The Gospel and My Black Skin

For anyone who has ever felt like they had to leave their culture at the door to follow Jesus, The Gospel and My Black Skin is the wake-up call we've been waiting for. Dr. JP Foster gets real about the Slave Bible, a version of faith that was literally cut to pieces to hide the God of the Exodus and keep our ancestors in chains. But this isn't just a history lesson; it's a reclamation project that proves our African ancestors were leading the church long before a slave ship ever sailed. I love that this book doesn't offer cheap answers, but instead gives us the receipts to dismantle the lie that Christianity is just a white man's religion. If you're ready to stop surviving in spaces that don't see you and start thriving in a faith that finally feels like home, you need to read this book. * Kareem Grimes, Actor, All American *
For the first time in American history, the younger generation of blacks are leaving the church en masse; it's what sociologists refer to as the 'black exodus'. Unable to disentangle the faith of 'Big Mama,' from that of our enslavers, many have thrown the proverbial baby out with the bathwater. So what are we to do? I'd start by reading my friend, Dr. JP Foster's honest, healing and hope-filled book, The Gospel and My Black Skin. When you finish, you will be inspired, as the old folks used to sing in the black church, to 'Hold to his hand, God's unchanging hand.' *  Dr. Bryan Loritts, author of Grace to Overcome: 31 Devotions on God's Work through Black History *
Foster speaks frankly, passionately, and faithfully. Let those of us who want to reclaim the legacy of the abolitionists, of the Civil Rights Movement, and others who have stood for justice, listen well, to the heart even beyond the powerful and eloquent words. To Black Christians hurt by the churches: God can use you to make the church better. Rejected by the religious and political establishment of his day, the Jesus who rose from the dead can empower you to restore new life. White Christians, too, need to hear the history, the pain, and the fallout, so we can support our Black fellow members in Christ's body and to weep with those who weep. It's too easy to say, like those Jesus criticized, 'If we had lived in the days of our ancestors ...' * Craig S. Keener, F. M. and Ada Thompson Professor of Biblical Studies *
It is rare to find the pastor-scholar who when striking the iron transforms the anvil itself with force under heat. Dr. JP Foster combines a blazing intellect with a pastoral heart producing a timely, relevant, and robust curriculum for those of us with big questions about race and the gospel. Reading this work won't require you to sacrifice your ethnicity for right convictions about the Gospel, neither will it compromise conviction for tribe. We need that. I wish every young person I know had this for required reading. * Rev. Dr. Charlie Dates, Senior Pastor at Salem Baptist Church and Progressive Baptist Church in Chicago, author, What Hath Justice to do with Righteousness *
One of my biggest areas of grief as a Pastor is that the Bible, the book of truth, throughout history has been hijacked by so many lies. Contrary to what so many people believe, white missionaries didn't bring Christianity to Africa, and people of color have never been an afterthought in the heart of God. What we need now more than ever are the corrective lenses to see the Bible for the truth that it really is. The Gospel and My Black Skin provides those lenses. This book is so timely and so needed. Read it and be healed. * Dr. Van Moody, pastor of The Worship Center Christian Church and author of The People Factor: How Building Great Relationships and Ending Bad Ones Unlocks Your God-Given Purpose *
Rev Dr JP Foster doesn't pull any punches here. This book strikes a devastating blow to the insidious forms of white supremacy that have flourished under the church's protection. His goal is to help Black readers understand the pain and disappointment they have experienced at the hands of believers who have absorbed forms of racism and used the Bible to justify it. Then he demonstrates that Christianity is not a 'white man's religion' but grew robustly in Africa before it did so in Europe. After highlighting Black heroes of the faith, Dr. Foster paints a hopeful picture of a collaborative and healthy future where believers of all races can worship and work together. Dr. Foster's writing style is effortless to read--powerful prose that will challenge readers of any race to rethink their ideas about where Christianity came from and who shaped it to become what it is today. A prophetic word. A healing balm. An urgent message. Take up and read! * Dr. Carmen Imes, associate professor of Old Testament at Biola University, author of Bearing God’s Name, Being God’s Image, and Becoming God’s Family *
The Black freedom struggle has been the leaven in the modern democratic loaf just as the prophetic Black Church has been the engine of the Black freedom struggle. This courageous and visionary book keeps our great Black tradition of love and justice alive. I salute Dr. JP Foster. His powerful and poignant witness is so timely in our grim times. * Dr. Cornel West, the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Chair at Union Theological Seminary; author of over 20 books *