Over the last month I’ve read ten recently published books. My March list of recommended reads features one book published in 2020 and nine published in 2021.
- (5.0) The Black Church: This is Our Story, This is Our Song by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (Penguin Press, 2021)
- (4.5) A Rhythm of Prayer: A Collection of Meditations for Renewal edited by Sarah Bessey (Convergent, 2021)
- (4.5) Good Apple: Tales of a Southern Evangelical in New York by Elizabeth Passarella (Nelson Books, 2021)
- (4.5) Broke in America: Seeing, Understanding, and Ending U.S. Poverty by Joanne Goldblum and Colleen Shaddox (BenBella Books, 2021)
- (4.0) Let the Lord Sort Them: The Rise and Fall of the Death Penalty by Maurice Chammah (Crown, 2021)
- (4.0) Lent in Plain Sight: A Devotion Through Ten Objects by Jill J. Duffield (Westminster John Knox Press, 2020)
- (4.0) Disability and the Church: A Vision for Diversity and Inclusion by Lamar Hardwick (IVP, 2021)
- (4.0) Healing Haunted Histories: A Settler Discipleship of Decolonization by Elaine Enns and Ched Meyers (Cascade Books, 2021
- (3.0) Adulting for Jesus: A Book About Purpose, Trusting God & (Obviously) Burritos by Kristin Weber (David C. Cook, 2021)
- (2.0) 100 Bible Verses That Made America: Defining Moments That Shaped Our Enduring Foundation of Faith by Robert J. Morgan (W Publishing Group, 2021)
The Black Church
While I continue to think I received a solid seminary education, I’m increasingly aware it did not provide a robust history of the Black Church in America. Reading Henry Louis Gates, Jr.’s new book, The Black Church: This is Our Story, This is Our Song, was a learning experience unlike any other I’ve had in recent years. And, it is one I strongly recommend to any and every follower of the Way of Jesus. (If you are not yet ready to procure and read a copy, I’d encourage you to begin by viewing the accompanying PBS documentary miniseries.)
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and serves as Director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University. He is the author or co-author of twenty-five books, and has created twenty-three documentary films.