Resources

Below is a collection of resources that have informed The Missing Voices Project, and also serves as a suggested reading list for ministers and lay leaders.Thank you to our Theologians in Residence who have compiled this exhaustive list.

Disability and Ministry

• Amplifying Our Witness: Giving Voice to Adolescents with Developmental Disabilities, by Benjamin t. Conner, PhD
• Including People with Disabilities in Faith Communities, by Erik W. Carter
• About Us: Essays from the Disability Series of the New York Times, by Peter Catapano and Rosemarie Garland-Thomson
• Friendship at the Margins: Mutuality in Service and Mission, by Christopher L. Heuertz and Christine D. Pohl
• The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism, by Naoki Higashida
• Living Recovery: Youth Speak Out on “Owning” Mental Illness, by JoAnn Elizabeth Leavey
• A Disability History of the United States, by Kim E. Nielsen
• In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership, by Henri J. Nouwen
• Vulnerable Communion: A Theology of Disability and Hospitality, by Thomas E. Reynolds
• Look Me in the Eye: my Life with Asperger’s, by John E.  Robison
• Becoming Friends of Time: Disability, Timefullness, and Gentle Discipleship, by John Swinton
• Nurturing Different Dreams: Youth Ministry across Lines of Difference, by Katherine Turpin and Anne Carter Walker

Community Development

• Better: A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance, by Atul Gawande
• Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty, by Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo
• A Nazareth Manifesto: Being with God, by Samuel Wells
• The Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods, by Peter Block and John McKnight
• Wrong Place, Wrong Time: Trauma and Violence in the Lives of Young Black Men, by John Rich
• The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, by Michele Alexander
• Having Nothing, Possessing Everything, by Mike Mather

Black Preaching

• Rethinking Celebration: From Rhetoric to Praise in African-American Preaching, by Cleophus J. LaRue (“The Problem with Celebration as an Evocative Rhetorical Tool” pgs. 19-30)

Education and Formation in Black Churches

• In Search of Wisdom: Faith Formation in the Black Church, by Anne E. Streaty Wimberly & Evelyn L. Parker (“Forming Wisdom Through Cultural Rootedness” with Yolanda Y. Smith)
• Nurturing Faith & Hope: Black Worship as a Model for Christian Education, by Anne E. Streaty Wimberly (“Faith and Hope in Jesus Christ” pgs. 19-40)

Black Church and Youth Ministry

• Children, Youth, and Spirituality in a Troubling World, by Mary Elizabeth Moore and Almeda M. Wright  (“The Power of Testimonies: Spiritual Formation and Ministering with Youth” pgs. 182-194)
• Starting Right: Thinking Theologically About Youth Ministry, eds. Kenda Creasy Dean, Chap Clark, & Dave Rain (“Theological Framework for Youth Ministry: Hope” Evelyn Parker pgs. 265-277)

Black Church and Hip Hop

• Hip Hop’s Hostile Gospel: A Post-Soul Theological Exploration, by Daniel White Hodge (“No Jesus in the Wild: Race, & The Jesus Figure” pgs. 149-172)
• Urban God Talk, by Andre E. Johnson (“In the Church, In the Streets: A Spectrum of Religious Expression in Christian Hip Hop and Spoken Word Poetry” pgs. 207 – 221)

The State of the Black Church

• The Black Church Studies Reader, by Alton B. Pollard & Carol B. Duncan (“Black Megachurches and the Paradox of Black Progress” pgs. 189-203)

Resources for Ministry with LGBTQIA+ Youth

• 4 Views on Pastoring LGBTQ Teenagers: Effective Ministry to Gay, Bi, Trans, Queer and Questioning Students Among Us, ed. Mark Oestreicher
• A Brief Guide to Ministry With LGBTQIA Youth, by Cody Sanders
• A Quick and Easy Guide to Queer and Trans Identities, by Mady G. and J.R. Zuckerberg
• A Quick and Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns, by Archie Bongiovanni and Tristan Jimerson
• Beautifully and Wonderfully Made: An Invitation to the Church for Queer Teens, by Donny Christison
• Beyond a Binary God: A Theology for Trans* Allies, by Tara K. Soughers
• Changing Our Mind: Definitive 3rd Edition of the Landmark Call for Inclusion of LGBTQ Christians with Response to Critics, by David P. Gushee
• Consent: The New Rules of Sex Education: Every Teen’s Guide to Healthy Sexual Relationships, by Jennifer Lang
• Embracing the Journey: A Christian Parents’ Blueprint to Loving Your LGBTQ Child, by Greg and Lynn McDonald 
• Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Trans (But Were Afraid to Ask), by Brynn Tannehill
• God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationships, by Matthew Vines 
• He/She/They – Us: Essential Information, Vocabulary, and Concepts to Help You Become a Better Ally to the Transgender and Gender Diverse People in Your Life, by Jessica Soukup
• LGBTQ+ Youth: A Guided Workbook to Support Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, by Lee-Anne Gray, PsyD 
• Love that Dares to Speak: A Five-Session Group Study Course Exploring Christian Reactions to Homosexuality, by Hilary Brand
• Ministry Among God’s Queer Folk: LGBTQ Pastoral Care 2nd ed., by Bernard Schlager and David Kundtz
• Our Lives Matter: A Womanist Queer Theology, by Pamela R. Lightsey
• Outside the Lines: How Embracing Queerness Will Transform Your Faith, by Mihee-Kim Kort
• Pure: Inside the Evangelical Movement That Shamed a Generation of Young Women and How I Broke Free, by Linda Kay Klein
• Queer: A Graphic History, by Meg-John Barker and Julia Scheele
• Queer Theology: Beyond Apologetics, by Linn Marie Tonstad 
• Queer Virtue: What LGBTQ People Know About Life and Love and How It Can Revitalize Christianity, by Elizabeth M. Edman
• Queerfully and Wonderfully Made: A Guide for LGBTQ+ Christian Teens, ed. Leigh Finke
• Rainbow in the Word: LGBTQ Christians’ Biblical Memoirs, ed. Ellin Sterne Jimmerson 
• Sexuality and the Black Church: A Womanist Perspective, by Kelly Brown Douglas
• Their Own Receive Them Not: African American Lesbians and Gays in Black Churches, by Horace L. Griffin 
• This Book is Gay, by Juno Dawson
• Transforming: The Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians, by Austen Hartke
• Unashamed: A Coming Out Guide for LGBTQ Christians, by Amber Contorna
• UnClobber: Rethinking Our Misuse of the Bible on Homosexuality, by Colby Martin 
• Welcoming and Affirming: A Guide to Supporting and Working with LGBTQ+ Christian Youth, ed. Leigh Finke