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His brother died in his arms, shot by a deputy marshal. He was beaten and tortured by the sheriff and state police. But through it all he returned good for evil, love for hate, progress for prejudice and brought hope to black and white alike. The story of John Perkins is no ordinary story. Rather, it is a gripping portrayal of what happens when faith thrusts a person into the midst of a struggle against racism, oppression and injustice. It is about the costs of discipleship--the jailings, the floggings, the despair, the sacrifice. And it is about the transforming work of faith that allowed John to respond to such overwhelming indignities with miraculous compassion, vision and hope.
Format: Hardcover
Number of Pages: 224
Vendor: Regal Books
Publication Date: 2006
| Dimensions: 8.5 X 5.5 (inches)
ISBN: 0830743073
ISBN-13: 9780830743070
Availability: In Stock
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His brother died in his arms, shot by a deputy marshall. He was beaten and tortured by the sheriff and state police. But through it all he returned good for evil, love for hate, progress for prejudice and brought hope to black and white alike. The story of John Perkins is no ordinary story. Rather, it is a gripping portrayal of what happens when faith thrusts a person into the midst of a struggle against racism, oppression and injustice. It is about the costs of discipleship—the jailings, the floggings, the despair, the sacrifice. And it is about the transforming work of faith that allowed John to respond to such overwhelming indignities with miraculous compassion, vision and hope.
John Perkins has ministered among the poor for 40 years. He founded Mendenhall Ministries, Voice of Calvary Ministries and the Harambee Christian Family Center and Preparatory School and was cofounder of the Christian Community Development Association. He was the publisher of Urban Family Magazine and author of nine books. Despite dropping out of school after the third grade, he holds 8 honorary doctorates recognizing his outstanding leadership in racial reconciliation and Christian community development. He and his wife Vera Mae live in Mississippi.
Obviously, if I had no use for the black Church, I could hardly even imagine something called a "white Christian." It was totally impossible for me to imagine that the white Church, the private club of the oppressors, had anything to do with reality and justice. Prejudice, of course, knows no boundaries; it can be found anywhere (p. 63).
And John Perkins knew a lot about prejudice. After serving in World War II, his oldest brother was murdered by a white deputy marshal in Mississippi, because he was talking too loudly with his girlfriend while waiting for a movie to begin. Perkins grew up in a bootlegging broken home, raised by his grandmother and aunt. His father abandoned him. White employers cheated him. The Church, both white and black, disappointed him.
Then he met Jesus!
He tells his story in the reissuing of the Civil Rights classic, Let Justice Roll Down. During his time in Korea, he applied himself to the education he never found interesting or important growing up. When he moved to California and married his sweetheart, Vera Mae, Perkins learned about economics. He began searching for something to fulfill his life beyond money. After seeing the powerful changes that God was working in his young son, Spencer, Perkins came to Christ.
I could see something was developing in him that was beautiful, something I knew nothing about. I'd had no real experience before of seeing Christianity at work like that in a person's life--at work in a way that was beautiful...and good (p. 66).
He and Vera Mae threw themselves into a variety of Christian ministries which brought him into contact with Christians of various races.
In those workshops I found something I never expected besides the Bible learning. I met white Christians. It's hard to describe how odd, how different that whole experience was for me. Not just white church members, but white Christians--people who said that God had actually changed their lives (p. 73).
Then God required something extraordinarily hard of them--return to Mississippi. Neither of them wanted to, but it was especially hard for Vera Mae to go back to the racism, poverty, and ignorance of the area. However, they did!
Yielding to God's will can be hard. And sometimes, it really hurts. But it always brings peace (p. 82).
There, they took their ministry to a whole new realm.
Still, I decided that if something was right, I would do it as a command from God and not be scared out because some non-Christians also thought it was right (p. 107).
They started with child evangelism, moved into adult teaching, started health care facilities and a church, a cooperative, and a voter registration drive.
We rode in fear. We registered in fear. And we voted in fear. Those black voting lists were carved out in fear (p. 192).
During the tumultuous sixties and seventies, Perkins tried to reach out to the white community to encourage it to embrace justice for all. Though he found a few concerned and willing, he found the majority hostile. His efforts earned him a severe beating by the sheriff and highway patrol and a sentence to prison. As he fought the unjust legal system, he experienced bitterness, injustice, and God's hand of love opening to him in a new way.
I wouldn't have expected most good Americans of that day to believe that such things--like what happened to us at Brandon--still happened in this country. I wouldn't expect them to believe how the police and the Highway Patrol had that thing planned (Perkins' ambush and beating nearly to death) and how those people acted. Whites would probably have said, "It's almost too much to believe. Who would be so stupid as to beat someone like that in a jail?"
And most white Christians would not have wanted to believe this either. Instead, they would have closed their eyes to it. Why? Because if a white person minded his own business, he went up the ladder. He didn't get in trouble. So he figured that a black guy who got in trouble just wasn't obeying the law. (Thirty years later, too many still think this way.) (p. 167).
Let Justice Roll Down is well-written and fascinating. If it had not been re-released by Regal, many of us would have missed this call for justice. Perkins not only tells an absorbing story, he describes a moment in history that many of us are not familiar with. One of the greatest values in the book is his analysis of the sin of racism, its causes, cures, and of our absence in the fight.
But there were, and always will be, human emotions. Such as sadness at seeing those that I knew as brothers in Christ insist on a Sunday religion that didn't sharpen their sense of justice during those years of turmoil. It wasn't a question of what "team" to join. In terms of social justice, evangelicals just didn't have a team on the field (p. 107).
Perkins teaches his heartfelt message of justice through his gift as a storyteller. His résumé includes accomplishments enough for any six other men as a founder of Mendenhall Ministries, Voice of Calvary Ministries, and the Harambee Christian Family Center and Preparatory School, publisher, author, counselor of at least one president, and member or numerous other boards. He has applied his abundant energy and zeal to teaching on racial reconciliation and preaching the Word of God.
His analysis includes a recognition of racism as sin that anyone may be guilty of. His explanations promote understanding of what those fighting for social justice want and of what those most opposed to social justice fear. His understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the movement, of the society, and of human nature bridges the gap for those at various points on the circumference of the issue. It also shows how by avoiding the hard truths of scripture, the Church gave up its potential influence to radicals-- a lesson for us on many other issues. And how by loving one another as the Lord commands, we can bring healing.
May this new release of this must-read book bridge the gap between races and continue John Perkins' ministry to all people for the Kingdom of God. – Debbie W. Wilson, Christian Book Previews.com
Average Rating: 5 out of 5 stars(5 out of 5 stars)
2 of 2 Reviews Showing: 5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by mark e hund (Beaumont,TX), July 12, 2008 This is one of the best book's I have ever read.A friend gave me a singed copy, its hard to tell people how it made me feel when I finished the book.The injustice he had to face and yet feel compassion for those people is a testament to his trust in Jesus Christ. 5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Sarah (Boston MA), November 21, 2006 I think this book has stood the test of time. The 30th anniversary reprint is great. I think this is a book that was truly before its time. I love the 3 R's (Reconciliation, Relocation, and Redistribution). I love the postscript by his daughter, Elizabeth which tells us that the work of Christian Community development will continue for generations to come.
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