The Bible, Disability, and the Church: A New Vision of the People of God
Amos Young Inspiring and challenging study that rethinks the Bible's teaching on disability.  A theologian whose life experience includes growing up alongside a brother with Down syndrome, Amos Yong in this book rereads and reinterprets biblical texts about human disability, arguing that the way we read biblical texts, not the Bible itself, is what causes us to marginalize persons with disabilities. Revealing and examining the underlying stigma of disability that exists even in the church, Yong shows how the Bible offers good news to people of all abilities -- and he challenges churches to become more inclusive communities of faith.  

Disability and the Way of Jesus: Holistic Healing in the Gospels and the Church
Bethany McKinney Fox What does healing mean for people with disabilities? The Gospels are filled with accounts of Jesus offering physical healing. But even as churches today seek to follow the way of Jesus, people with disabilities all too often experience the very opposite of healing and life-giving community: exclusion, judgment, barriers. Misinterpretation and misapplication of biblical healing narratives can do great damage, yet those who take the Bible seriously mustn't avoid these passages either. The author believes that Christian communities are better off when people with disabilities are an integral part of our common life and considers how the stories of Jesus' healings can guide us toward mutual thriving.   

Dear Church: A Love Letter From a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination in the U.S.
Lenny Duncan Lenny Duncan is the unlikeliest of pastors. Formerly incarcerated, he is now a black preacher in the whitest denomination in the United States: the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Shifting demographics and shrinking congregations make all the headlines, but Duncan sees something else at work -- drawing a direct line between the church's lack of diversity and the church's lack of vitality. The problems the ELCA faces are theological, not sociological. But so are the answers.  

White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism  Click Here to Order
Robin DiAngelo The New York Times best-selling book exploring the counterproductive reactions white people have when their assumptions about race are challenged, and how these reactions maintain racial inequality.   Helping White Christians Talk Faithfully about Racism Carolyn B. Helsel Talking about race can make us anxious. Professor and pastor Carolyn Helsel draws on her decade of work with white congregations to offer tools and practices to engage the discomfort around the conversations and move forward toward action faithfully. Learn how to join the hard conversations with less fear and more courage, compassion, and knowledge of self, others, and the important issues at stake.

Healing Racial Divides:  Finding Strength in Our Diversity
Terrell Carter While our faith calls us to Christian unity, the hard fact remains: we’re still tragically divided when it comes to race, even – and especially, many say -- in our churches. Racism pervades our faith, our relationships, and our institutions in deep, often imperceptible ways. Terrell Carter takes us on a revelatory journey of the history of racism to show us how we’ve arrived at this divisive place. Understanding racism’s roots – and our place in it – we surface more committed and empowered to combat racism in the church, our communities, and the nation.  

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
Michelle Alexander Click Here to Order
Seldom does a book have the impact of Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow. Since it was first published in 2010, it has been cited in judicial decisions and has been adopted in campus-wide and community-wide reads; it helped inspire the creation of the Marshall Project and the new $100 million Art for Justice Fund; it has been the winner of numerous prizes, including the prestigious NAACP Image Award; and it has spent nearly 250 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.  

So You Want to Talk About Race
Ijeoma Oluo Click Here to Order
Protests against racial injustice and white supremacy have galvanized millions around the world. The stakes for transformative conversations about race could not be higher. Still, the task ahead seems daunting, and it’s hard to know where to start. How do you tell your boss her jokes are racist? Why did your sister-in-law hang up on you when you had questions about police reform? How do you explain white privilege to your white, privileged friend?  In this book the author guides readers of all races through subjects ranging from police brutality and cultural appropriation to the model minority myth in an attempt to make the seemingly impossible possible: honest conversations about race, and about how racism infects every aspect of American life.  

What Does It Mean to Be Welcoming?
Navigating LGBT Questions in Your Church  Travis Collins  Click Here to Order
Is your church wrestling with LGBT questions from membership to marriage? Travis Collins has been there. A pastor who has walked congregations through the complex issues surrounding gay Christians, he knows firsthand the confusion and hurt that often follow. He has also seen churches have these conversations with grace and understanding. In this practical resource, readers will gain insight into relevant biblical passages and, while the author is working from a traditional perspective, he offers insights from interpreters on both sides of the debate. They will consider the implications of their convictions for ministry practice, relationships, church policy, and more. They will hear testimonies from gay friends and family members about their experiences in the church. Collins calls readers to both grace and truth, with humility.  

Queerfully and Wonderfully Made: A Guide for LGBTQ+ Christian Teens Click Here to Order
Edited by Leigh Finke, this guidebook is a go-to resource for supporting LGBTQIA+ youth and their ministry leaders. Queerfully and Wonderfully Made features dozens of honest, relevant questions that queer and questioning youth can browse: “Can I be queer and Christian?” “What if my family disapproves?” “What if my friends reject me?” Real-life stories, a helpful glossary and a comprehensive resource list give additional support to youth. Charming illustrations throughout add to the warmth, humor and approachability of this guide.  

One Coin Found: How God’s Love Stretches to the Margins Click Here to Order
Those drawn to captivating memoirs offering honesty, humor and profound revelations will appreciate One Coin Found by Emmy Kegler, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Northeast Minneapolis. Her childhood years in a liturgical church community are followed by a central moment of self-discovery at age 14: “Suddenly my life made sense, and suddenly my life was over … I was gay.” Kegler’s struggles with and discoveries about Scripture come into focus through the story of a lost coin and the powerful ways that she—and all—are found by God.   

Caste, The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson Click Here to Order
The Pulitzer Prize–winning, bestselling author of The Warmth of Other Suns examines the unspoken caste system that has shaped America and shows how our lives today are still defined by a hierarchy of human divisions.  

The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee
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One of today’s most insightful and influential thinkers offers a powerful exploration of inequality and the lesson that generations of Americans have failed to learn: Racism has a cost for everyone—not just for people of color.  

Transforming: The Bible & the Lives of Transgender Christians
by Austen Hartke Click Here to Order
In 2014, Time magazine announced that America had reached “the transgender tipping point,” suggesting that transgender issues would become the next civil rights frontier. Years later, many people—even many LGBTQ allies—still lack understanding of gender identity and the transgender experience. Into this void, Austen Hartke offers a biblically based, educational, and affirming resource to shed light and wisdom on this modern gender landscape.  

UnClobber: Rethinking our Misuse of the Bible on Homosexuality
by Colby Martin Click Here to Order
Armed with only six passages in the Bible--often known as the Clobber Passages--the conservative Christian position has been one that stands against the full inclusion of our LGBTQ siblings. UnClobber reexamines each of those frequently quoted passages of Scripture, alternating with author Colby Martin's own story of being fired from an evangelical megachurch when they discovered his stance on sexuality.