In Search of Wisdom: Faith Formation in the Black Church

by Anne E. Streaty Wimberly, Evelyn L. Parker

A guide for pastors, church leaders, and all who help African Americans in their search for a meaningful Christian lifestyle.

Forming Christians--leading fallen and flawed human beings into the path of discipleship to a crucified and risen Lord--is one of the central, if not the central, tasks of all Christian churches. It is a difficult enough task anywhere, but for African Americans, beset by racial conflict, personal crises, generational separation, and other concerns, it is especially so. African American churches must work particularly hard to counter the messages their members receive from the dominant and often unfriendly culture.

This book employs the biblical text and African tradition to draw on the idea of the search for wisdom as a potent way to help African Americans in their pursuit of genuine Christian discipleship. Wisdom in African American tradition is not simply knowledge; rather, it is those insights, attitudes, beliefs, behaviors,and practices that create and sustain a life of hope and that produce an inherent sense of the worth of one's self. If their members are to engage in the search for wisdom, African American churches must build an intentional ministry of faith formation. Wisdom can be gained, the authors argue, when African Americans listen to the black oral tradition with its proverbial sayings, revered Bible stories, songs, and narratives from the lives of exemplary individuals. The book offers several similar avenues for the search for wisdom, including helpful models of black males mentoring younger black males, as a remedy to the destructive effects that contemporary culture has on this segment of the African American community.

186 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2003

About the author

Anne E. Streaty Wimberly is Outreach Programs Executive Director, Youth HOPe-Builders Academy; Co-Director, Connecting with Hope Innovation Hub, Black Millennials Initiative; Doctor of Ministry Cohort Leader; Christian Education Professor Emerita; Interdenominational Theological Seminary, Atlanta, Georgia.

Reviews

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

I believe this book has a lot of guidance for the church today, if we take the time to take in what it has to say and reimagine how to apply it to our own contexts. My only issue with the book is that, because it is written by several contributors, it doesn’t seem like there is a coherent understanding of “wisdom formation,” or how that relates to faith formation. Still, if you do the work the book requires, there is a lot to be gained from this book.

[Rev. Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A text for a course in Spring 2016 at Brite, Ministry of Pastoral Care-- From the publisher: "A guide for pastors, church leaders, and all who help African Americans in their search for a meaningful Christian lifestyle. Forming Christians--leading fallen and flawed human beings into the path of discipleship to a crucified and risen Lord--is one of the central, if not the central, tasks of all Christian churches. It is a difficult enough task anywhere, but for African Americans, beset by racial conflict, personal crises, generational separation, and other concerns, it is especially so. African American churches must work particularly hard to counter the messages their members receive from the dominant and often unfriendly culture. This book employs the biblical text and African tradition to draw on the idea of the search for wisdom as a potent way to help African Americans in their pursuit of genuine Christian discipleship. Wisdom in African American tradition is not simply knowledge; rather, it is those insights, attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and practices that create and sustain a life of hope and that produce an inherent sense of the worth of one's self. If their members are to engage in the search for wisdom, African American churches must build an intentional ministry of faith formation. Wisdom can be gained, the authors argue, when African Americans listen to the black oral tradition with its proverbial sayings, revered Bible stories, songs, and narratives from the lives of exemplary individuals. The book offers several similar avenues for the search for wisdom, including helpful models of black males mentoring younger black males, as a remedy to the destructive effects that contemporary culture has on this segment of the African American community." - Loved the parts about using spirituals to teach wisdom.

[David Hardin · Rating 2 out of 5]

just thought it was okay. Never found a definition of wisdom in a book about searching for it, and found too many of the conclusion obvious.