There are two books to finish this year. They both challenge me in issues of judicial injustice and racial justice.
One is The Guardians by John Grisham. He tackles the criminal justice system with a fiction story that highlights the real struggles and injustices found throughout our system. There are several organizations dedicated to righting some severe wrongs. There are some wonderful victories that come at high prices. This isn’t the “typical Grisham” of The Pelican Brief or The Firm. And I like this version of Grisham!
The second book is The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James Cone. I had just finished one book by Cone when he passed away last year. This is the second book of his I am working through. It is to my shame I haven’t paid enough attention to his writing. He challenges our American theology by looking at something we (as whites) will typically avoid: the horror of the lynching tree. He compares the theology and practice of Reinhold Niebuhr with the theology and practice of Martin Luther King. It is a moving book that leaves me with a lot of challenges for the work I believe the Lord would have me do in the years ahead in Alabama.
Happy reading. Happy New Year.
Apprentice 2 Jesus 