MLK and the Practice of Spirituality The scholarship on Martin Luther King Jr. is seriously lacking in terms of richly nuanced and revelatory treatments of his spirituality and spiritual life. This book addresses this neglect by focusing on King's life as a paradigm of a deep, vital, engaging, balanced, and contagious spirituality. It shows that the essence of the person King was lies in the quality of his own spiritual journey and how that translated into not only a personal devotional life of prayer, meditation, and fasting but also a public ministry that involved the uplift and empowerment of humanity. Much attention is devoted to King's spiritual leadership, to his sense of the civil rights movement as "a spiritual movement," and to his efforts to rescue humanity from what he termed a perpetual "death of the spirit." Readers encounter a figure who took seriously the personal, interpersonal, and sociopolitical aspects of the Christian faith, thereby figuring prominently in recasting the very definition of spirituality in his time. King's "holistic spirituality" is presented here with a clarity and power fresh for our own generation.

Martin Luther King Jr. said and wrote as much or more about the meaning, nature, and power of truth as any other prominent figure in the 1950s and '60s. King was not only vastly influential as an advocate for and defender of truth; he also did more than anyone in his time to organize truth into a movement for the liberation, uplift, and empowerment of humanity, efforts that ultimately resulted in the loss of his life. Drawing on King's published and unpublished sermons, speeches, and writings, The Arc of Truth explores King's lifelong pilgrimage in pursuit of truth. Lewis Baldwin explores King's quest for truth from his inquisitive childhood to the influence of family and church, to Morehouse College, Crozer Theological Seminary, Boston University, and other academic institutions in the Northeast. Continuing on, the book follows King's sense that he was involved in experiments of truth within the context of the struggle to liberate and empower humanity, to his understanding of the civil rights movement as unfolding truth, to his persistent challenge to America around its need to engage in a serious reckoning with truth regarding its history and heritage. Baldwin investigates King's determination to speak truth to power, and his untiring efforts to actualize what he envisioned as the truthful ends of the beloved community through the truthful means of nonviolent direct action. King believed, taught, and demonstrated by example that truth derives from a revolution in the heart, mind, and soul before it can be translated into institutions and structures that guarantee freedom, justice, human dignity, equality of opportunity, and peace. Ultimately, King's significance for humanity cannot be considered only his contributions as a preacher, pastor, civil rights leader, and world figure--he was and remains equally impactful as a theologian, philosopher, and ethicist whose life and thought evince an enduring search for and commitment to truth.

This is an essential companion to The Presbyterian Hymnal and Hymns, Psalms, & Spiritual Songs. Church musicians and pastors will welcome the ease with which they can locate keywords, topics, and scriptural references.

Are you stressed, discouraged, struggling, or unhappy? Do you wonder if you’ve been abandoned? Dr. Mitchell Warren has a message of hope and encouragement for you—the Lord is still your Shepherd, even today! This book takes you verse by verse through Psalm 23, digging into the relationship between a shepherd and his sheep, explaining all the care and devotion the shepherd gives, and uplifting you with the message that this is the way God cares for you! You will learn the truth about your relationship with Jesus, your Good Shepherd; how God has provided for you absolutely through Jesus Christ; that your Good Shepherd is in control; how to walk in peace and provision; to know the Good Shepherd even in the Valley of the Shadow of Death; as well as what your Shepherd really does for you. The Lord God is your shepherd—self-sacrificing, loving, protecting, and providing, and you will find peace and rest in green pastures when you trust yourself to His care! He longs to bless you today!

