Dear Church: A Love Letter from a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination in the US

· Fortress Press
4.7
6 reviews
Ebook
138
Pages
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About this ebook

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.


Part manifesto, part confession, and all love letter, Dear Church offers a bold new vision for the future of Duncan's denomination and the broader mainline Christian community of faith. Dear Church rejects the narrative of church decline and calls everyone--leaders and laity alike--to the front lines of the church's renewal through racial equality and justice.


It is time for the church to rise up, dust itself off, and take on forces of this world that act against God: whiteness, misogyny, nationalism, homophobia, and economic injustice. Duncan gives a blueprint for the way forward and urges us to follow in the revolutionary path of Jesus.


Dear Church also features a discussion guide at the back--perfect for church groups, book clubs, and other group discussion.

Ratings and reviews

4.7
6 reviews
Susan Carlson
October 1, 2020
A book to challenge your way of ministry to become more loving to your neighbors - such as race, sexuality and homeless.
1 person found this review helpful
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About the author

Lenny Duncan is the author of Dear Church, an ordained minister, and a PhD candidate at the Graduate Theological Union. Their studies are focused on the history of Ifa in North America, Conjure, and its intersection with the early Black Church. They are the co-host and co-creator of the Black Berry Jams podcast. Lenny spends their spare time as a chaplain to the Revolution in Portland, Oregon.

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