcoming).
Michelle completed seminary degrees at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, spiritual direction training at Boston College, and field studies on the life and times of Jesus at Jerusalem University College. She’s thoroughly enjoyed experiencing colorful cultures in 38 countries and territories worldwide—and counting! Michelle and her husband, Mickey, live with their two children in greater Chicago.
Notes & Quotes:
“Your coming to Jesus is just the beginning. He doesn’t invite us to make converts. He invites us to make disciples who can, in turn, eventually grow and make more disciples.”
“The reality is the Bible is full of references to ethnicity, to injustices related to ethnicity, the need to heal and to mend these things. It’s all over the Word of God, and it’s a vital need in our world today, but we don’t always see it.”
“The Lord created differences within us, ethnicity as a gift, as a source of joy and enrichment for humanity really, and to bring glory to himself. But the reality is that in a fallen world, things that were meant for good can become twisted. So our differences in a broken world tend to lead to disparities.”
“Beloved community is a phrase popularized by Martin Luther King … he wanted to see people both in a diverse community and an equal community, but one in which people are willing to lay down their lives for one another in the very love that God has shown to us.”
“When it comes to race and ethnicity, these are embodied concepts. These are embodied ideas, flesh ideas of the real flesh and blood. So, in order to transform or to have an awakening, what I have seen is it often involves some kind of real-life experience, with real-life people, in actual geographic places, so that we can see, we can experience, so we can understand.”
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