How Christian Faith Is Flourishing in an Urban World

In Stay in the City Gornik and Liu Wong look at what is happening in the urban church—and what Christians everywhere can learn from it. We live in an urban age. To a degree unprecedented in human history, most of the world’s people live in cities. Once viewed suspiciously for their worldly temptations and vices, cities are increasingly becoming centers of vibrant Christian faith. It is thus vital, say Mark Gornik and Maria Liu Wong, for Christians to think constructively about how to live out their faith in an urban setting.

Writing from their experience living and working in New York City, Gornik and Liu Wong invite readers everywhere to join together in creating a more flourishing—and faith-filled—urban world.

Reviews and endorsements of the publication include:

“If you need encouragement about the vibrant future of the church or if you are looking for a place to start in reflecting on Christian faithfulness in the city, this little book is a great resource. In an accessible and engaging way, the authors communicate the energy, passion, and creativity that is alive in urban congregations. Highly recommended!”— Christine D. Pohl, Asbury Theological Seminary

“I love the holistic vision of Stay in the City. Mark Gornik and Maria Liu Wong challenge us to see the amazing ways God’s at work in the city through every language, culture, and people. This is a great practical resource for individuals and groups to follow Jesus through our day jobs, our friendships, our art, our children, and even our churches.”— Kathy Tuan-MacLean, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship

“Cities are now hip and cool, drawing a new and sometimes controversial wave of urbanites. Stay in the City tells the stories of those who are not new converts to urban life but have stayed and have learned that staying is part of their own thriving as they contribute to the flourishing of the city. I will recommend this volume widely.”— Jude Tiersma Watson, Fuller Theological Seminary

For more information on the publication, click here.

Mark Gornik is the director of City Seminary of New York. He has spent the last 25 years of his life as a pastor, community developer and researcher in African churches in New York City and beyond.

Fellow travelers are scholars, activists, and practitioners that embody the ideals and commitments of the Project on Lived Theology. We admire their work and are grateful to be walking alongside them in the development and dissemination of Lived Theology.

For more of “On the Lived Theology Reading List,” click here. To engage in the conversation on Facebook and Twitter, @LivedTheology, please use #LivedTheologyReads. For more recommended resources from our fellow travelers, click here, #PLTfellowtravelers. To sign up for the Lived Theology monthly newsletter, click here.

The Black Freedom Struggle in the Mississippi Delta after World War II

In Crossroads at Clarksdale, Françoise Hamlin chronicles the slow struggle for black freedom through the history of Clarksdale, Mississippi by using the stories of the daily lives and familiar places of local residents. Hamlin creates a full picture of the town spanning over a period of fifty years, recognizing the accomplishments of its diverse African American community and strong NAACP branch, and examining the extreme brutality of entrenched power there. But Clarksdale is not a triumphant narrative of dramatic change; instead, it embodies a layered, contentious, untidy, and often disappointingly unresolved part of the civil rights movement.

Following the black freedom struggle in Clarksdale from World War II through the first decade of the twenty-first century allows Hamlin to tell multiple, interwoven stories about the town’s people, their choices, and the extent of political change. She shows how members of civil rights organizations worked to challenge Jim Crow through fights against inequality, police brutality, segregation, and, later, economic injustice. With Clarksdale still at a crossroads today, Hamlin explores how to evaluate success when poverty and inequality persist.

Reviews and endorsements of the publication include:

“A beautifully written book, strong in its ability to capture the different organizing strategies pursued in one community. . . . A major contribution to civil rights historiography.”—Journal of American History

“Adds much to the story of civil rights in Clarksdale and beyond . . . [and] provides an incredibly rich account of race, class, gender, generational, and organizational tensions within the civil rights movement.”—Journal of Southern History

“[This book] is a much-needed additive to the already-extant literature on the Mississippi civil rights movement, not only for its artful prose, but also because it sets a high standard for future researchers, pushing scholars to expand their source base and periodization. Hamlin’s book should be widely read.”—The Historian

For more information on the publication, click here.

Fellow travelers are scholars, activists, and practitioners that embody the ideals and commitments of the Project on Lived Theology. We admire their work and are grateful to be walking alongside them in the development and dissemination of Lived Theology.

