MUST READS
To facilitate learning and education about racism, we have curated this short list of books to help inform conversations among various FPCT ministries, teams, and groups this year. While we have benefited from many secular sources because of the truths and perspectives they offer, most of the books on this short list have an explicitly Christian, biblical perspective. Because we believe that Jesus offers the ultimate solutions to the problem of racism and its effects, we believe these resources will be the most helpful for our church.
A PLACE TO START
The Third option
Miles McPherson
The Third Option challenges us to fully embrace God's creativity and beauty, as expressed in the diversity of His people. By following the steps and praying the prayers outlined in his book, Pastor Miles teaches us how we can all become leaders in unifying our communities, our churches, and the nation.
NEXT STEPS
BEYOND RACIAL GRIDLOCK
George Yancey
Christian Sociologist George Yancey surveys a range of approaches to racial healing and offers a new model for moving forward
BOOKS OF INTEREST FOR SMALL GROUPS
BE THE BRIDGE
LaTasha Morrison
Winner of the Christianity Today Book Award. Morrison, a leading advocate for racial reconciliation, calls Christians to move toward deeper understanding in the midst of a divisive culture: “Change begins with an honest conversation among a group of Christians willing to give voice to unspoken hurts, hidden fears, and mounting tensions.”
MORE THAN EQUALS
Spencer Perkins & Chris Rice
More than ever, this book shows how the cause of racial reconciliation needs yokefellows, not solely for the sake of racial harmony but for the witness of the gospel.
COMPELLING BIOGRAPHIES
The AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF Martin Luther King, Jr.
First-person account of the extraordinary life of America's greatest civil rights leader. It begins with his boyhood as the son of a preacher, his education as a minister, his ascendancy as a leader of civil rights, & his complex relationships with leading political & social figures of the day.
AMAZING GRACE
Eric Metaxas
Tells the story of the remarkable life of the British abolitionist William Wilberforce (1759-1833) and his twenty-year fight to abolish the British slave trade.
let justice roll down
John M. Perkins
A gripping portrayal of what happens when faith thrusts a person into the midst of a struggle against racism, oppression, and injustice. It is about the costs of discipleship—the jailings, the floggings, the despair, the sacrifice. And it is about the transforming work of faith that allowed John to respond to such overwhelming indignities with miraculous compassion, vision, and hope.
PODCASTS
In the first episode of a three-part series on the historical cultural moment emerging from the killing of George Floyd, Robert speaks to those who are passionate for racial justice. While affirming their zeal to fight racism, he cautions that they may be unknowingly embracing a destructive ideology that harms the very world they are seeking to heal. In his analysis, he takes a look at the history and meaning behind many terms that have entered our mainstream discourse which are crucial to understand.