African American worship, education, and care giving draw upon rich heritages and deep wellsprings of experience. Glean support from some of the best resources for those in the pulpit, pew, and academy.

RELIGION IN AMERICA : African American 

Black and Christian.Com (Web Resource)
Black and Christian.Com
Black and Christian.Com bills itself as the voice of the African-American Christian community. This sight provides information in four primary areas: the pulpit, the pew, the academy and the black church. Contains a useful nationwide Black Church directo

Resources for and from African American Congregations (Web Resource)
African American congregations and leaders suggest resources on a wide range of issues—including community ministry, health, and worship. This report describes these resources, provides access links, a resource index, and a search feature.

River of Struggle, River of Freedom: Trends Among Black Churches and Black Pastoral Leadership (Book)
Lawrence H. Mamiya, Author.  Durham, NC: Duke Divinity School Pulpit and Pew Research Reports, 2006.
This report offers a history of the Black church in relation to current demographic shifts. It profiles laity and clergy—combining narrative and statistical information, and explores church’s role as political and social action agent.

Adam Where Are You? : Why Most Black Men Don't Go to Church (Book)
Jawanza Kunjufu, Author.  African American Image, 1994.
In this brief book, Jawanza Kunjufu examinese why so many African American men aren’t in the pews on Sunday mornings and what might be done to bring them back.

African American Christian Worship (Book)
Melva Wilson Costen, Author.  Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1993.
This volume on the history and theology of the African American worship experience explores how core African beliefs and historical events have shaped the experience and expression of Christianity among African Americans.

African American Church Growth: 12 Principles for Prophetic Ministry (Book)
Carlyle F. Stewart, Author.  Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1994.
African American Church Growth asserts that black churches can build viable congregations by employing principles of church growth which reflect prophetic concern for African Americans.

The African American Pulpit (Periodical)
Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press.
The African American Pulpit is a quarterly journal focused on African American preaching, with each issue focusing on a theme. Each issue includes a collection of sermons by African American preachers.

Black Religion and Black Radicalism: An Interpretation of the Religious History of African Americans (Book)
Gayraud S. Wilmore, Author.  Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1998.
Black Religion and Black Radicalism presents a religious history of African Americans—a history inextricably connected to the history of African American struggles for justice and freedom.

Building Up Zion's Walls: Ministry for Empowering the African American Family (Book)
James C Perkins, Author.  Jean Alicia Elster, Editor.  Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 1999.
A blueprint for ministry to the African-American family, this in-depth manual includes crucial components for affecting families today: reaching Black males, faith development, models of youth ministry, parent/teen communication, and nurturing marriage.

Church Administration in the Black Perspective (Revised Edition) (Book)
Floyd Massey Jr., Samuel Berry McKinney, Authors.  Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 2003.
Floyd Massey and Samuel Berry McKinney, both long-time pastors, focus on balancing the need to develop structure and accountability with the need to exercise flexibility and creativity in administrative systems.

Church Planting in the African American Context (Book)
Hozell C. Francis, Author.  Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1999.
The authors address the importance of the vision for a new church, case studies of a variety of congregations, the central role of the pastor, and specific obstacles that may be encountered.

Claiming God, Reclaiming Dignity: African American Pastoral Care (Book)
Edward P. Wimberly, Author.  Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2003.
Drawing on the biblical account of Job, Edward Wimberly emphasizes that our primary connection with God supersedes our reliance on other people's opinions—particularly when it comes to finding meaning in the midst of suffering or change.

Conversations with God: Two Centuries of Prayers by African Americans (Book)
James Melvin Washington, Author.  New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1994.
Following an exploration of the meaning of prayer and its sustaining power and the challenges facing the Black Church today, the author offers a collection of powerful and poignant prayers from 230 years of African-American history.

Directory of African American Religious Bodies: A Compendium by the Howard University School of Divinity (Book)
Wardell J Payne, Editor.  Howard University Press, 1995.
This ecumenical resource provides addresses and brief background information on African American religious bodies, organizations, agencies, and scholars, as well as essays on selected African American religious traditions.

Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America (Book)
Michael O. Emerson, Christian Smith, Authors.  New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2000.
The authors assert that evangelicals’ emphasis on individualism largely ignores or fails to address important racial issues, and some evangelical efforts may inadvertently contribute to the continuation of existing racial problems.

Ev'ry Time I Feel The Spirit : 101 Best Loved Psalms, Gospel Hymns, and Spiritual Songs of the African American Church (Book)
Gwendolyn Sims Warren, Author.  New York, NY: Henry Holt, 1997.
This text offers not only the words and music for 101 of the best-loved songs from the African American Christian tradition but also the history of these songs, as well as evidence of their power to inspire, heal, and redeem.

Getting to Amen: Eight Strategies for Managing Conflict in the African American Church (Book)
Lora-Ellen McKinney, Author.  Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 2005.
This book explores how conflict management strategies can be applied in the African American church, helping church members and leaders communicate in a healthy manner on such contentious issues as homosexuality and women in church leadership.

Growing the African American Church (Book)
Rev. Dr. Carlyle Fielding Stewart III, Editor.  Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2006.
This book offers the wisdom of 10 African American pastors who have grown their congregations both spiritually and numerically in a variety of circumstances and conditions.

The Heart of Racial Justice: How Soul Change Leads to Social Change (Book)
Brenda Salter McNeil, Rick Richardson, Authors.  Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2004.
The authors challenge the apathy, individualism, and isolation that plague many churches and blind them from recognizing racism. They also offer and explore a model for reconciliation.

If It Wasn't For The Women : Black Women's Experience And Womanist Culture In Church And Community (Book)
Cheryl Townsend Gilkes, Author.  Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2001.
In this collection of essays Gilkes, examines the complex interrelationships between gender, race and class that make up the experience of black women.

Not Without a Struggle: Leadership Development for African American Women in Ministry (Book)
Vashti M McKenzie, Author.  United Church Press, 1996.
Using historical, theological and biblical insight, Vashti Murphy McKenzie, offers a look at the development and impact of African American women in leadership positions in the church, as well as strategies for their leadership.

On Jordan's Stormy Banks: Leading your Congregation through the Wilderness of Change (Book)
H. Beecher Hicks, Author.  Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2004.
Drawing upon the image of the Old Testament tabernacle—by which the Israelites were led through the wilderness—H. Beecher Hicks shows how to face the tensions involved in defining a vision, confronting change, and dealing with obstacles.

Preaching to the Black Middle Class: Words of Challenge, Words of Hope (Book)
Marvin A McMickle, Author.  Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 2000.
This book explores ministering and preaching to the African American middle class, at the same time challenging members of this population to confront the responsibilities that accompany their increasing wealth. Sample sermons are included.

Refiner's Fire: A Religious Engagement With Violence (Book)
Cheryl A Kirk-Duggan, Author.  Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2001.
Cheryl Kirk-Duggan documents and analyzes what religion has to do with fomenting or transcending violence, citing examples from the Bible, slavery, and the Civil Rights Movement.

Soul Stories: African American Christian Education, Revised Edition (Book)
Anne E Streaty Wimberly, Author.  Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2005.
This book provides a culturally sensitive model of Christian education that is based on narrative and designed to support African Americans in their search for wholeness, liberation, and vocation.

Telling the Story: Evangelism in Black Churches (Book)
James Stallings, Author.  Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 1998.
James O. Stallings’ main is to help African-Americans recover their “unique” Christian story, and in that recovery, he hopes the community will be encouraged to tell its story into the future.

A Time for Honor: A Portrait of African American Clergywomen (Book)
Delores Carpenter, Author.  St. Louis, MO: Chalice Press, 2001.
Delores Carpenter provides a portrait of today's African American clergywomen, highlighting their struggles, triumphs, and contributions, and providing an overview of many of the issues affecting this growing group of church leaders.

Upon this Rock: The Miracles of a Black Church (Book)
Samuel G. Freedman, Author.  New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1993.
Author Samuel Freedman profiles the life-transforming ministry of the Reverend Johnny Ray Youngblood and takes us inside the church he leads, providing an “up close” view of how urban ministry and transformation work at their best.