Plough's most recent book, An Inconvenient Gospel, brings a selection of the most important writings of Clarence Jordan to a new generation.
I first heard of Jordan as an undergraduate in the mid-1990s at a small Baptist liberal arts college. Jordan is perhaps best known for his founding of the interracial Christian community Koinonia Farm in Georgia in 1942. A farmer and Baptist minister by vocation, Jordan translated Scripture into the vernacular of the Southern United States, and interpreted them within the context of the racial South. But Jordan's writings, here compiled in chronological order, demonstrate how significant his message was and remains in 21st century America.
This little book is indeed about "the inconvenient Gospel" of Jesus Christ, one that confronts and challenges our own cultural context in fresh and vital ways. Jordan, for example, endured threats from the Klu Klux Klan, while continually pointing to the radical nature of following Jesus -- confronting and transforming culture into communities of reconciliation.
This is a very welcome edition of Jordan's work for a new generation.
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I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review here.