Our Hearts Were Strangely Lukewarm: The American Methodist Church and the Struggle with White Supremacy - Softcover

Elford, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1666767549 ISBN 13: 9781666767544

Publisher: Wipf and Stock, 2023

Synopsis

Our Hearts Were Strangely Lukewarm summons the reader on a most unusual journey through Methodist history. Along the way, we discover how the White American Methodist Church became deeply entangled with White supremacy. From the founding of the church in the late eighteenth century to the present, we have too often been silent bystanders or active accomplices in the enormous harm caused by racism. It’s a complicated and shameful story few Methodists know. And yet, if we want to transform the world toward a different and better future for all, one free of the stranglehold of racism, we must come to terms with the story of our past—the whole story! Our Hearts Were Strangely Lukewarm is a trustworthy guide into the church’s troubled history. It’s also a present-day call to action that finds inspiration in those Methodists who stood against the tide and those guiding the church today toward the horizon of racial justice.

About this title

About the Author

John served several churches in the Southwest/Rio Texas Conference before his appointment at University UMC in Austin where he retired in 2021. There he was active with a number of organizations, including Central Texas Interfaith, Pastors for Texas Children, Texas Freedom Network, Worker's Defense Project, Grassroots Organizing and Reconciling Ministries. He is slowly learning to be a better BIPOC ally. Our Hearts Were Strangely Lukewarm: The American Methodist Church and the Struggle with White Supremacy is his first book.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Publication date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1666767549
• ISBN 13: 9781666767544
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 186