The flourishing website EpiscopalCafe.org produced by the Diocese of Washington attracts several thousand visitors a day. Its popular column “Speaking to the Soul,” which contains a concise, well-developed spiritual reflection for every day of the year, draws from many different sources, including scripture, church history, saints’ biographies, books of prayers, liturgies, and ancient and contemporary theologians and spiritual writers. This daily reader grew out of that column. It follows the Episcopal Church’s liturgical seasons and includes observation of major feast days as well as saints’ days. The reading for a particular saint’s day might be taken from the saint’s writings, prayers, or biography, or might develop a theme such as martyrdom or growth in the spirit. Other readings focus on particular emphases of the seasons (the Incarnation during Advent and Christmas; spiritual disciplines during Lent); or speak more generally to the Christian life (prayer, discipleship, ministry, the sacraments, conflict and reconciliation, and so on). Readings are taken from every century of the church’s life, with particular attention to how the writings and experiences of earlier Christians can shed light on the difficulties, joys, and concerns of the church today. Excerpts are long enough to give a satisfying and complete context of the writer’s intended meaning.

Max Ritter,a young Montana pastor troubled by self-doubt, tries to re-gain confidence as he looks out onto the endless South Pacific from his vantage point on the southernmost shore of New Zealand. Feeling unfit for parish ministry and a failure in marriage Max has fled as far away from people as possible, after suffering the rejection of both his wife and his congregation. While on the South Island of New Zealand he meets Bronwyn MacKenzie, the young owner of Colac Bay Inn, the bed and breakfast in which he is staying. Her caring concern for him and the loving acceptance he finds in her parish church help him to regain self-confidence. Through a series of experiences Bronwyn helps Max to live and love again, and along with her church encourages him in the long process through which he is restored to ministry and to a deeper understanding of spirituality. He returns to Montana and takes a job as a handyman at Fairhavens, a resort and retreat center in the mountains near Yellowstone Park. While Fairhavens is threatened by a "Disney-like" theme park developing nearby, Bronwyns Colac Bay Inn in New Zealand faces financial bankruptcy. When Max is told of the death of Bronwyns fianc, he returns to New Zealand briefly to help Bronwyn. During this time together a deepening love grows between Bronwyn and Max. Max returns to Montana and once again is involved with Fairhavens. Eventually its problems are resolved when the neighboring development is scaled down. Meanwhile, Bronwyn sells part interest in the inn and is thus enabled to come to Montana where she is given a position on the staff of Fairhavens. Once again the lives of Bronwyn and Max become intertwined. Max becomes the director of Fairhavens after its founder and director retires. His confidence now fully restored, Max begins to carry out various church duties in the region, having regained a renewed sense of Gods call to ministry both through his work at Fairhavens and some of the more traditional ministerial functions.

Carolyn Wilkins grew up defending her racial identity. Because of her light complexion and wavy hair, she spent years struggling to convince others that she was black. Her family’s prominence set Carolyn’s experiences even further apart from those of the average African American. Her father and uncle were well-known lawyers who had graduated from Harvard Law School. Another uncle had been a child prodigy and protégé of Albert Einstein. And her grandfather had been America's first black assistant secretary of labor. Carolyn's parents insisted she follow the color-conscious rituals of Chicago's elite black bourgeoisie—experiences Carolyn recalls as some of the most miserable of her entire life. Only in the company of her mischievous Aunt Marjory, a woman who refused to let the conventions of “proper” black society limit her, does Carolyn feel a true connection to her family's African American heritage. When Aunt Marjory passes away, Carolyn inherits ten bulging scrapbooks filled with family history and memories. What she finds in these photo albums inspires her to discover the truth about her ancestors—a quest that will eventually involve years of research, thousands of miles of travel, and much soul-searching. Carolyn learns that her great-grandfather John Bird Wilkins was born into slavery and went on to become a teacher, inventor, newspaperman, renegade Baptist minister, and a bigamist who abandoned five children. And when she discovers that her grandfather J. Ernest Wilkins may have been forced to resign from his labor department post by members of the Eisenhower administration, Carolyn must confront the bittersweet fruits of her family's generations-long quest for status and approval. Damn Near White is an insider’s portrait of an unusual American family. Readers will be drawn into Carolyn’s journey as she struggles to redefine herself in light of the long-buried secrets she uncovers. Tackling issues of class, color, and caste, Wilkins reflects on the changes of African American life in U.S. history through her dedicated search to discover her family’s powerful story.