The Black Church Studies Reader

The Black Church Studies Reader addresses the depth and breadth of Black theological studies, from Biblical studies and ethics to homiletics and pastoral care. The book examines salient themes of social and religious significance such as gender, sexuality, race, social class, health care, and public policy. While the volume centers around African American experiences and studies, it also attends to broader African continental and Diasporan religious contexts. The contributors reflect an interdisciplinary blend of Black Church Studies scholars and practitioners from across the country. The text seeks to address the following fundamental questions: What constitutes Black Church Studies as a discipline or field of study? What is the significance of Black Church Studies for theological education? What is the relationship between Black Church Studies and the broader academic study of Black religions? What is the relationship between Black Church Studies and local congregations (as well as other faith-based entities)? The book's search for the answers to these questions is compelling and illuminating.

'The Black Church Studies Reader adds breadth, depth, and clarity to a field of study within the theological curriculum and the teaching ministry of the church. The contributors represent a broad array of fields, but they are uniform in the quality of their credentials and in the scholarly contribution. We owe a debt of gratitude to all who have contributed to this seminal publication.' - Marvin Andrew McMickle, President and Professor of Church Leadership, Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, USA

'This is a vital contribution to Black Church Studies and a must-have for the classroom. Pollard and Duncan have captured the essence of the Black Christian tradition in this celebration of the theological imagination and moral vision born at the interstices of bondage and freedom. The volume's interdisciplinary breadth is unparalleled in the field. The Black Church Studies Reader is a milestone text for anyone who is inspired and affirmed by the rich traditions of the Black Church.' - Eboni Marshall Turman, Assistant Research Professor of Theological Ethics and Black Church Studies and Director of the Office of Black Church Studies, Duke University, USA

Autorentext

Alton B. Pollard, III is Dean and Professor of Religion and Culture at Howard University School of Divinity, USA. His publications include Mysticism and Social Change, How Long this Road, and a new edition of Dubois's The Negro Church. He is lead researcher for Equipping the Saints: Promising Practices in Black congregational life.

Carol B. Duncan is Professor and former chair of the Department of Religion and Culture at Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada. She is the author of This Spot of Ground: Spiritual Baptists in Toronto, co-author of Black Church Studies: An Introduction and co-editor of Womanist and Black Feminist Responses to Tyler Perry's Productions.

Inhalt
Foreword; Forrest E. Harris, Sr.
Prologue; Alton B. Pollard, III
Introduction: 'The Black Church Studies Reader'; Alton B. Pollard, III and Carol B. Duncan
PART I: ORIGINS

1. Black Church Studies: Some of the Roots; Henry H. Mitchell
2. Black Church Studies as Advocate and Critic; Gayraud S. Wilmore
3. Black Church Studies as an Academic Interest and Initiative: A Historical Perspective; Lewis V. Baldwin
   PART II: PROGRAM INITIATIVES
4. A Field of Study as a Field of Dreams: Contours of Black Church Studies; Stacey M. Floyd-Thomas
5. God Talk with Black Thinkers: An Innovative Model for Black Church Studies; Arthur Pressley and Nancy Lynne Westfield
6. The Public Vocation of Religious Leaders and the Mission of Black Church Studies; Robert M. Franklin
   PART III: PURPOSE AND POWER
7. Reestablishing the Purpose and Power of the Preached Word through Black
   Church Studies; Teresa Fry Brown
8. Music and Worship in Black Church Studies Curricula; James Abbington
9. Black Church Studies and Scripture; Rodney S. Sadler, Jr.
   PART IV: PREACHING AND POETICS
10. All Flesh is Eligible!; Ella P. Mitchell
11. Good Food; Yvette Flunder
12. That was Then, This is Now; Otis Moss, III
13. for women of color scholars who have considered giving up/when the church was
    not enuf; Pamela R. Lightsey
14. Noble Nubian Priestess, Sister Friends and Church Mothers, Preachers and Teachers in the House; Cheryl A. Kirk-Duggan
    PART V: PRACTICES AND POLICY
15. Black Church Studies as Practical Theology; Dennis W. Wiley
16. The Black Church and Public Policy: Retrospect and Prospect; Harold Dean Trulear
17. Black Megachurches and the Paradox of Black Progress; Tamelyn Tucker-Worgs
    PART VI: TRANSATLANTIC CROSSINGS
18. Black Church Studies in the African Context; Emmanuel Y. Lartey
19. Freedom to 'Catch the Spirit:' Conceptualizing Black Church Studies in a Caribbean Context; Claudette Anderson
20. Out of the Bitter Sea': The Black Church and Migration in North America; Carol B. Duncan
21. Towards Greater Involvement of the British Black Church in the Secular Education of Black Youth: School Exclusion and British Black Males; Doreen McCalla
    PART VII: COMING FULL CIRCLE
22. The Black Church and the Mission for the 21st Century; Dwight N. Hopkins
23. I, Too, Sing Songs of Freedom: A Theo-Sociological Praxis Toward an Emancipatory Ethic for the Black Church and its Trans-Same-and-both-Gender-Loving Members; Dorinda G. Henry
24. Black Environmental Liberation Theology: The Theological and Historical Roots of Environmental Justice Activism by the African American Church; Dianne D. Glave
25. Closing the Gap between the Academy and the Church: Black Church Studies' Role in Eliminating Health Disparities; Selina A. Smith
26. Economic Justice, and Globalization in Black Church Studies: Confronting the 'Malignant Kinship' in the Post-Civil Rights Era; Juan Floyd-Thomas
    Epilogue: 'The Endarkenment': A Parable; Alton B. Pollard, III