Plantation Jesus: Race, Faith, and a New Way Forward - Paperback

by Skot Welch (Author), Rick Wilson (Author), Andi Cumbo-Floyd (Contribution by)

Not long ago, most white American Christians believed that Jesus blessed slavery. God wasn't bothered by Jim Crow. Baby Jesus had white skin. Meet Plantation Jesus: a god who is comfortable with bigotry, and an idol that distorts the message of the real Savior. That false image of God is dead, right? Wrong, argue the authors of Plantation Jesus, an authoritative new book on one of the most urgent issues of our day. Through their shared passion for Jesus Christ and with an unblinking look at history, church, and pop culture, authors Skot Welch and Rick Wilson detail the manifold ways that racism damages the church's witness. Together Welch and Wilson take on common responses by white Christians to racial injustice, such as "I never owned a slave," "I don't see color; only people," and "We just need to get over it and move on." Together they call out the church's denials and dodges and evasions of race, and they invite readers to encounter the Christ of the disenfranchised.With practical resources and Spirit-filled stories, Plantation Jesus nudges readers to learn the history, acknowledge the injury, and face the truth. Only then can the church lead the way toward true reconciliation. Only then can the legacy of Plantation Jesus be replaced with the true way of Jesus Christ.

Author Biography

Skot Welch is the principal/founder of Global Bridgebuilders, a firm focusing on cultural transformation and inclusion that serves a wide range of clients in the U.S. and in more than seven countries. Welch has worked in international business and diversity and inclusion management for nearly twenty years. Welch received his bachelor's degree from Albion College and his master's in management and international marketing from Aquinas College. He and his wife, Barbara have two children.

Rick Wilson was an Emmy-winning producer and writer in print and broadcast media. He was cohost, with Skot Welch, of the popular radio program Radio in Black and White, which covered topics related to race, ethnicity, and cultural competence. Wilson died in 2014 and is survived by his wife, Laurie, five children, and four grandchildren.

Andi Cumbo-Floyd is a writer, editor, and writing coach whose books including The Slaves Have Names, a book of creative nonfiction that tells the story of the people who were enslaved on the plantation that she calls home. She holds an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Antioch University, an MA in Literature from Case Western Reserve University, and a BA in English and History from Messiah College. She and her husband Philip run a small farm in central Virginia.