The Church Enslaved: A Spirituality of Racial Reconciliation
Written by Tony Campolo and Michael Battle
Why a Common Reading Experience?
The Diversity Committee along with the Community Life committee invites students, faculty, staff, and administration to participate in a Common Reading Experience (CRE). The goal is to help us better dialogue and to gain skill sets that will empower us as leaders to engage our congregations and constituencies in discussing the tough issues that so often pull us apart as a society.
In as much as Dr. Michael Battle and Dr. Tony Campolo will be on campus February 11, 2008, discussing their book The Church Enslaved: A Spirituality of Racial Reconciliation, the committees thought it appropriate to use an excerpt from their book as our first CRE and focus on race as the central topic of discussion. We will also be organizing dialogue groups for those in the community who would like a more in-depth engagement around the issue. It is also a goal for Faculty to use the CRE as a reference point when applicable in their teaching throughout the spring.
The information on this site has been posted with the permission of both authors exclusively for the educational benefit of this CRE for spring semester 2008 here at Wesley Theological Seminary.
About the Reading and the Event
It is always difficult to present a portion of a larger written work, especially when it is on a topic such as race. Therefore we decided it was easier for the reader to be introduced to the beginning of this book. Yet we invite you to peruse the table of contents and understand the section you are reading in the context of the whole.
We hope that this reading will stimulate you to engage your peers in dialogue as well as attend the February 11th book discussion. If you would like to participate in the event's luncheon that day, please RSVP by February 5, 2008, to 202-832-2675, or email wtc@washtheocon.org. The event is being held at Wesley and is sponsored by the Washington Theological Consortium.
