Clarence Jordan cultivated a demonstration plot of God’s kingdom at Koinonia Farm. Now, with The Inconvenient Gospel, we have field notes from that experiment. Wise and often witty, Jordan’s words are a call to join God’s mission, even on our home soil where loving our enemies and our neighbors may be the same thing. Whenever I need a reminder of what it means to follow Jesus, I’ll reach for this book.

Few have lived, spoken, and written with such power, depth, and simplicity about Christian discipleship as Clarence Jordan did. His life is a testimony and a provocation to what God’s love for the whole world demands of us today. The Inconvenient Gospel is an essential book. It will inspire and challenge those willing to take its message to heart.

Clarence Jordan has you saying “Amen” one minute and thinking “I’m not sure about that” the next. He guarantees thoughtful interaction with his practical application of the Bible, which clearly comes from tending a farm. If Christians embraced at least some of his ideas, we’d have a different effect on our world: less hypocrisy and more action. Jordan sharpens us to our great benefit; read him and think.

I can critique some of the things Clarence Jordan believed about the Bible, but I cannot critique the way he lived it. This collection of writings from a too-often-forgotten sage is a gift to all of us at a time when we need models of costly courage and conviction. 

Flannery O’Conner famously said that her native South was “Christ-haunted.” But for Clarence Jordan, Jesus was more than a ghost. He was a living presence in the poor and rejected, inviting us into beloved community as a real and practical alternative to the plantation economy. Jordan’s words are as relevant today as when he delivered them.

We are lucky to have the legacy of such a man. For those of us who are hesitant to embrace Christ’s suffering, we have an example. For those of us who struggle as part of a young community of Christ to see our place in history, we have encouragement. His vision has endured.

The power of Clarence Jordan's words comes mostly from the fact that he lived out the Gospel rather than just preaching it, and he did that with courage and a sense of humor.

The distinctive mark of Jordan … is the way in which he acted in costly and dangerous ways that embodied the cross; he walked the talk!

Clarence Jordan spoke with an unwavering prophetic voice. He firmly rejected materialism, militarism, and racism as obstacles to authentic faith … He was a fearless and innovative defender of human rights.

Here was a son of the Old South, a white Baptist minister doing what we were only talking about. I went to Koinonia to see it for myself and couldn’t wait to leave because I was sure that the Klan would show up and kill us both.