Called to Reconciliation: How the Church Can Model Justice, Diversity, and Inclusion - Paperback

by Jonathan C. Augustine (Author), William Willimon (Foreword by), Michael Curry (Afterword by)

Outreach 2023 Recommended Resource (Social Issues)

Nationally recognized speaker and church leader Jay Augustine demonstrates that the church is called and equipped to model reconciliation, justice, diversity, and inclusion.

This book develops three uses of the term "reconciliation" salvific, social, and civil. Augustine examines the intersection of the salvific and social forms of reconciliation through an engagement with Paul's letters and uses the Black church as an exemplar to connect the concept of salvation to social and political movements that seek justice for those marginalized by racism, class structures, and unjust legal systems. He then traces the reaction to racial progress in the form of white backlash as he explores the fate of civil reconciliation from the civil rights era to the Black Lives Matter movement.

This book argues that the church's work in reconciliation can serve as a model for society at large and that secular diversity and inclusion practices can benefit the church. It offers a prophetic call to pastors, church leaders, and students to recover reconciliation as the heart of the church's message to a divided world. Foreword by William H. Willimon and afterword by Michael B. Curry.

Back Jacket

"Required reading for clergy, lay leaders, and interested citizens alike"

Nationally recognized civil rights leader and pastor Jay Augustine offers a prophetic call to recover reconciliation as the heart of the church's message to a divided world.

"With a clear-eyed realism about the ways faith has been distorted to justify white supremacy, Augustine invites the church to face the demons that still haunt our public life and to discover the resources in our tradition for a moral witness that offers humanity a future together. God, grant us wisdom to receive the vision and courage to practice it together with our neighbors."
--Bishop William J. Barber II, president of Repairers of the Breach; cochair of the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival

"Called to Reconciliation is an interdisciplinary study--rich in metaphors, deep in theology, and versed in history--of the urgent need for reconciliation with God and neighbor. All Christians are called to be ministers of reconciliation. This book is an invitation to rediscover this call and to be encouraged and equipped to respond affirmatively and wholeheartedly."
--Edgardo Colón-Emeric, dean, Duke Divinity School; director, Duke Center for Reconciliation

"An absolute force of a book, required reading for clergy, lay leaders, and interested citizens alike. Augustine not only makes the case for reconciliation in the church but also lays out a clear road map for anyone who wants to take a step toward inclusion but does not know how. He has done the church, and the world, a great service."
--Joshua DuBois, faith-based advisor to President Barack Obama; author of The President's Devotional

"At one of the most divided times in our nation since the Civil War, Augustine pleads with believers from different groups to embrace 'the Other' in a mutually beneficial and diverse community. This is truly a must-read."
--Barbara Williams-Skinner, co-convener, the National African American Clergy Network; author of I Prayed, Now What?

Author Biography

Jonathan C. Augustine (JD, Tulane University; DMin, Duke University) is a reconciliation scholar, ordained minister, and professor. In addition to serving as senior pastor of St. Joseph AME Church in Durham, North Carolina, and as national chaplain of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., he is also a missional strategist with the Duke Center for Reconciliation and a professor at North Carolina Central University Law School. Augustine often speaks on topics related to race, reconciliation, diversity, and inclusion and has received numerous national awards and recognitions for his work in civil rights and social justice. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from President Barack Obama, the National Bar Association's 40 Lawyers Under 40 Award, and Ebony Magazine's 30 Leaders of the Future recognition.