For more of “On the Lived Theology Reading List,” click here. To engage in the conversation on Facebook and Twitter, @LivedTheology, please use #LivedTheologyReads. For more recommended resources from our fellow travelers, click here, #PLTfellowtravelers. To sign up for the Lived Theology monthly newsletter, click here.

Basic Words of Christian Belief

Today, many people believe that the question of faith is one purely of belief. Wolfgang Huber, however, argues that it is actually one of trust, and our willingness to trust in God and His promises. In This I Trust, Huber engages in meditations on classic words of the Christian tradition, from the Beatitudes and the Lord’s Prayer to the stories of the birth and parables and death of Jesus. Through these works, he searches for for the fiery core and world-defying implications of Christian faith today.

Although he is fully cognizant of  the complexities and ambiguities of contemporary life, he nonetheless asserts, “If we trust in God we can endure the uncertainties, accept the limitations, and receive the fullness of life as a gift.” For those who struggle with the meaning of faith and Christian discipleship in their personal, familial, professional and political lives, Huber offers deep assurance and steep challenge.

For more information on the publication, click here.

Wolfgang Huber is a prominent German theologian and ethicist. Engaged in both church and politics, he has served on numerous boards of ethics and public policy, as a professor of theology in the universities of Marburg and Heidelberg, and as Bishop of Berlin-Brandenburg from 1993 to 2009.

For more of “On the Lived Theology Reading List,” click here. To engage in the conversation on Facebook and Twitter, @LivedTheology, please use #LivedTheologyReads. For more recommended resources from our fellow travelers, click here, #PLTfellowtravelers. To sign up for the Lived Theology monthly newsletter, click here.

Documenting a History of Nonviolent Protest in the United States

Have you ever wondered about the history of activism in the United States? Curious about what protests looked like before the modern methods pioneered by the civil rights era? We the Resistance showcases a number of historic activists to give curious citizens and current resisters an insight into the history of American activism. Beginning with the pre-Revolutionary War era and continuing through to the present day, readers will encounter the voices of protestors sharing instructive stories about their methods (from sit-ins to tree sitting) and opponents (from Puritans to Wall Street bankers), as well as inspirational stories about their failures (from slave petitions to the fight for the ERA), and successes (from enfranchisement for women to today’s reform of police practices).

In an effort to combat histories of America that focus on our military past, this book provides an alternate history of the formation of our nation and its character, one in which courageous individuals and movements have wielded the tools of nonviolence to resist unjust, unfair, and immoral policies and practices. Instruction and inspiration run throughout this captivating reader, generously illustrated with historic graphics and photographs of nonviolent protests throughout U.S. history.

Reviews and endorsements of the publication include:

“This book fights fascism. This books offers hope. We The Resistance is essential reading for those who wish to understand how popular movements built around nonviolence have changed the world and why they retain the power to do so again.”—Jonathan Eig, author of Ali: A Life

“This comprehensive documentary history of non-violent resisters and resistance movements is an inspiring antidote to any movement fatigue or pessimism about the value of protest. It tells us we can learn from the past as we confront the present and hope to shape the future. Read, enjoy and take courage knowing you are never alone in trying to create a more just world. Persevere and persist and win, but know that even losing is worth the fight and teaches lessons for later struggles.”—Mary Frances Berry, author of History Teaches Us to Resist: How Progressive Movements Have Succeeded in Challenging Times

“We the Resistance illustrates the deeply rooted, dynamic, and multicultural history of nonviolent resistance and progressive activism in North America and the United States. With a truly comprehensive collection of primary sources, it becomes clear that dissent has always been a central feature of American political culture and that periods of quiescence and consensus are aberrant rather than the norm. Indeed, the depth and breadth of resistant and discordant voices in this collection is simply outstanding.”—Leilah Danielson, author of American Gandhi: A.J. Muste and the History of American Radicalism in the Twentieth Century 

For more information on the publication, click here.

Fellow travelers are scholars, activists, and practitioners that embody the ideals and commitments of the Project on Lived Theology. We admire their work and are grateful to be walking alongside them in the development and dissemination of Lived Theology.

For more of “On the Lived Theology Reading List,” click here. To engage in the conversation on Facebook and Twitter, @LivedTheology, please use #LivedTheologyReads. For more recommended resources from our fellow travelers, click here, #PLTfellowtravelers. To sign up for the Lived Theology monthly newsletter, click here.