Glory Road is compilation of autobiographical sketches by ten prominent African-American pastors, focusing specifically on their journey from the traditional Black Church into Reform Theology, which is widely viewed as “white people’s religion.”
Some of these stories necessarily encompass the difficult faith journeys of their congregations, as the pastor’s shift in theological base took them from the emotion-laden, social-gospel traditions of the African-American Protestant culture into the thought-provoking and deeply personal teachings of five-point Calvinism.
These ten journeys vary widely. There is the pastor who discovered his Reform beliefs when he enrolled in the wrong Bible college. And the pastor who came into Reform Theology through conversion from traditional African-American Christianity to Islam, then to renunciation of all religion, and finally, through a series of “accidents,” to Reform doctrine. There is yet another pastor whose study of church history informed his gradual shift into Reform thinking.
But through all of these varied journeys, one thing is clear: God uses all things to work together to achieve His purpose. A miscarriage. A wife’s need to feel part of a community. A college scholarship. There is nothing that God cannot use to bring men to him.
For their depiction of the struggle and seeking of the human soul, these stories are worth reading. For their spiritual joy and theological explanation, they are worth re-reading. Many times. For anyone who wishes to spread the gospel of truth and grace to those in the African-American community, this book should be required reading. Glory Road clarifies and enumerates the deep difficulties faced by those steeped in the African-American religious tradition when they are confronted with the doctrines of Reform Theology, which can seem harsh and confrontational to a person who is accustomed to the gentleness and tolerance of the social gospel.
One of the most useful aspects of Glory Road is the appendix in which each author lists the books and teachers who were most influential in their faith journey. The autobiographical sketches inspire the reader to explore deeper; this source list enables the reader to act on that inspiration.
(I received a review copy of this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.)