The Courage to Lead ─ Leadership in the African American Urban Church

An overview of the myriad issues facing the African American Church today, from the perspective of a senior minister of a Baptist church in Virginia. Harris (pastoral theology, Virginia Union U.) sees the mission of the church as being still vital in addressing the social and political inequalities of American life. However, he sees a number of problems within the institution of the church itself that stand in the way of its historical mission. He argues, among other things, that the church needs to inculcate a respect in African-American leadership on the part of the laity, that it needs to overcome class divisions both within the laity and between the laity and the clergy, that it needs to re-root itself in the authority of the Bible, and that it needs to reinsert itself in issues of public policy. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

James Henry Harris is professor of pastoral theology at Virginia Union University and senior minister of Second Baptist Church in Richmond, VA. In addition to numerous articles and lectures, he has published a number of books including: Preaching Liberation and Pastoral Theology: A Black Church Perspective.