Reconciliation Blues: A Black Evangelical's Inside View of White Christianity

Journalist Edward Gilbreath gives an insightful, honest picture of both the history and the present state of racial reconciliation in evangelical churches. He looks at a wide range of figures, such as Howard O. Jones, Tom Skinner, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Jesse Jackson and John Perkins.

Charting progress as well as setbacks, his words offer encouragement for black evangelicals feeling alone, clarity for white evangelicals who want to understand more deeply, and fresh vision for all who want to move forward toward Christ's prayer "that all of them may be one."

Despite political strides toward racial reconciliation since 1964, many blacks feel that nothing has really changed since Jim Crow days. Some also worry that the church which should be leading efforts in racial reconciliation is one of the worst offenders in fostering racial division. Gilbreath, an editor-at-large for Christianity Today, offers a poignant and often humorous look at the state of racial reconciliation within evangelical Christianity specifically. Part memoir and part history of the struggle, Gilbreath chronicles his own faltering attempts as a young man to deal with this issue. His own life changed when he read Tom Skinner's 1968 autobiography, Black and Free. Skinner, an evangelical Christian convert who had once been a gang leader in Harlem, helped Gilbreath see how he could reconcile his evangelical identity with the church's dysfunctional approaches to race and social justice. Gilbreath now believes that he can no longer walk away from conversations about race and his own racial identity in a mostly white evangelical church. Regrettably, the book ends with the passive notion that no matter how much we strive to bring about racial reconciliation, we must trust God to bring about change. In spite of this disappointing conclusion, Gilbreath's recovery of Tom Skinner's work is worth the price of the book. (Dec.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Average Rating:

1 of 1 Reviews Showing:

Reviewed by Russell Thomas (Memphis, TN), September 06, 2007

Great book so far. Provocative, humorous and right on the money in many of his observations. Important topic, particularly at this time for Christian leadership in the U.S.A.

Write a review of Reconciliation Blues: A Black Evangelical's Inside View of White Christianity

• Academic >> Church History >> American Religious History >> African American
• Books >> Church & Pastoral >> Ecumenical & Multicultural Ministry
• Books >> Church History >> American Religious History >> African American
• Church & Pastoral >> Ecumenical & Multicultural Ministry
• Start A New Christianbook.com Search

I'm the author/artist and I want to review Reconciliation Blues: A Black Evangelical's Inside View of White Christianity.