Our Hearts Were Strangely Lukewarm: The American Methodist Church and the Struggle with White Supremacy

John Elford

may 2023 · Wipf and Stock Publishers

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Our Hearts Were Strangely Lukewarm summons the reader on a most unusual journey through Methodist history. Along the way, we discover how the White American Methodist Church became deeply entangled with White supremacy. From the founding of the church in the late eighteenth century to the present, we have too often been silent bystanders or active accomplices in the enormous harm caused by racism. It’s a complicated and shameful story few Methodists know. And yet, if we want to transform the world toward a different and better future for all, one free of the stranglehold of racism, we must come to terms with the story of our past—the whole story! Our Hearts Were Strangely Lukewarm is a trustworthy guide into the church’s troubled history. It’s also a present-day call to action that finds inspiration in those Methodists who stood against the tide and those guiding the church today toward the horizon of racial justice.

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John Elford is a retired United Methodist pastor. He served several churches in southwest Texas and is currently pastor emeritus at University United Methodist Church in Austin, Texas. John continues to engage in social justice issues and is slowly learning how to be a better BIPOC ally. See more at johnelford.com.