It’s been fifty years since Dr. Martin Luther King wrote his amazing Letter From A Birmingham Jail. His letter was written in response to some clergy who had exhorted Dr. King to slow down a bit in his drive to abolish segregation. Now, fifty years later, some of our notable clergy members are responding to Dr. King in Letters To A Birmingham Jail.
Ten different clergymen—from different races, ages, and parts of the country—all responded to Dr. King’s seminal letter with gratitude, passion, and a unified voice for the twenty-first century church. Gratitude for Dr. King’s tireless trailblazing work, and for the indelible mark he made on each author’s life; passion for the church to rise up and fulfill its calling as a symbol of God’s picture of racial reconciliation in the world; and a united voice calling all Christians to follow in Dr. King’s footsteps, making the church look more like Heaven.
As a student of both history, leadership, and the church, Letters To A Birmingham Jail hit on multiple fronts for me. In the case of two of the authors, I got to witness Dr. King’s impact on both a father and son. In all the authors, I could see what a passionate, persuasive leader can do to change the attitudes and paradigm of an entire nation. Now, listening to these impactful church leaders calling us to fulfill the mandate of Jesus to evangelize “all nations,” I can see principles I can apply to my life, my community, and my church.
We owe a huge “thank you” to Bryan Loritts for dreaming up this book idea and pulling together such passionate and articulate voices from across our nation, to sound a unified and clear call to all Christians. I am confident that any one who desires to see the Church return to its apostolic roots will enjoy reading this book.
I am a Moody Press book reviewer.
Craig T. Owens 