Pastor McCorn has distinguished himself as one this generation’s greatest prophetic voices deeply committed to reclaiming our Africanity and Christianity. As a pastor in New Haven, Chicago, Atlanta and Baltimore he has led congregations to a closer walk with Christ and deeper understanding of their heritage. His messages blend thoughtful exegesis, prophetic witness and authentic Africanized expression. It is tragic many ministers have rejected their history and preach a westernized Jesus constructed post enlightenment by theologians seeking to maintain European hegemony. – Reverend Dr. Otis Moss III, Senior Pastor, Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago, Illinois
Many critics have perceived a growing schism between the Black faith community and the wider African American community. The Black Church can be accused of a “benign neglect” of the very communities in which most of them were birthed and belong. In this book Lester Agyei McCorn conceptualizes an effective partnership to revitalize and mobilize the “church-in-community” by sharing a common story between congregants and residents, building consensus around common goals, and, thus, building common wealth. Utilizing the methods of liberation theology and church-based community development, this represents a praxis model that leads to reconciliation and restoration. This book asserts that a key for a renaissance can be found in the recovery of an Africentric communal ethos in order to reestablish a cultural and spiritual connection between the church and the community, a renewed Holy Common Ground.
