Rev. Dr. John Cleghorn is the head of staff at Caldwell Presbyterian, Charlotte, a congregation that has grown thirty-fold since almost closing its doors in 2008 and is now one of the PCUSA's most diverse, intersectional congregations. Caldwell Presbyterian Church is the author's first and only pastoral call. Prior to entering ministry, he was a senior vice president at Bank of America, where he served in a range of communications and policy roles over eighteen years. Before joining the bank, he was a reporter and columnist for the Charlotte Observer for six years, chiefly covering business.
Description
"Make no mistake. Though it describes the intersectional church, this is a book about resurrection. Not just in some incalculable future, but resurrection in the quantifiable, realized present. In the communal flesh. And the focus is just as squarely on the church's role in realizing, through spiritual encounter, the resurrection of a faith oriented social justice. John Cleghorn gives us an inspiring view of the ministries of intersectional churches where believers from multiple identities and life places collide creatively, provocatively, and prophetically as living representations of God's invasive, incarnational encounter with our world. In fighting for its own soul, the church, through these intersectional churches, battles for the resurrection of a just American culture. The church of the future is peeking into the present in the pages of Cleghorn's wonderful work. Catch a glimpse. Feel the hope and promise of resurrection." --Brian Blount, president and professor of New Testament, Union Presbyterian Seminary "Compelling, well-written, and timely, Resurrecting Church: Where Justice and Diversity Meet Radical Welcome and Healing Hope is performative in that it does what it describes, making a rich and diverse case for intersectional churches. Cleghorn's book is a combination of memoir, history, sociology, theology, and biblical exegesis, revealing the beautiful, messy, complex, liberation God works through communities of faith brave enough to do the work and maintain the relationships of an authentic, multi-axis life together. Cleghorn's book provides thought provoking and practical insight into how we might be shaped by the Holy Spirit into God's kin-dom." --Jill Duffield, editor of the Presbyterian Outlook "A church of the both/and, an intersectional church, a congregation like one of only ten others out of 9,900--in this fascinating book of individual and collective sojourn, John Cleghorn tells us an unexpected story of hope and imagination. For those many of us wondering about the future of the church--or whether it has one--Resurrecting Church offers a vision of what it can mean to hold together diversity and justice. A necessary witness as we navigate days in which we are constantly challenged to give up both. I'm grateful. --Jennifer Harvey, author of Dear White Christians: For Those Still Longing for Racial Reconciliation