The divided mind of the Black church : theology, piety, and public witness /

Warnock offers an incisive analysis of the divisions between black churches and pastors over the central mission of the church: whether it is personal piety or public witness. Recent years have seen a rising tide of black clergy and churches influenced by movements that emphasize personal piety, which include conservative evangelicalism, biblical fundamentalism, and the prosperity gospel. Warnock counters this trend with his analysis of both historic and recent developments that emphasize the resistance and liberationist traditions of the black church. For him, the choice is not between piety and protest, but instead a combination of piety and protest. As the pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Warnock offers, as his prime example of this combination, Martin Luther King Jr. King's personal piety provided the motivation for this public witness in protest movements. Warnock calls for a dialogue and partnership between black pastors, black theologians, and womanist theologians. He believes that the different sides need to move from their comfort zones to hear about and learn from the realities of serving black communities. His vision is for "the flowering of a self-critical black liberationist community." Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through researchers/faculty. L. H. Mamiya Vassar College

Concisely and clearly, Warnock describes the status of black theology from his position in the pulpit of Ebenezer Baptist Church, Martin Luther King Jr.'s historic church in Atlanta, where the author serves as senior pastor. He traces the evolution of black theology in reaction to and in spite of marginalization from white mainstream Protestant denominations. Warnock writes that a truly unified black church would embrace the more radical tenets of King's philosophy by working on behalf of social justice and the core identity of the black church, which he sees centered on liberation. Estimating that at least 70% of the black church is comprised of black women, Warnock also critiques womanist theology as elite, arguing also that its view of sacrifice and the cross is too limiting. The book reads as an altar call to action that honors the liberationist roots of a global church community, regardless of race or gender. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.