PROGRAMS  |  BLACK CHURCH INITIATIVE AND LA INICIATIVA LATINA

Clearing House and Resource Center - General

The MultiCultural Programs Department Clearing House and Resource Center features a collection of theological books, sermons, speeches,  workshop presentations, youth and adult sexuality curriculums. The Clearing House and Resource Center serves as a resource to clergy, seminarians, health and human service educators, parents and youth. Resources are available for loan. For more information, contact bciinfo@rcrc.org or call 202-628-7700.

Books

Body and Soul: Rethinking Sexuality as Justice-Love, Marvin M. Ellison and Sylvia Thornton-Smith, eds.

What’s Faith Got To Do With It? Black Bodies/Christian Souls, Kelly Brown Douglas
Kelly Brown Douglas writes about the role of Christianity in white supremacists’ ideology and practices and traces the roots of what she sees as a “heretical” tradition of an oppressive Christianity. Douglas also vindicates the liberating, prophetic Christianity of her mother and Grandmother. This book is critique of the ways in which Christianity is both a bane and blessing in the lives of Black folk.

The Good Book: Reading The Bible With Mind and Heart, Peter Gomes
Biblical studies have historically been consigned to theological schools and church groups. In The Good Book, Peter Gomes, pastor of Harvard University's Memorial Church and a professor of theology, has written a vivid, common sense and wise analysis of what the Bible means for us today. As an African American gay man, Gomes is interested in re-viewing the biblical passages on sexuality and race, but The Good Book is much more than a revisionist look at controversial biblical passages. Gomes is interested in rediscovering how the Bible can find a place in our emotional and political lives, as well as in our religious beliefs.

Sexuality And The Black Church: A Womanist Perspective, Kelly Brown Douglas

A Loving Home: Caring for African American Marriage and Families, Lee H. Butler, Jr.

Black Faith and Public Talk: Critical Essays on James H. Cone’s Black Theology & Black Power, Dwight N. Hopkins
Black Theology and Black Power was the book that signaled the birth of Black theology, an effort to relate the Christian gospel to the black struggle for liberation. This collection of critical voices—both black and white, male and female—assesses the significance of Cone’s initial work and the subsequent progression of Black Theology.

Blow the Trumpet in Zion: Global Vision and Action for the 21st century Black Church, Iva E. Carruthers, Frederick D. Haynes, III, and Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr.
A stellar gathering of African American churchpeople and theologians recently convened to reinvigorate the social-justice agenda in America’s Black churches. In this exciting volume, many of the most dynamic and progressive African American faith leaders confer on how best to revive and enhance the prophetic role of the Black church today. This volume concentrates the prophetic powers of Black theology and preaching to support African American community and economic development, ministerial and lay leadership, and outreach to a new generation.

What’s Love Got To Do With It? Love Power Sex & God, Frank A. Thomas

Being Human: Race, Culture, and Religion, Dwight N. Hopkins
Hopkins’ provocative and cogent analysis of human being, set against the backdrop of creation’s struggle and splendor confirms that theological anthropology never again should be crafted solely from the dominant standpoints of European and North American white overclasses. Being Human: Race, Culture, and Religion breaks free from the “doctrines of man” that long have shackled so many, and opens readers to new rigors of thought and action. This is a vital resource for twenty-first-century theological anthropology. 

New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary Index and Volumes 1-X11, Various

Project Butterfly: Supporting Young Women and Girls of African Descent Through Life Transitions, Niambi Jaha

Dictionary of African American Religious Bodies, Wardell Payne

Black Sexual Politics: African Americans, Gender and the New Racism, Patricia Hill Collins
Drawing on vivid images of hypersexual blacks and the sociological theses of strong black women and weak black men, Collins explores an astonishing range of ideas and images through history, sociology, and popular culture. Rather than debate the dominance of race versus sex in the history of social injustice to black men and women, Collins offers a theory of "intersectionality," viewing race, gender, and sexuality together.

Living In Sin: A Bishop Rethinks Human Sexuality, John Shelby Spong
Is celibacy the only moral alternative to marriage? Should the widowed be allowed to form intimate relationships without remarrying? Should the church receive homosexuals into its community and support committed gay and lesbian relationships? Should congregations publicly and liturgically witness and affirm divorces? Should the church’s moral standards continue to be set by patriarchal males? Should women be consecrated bishops? Bishop Spong proposes a pastoral response-based on scripture and history-to the changing realities of the modern world. He calls for a moral vision to empower the church with inclusive teaching about equal, loving, non-exploitative relationships.