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The radical vision of the founder of Koinonia Farm, where black and white Christians in Jim Crow Georgia pooled land and money to create “a demonstration plot for the kingdom of God.”
On 440 depleted acres in Sumter County, Georgia, a young Baptist preacher and farmer named Clarence Jordan gathered a few families and set out to show that Jesus intended more than spiritual fellowship. Like the first Christians, they would share their land, money, and possessions. Working together to rejuvenate the soil and the local economy, they would demonstrate racial and social justice with their lives.
Black and white community members eating together at the same table scandalized local Christians, drew the ire of the KKK, and led to drive-by shootings, a firebombing, and an economic boycott.
This bold experiment in nonviolence, economic justice, and sustainable agriculture was deeply rooted in Clarence Jordan’s understanding of the person and teachings of Jesus, which stood in stark contrast to the hypocrisy of churches that blessed wars, justified wealth disparity, and enforced racial segregation.
This selection from his talks and writings introduces Clarence Jordan’s radically biblical vision to a new generation of peacemakers and community builders.
This book details the life of Clarence Jordan and samples 13 of his sermons and speeches. I loved learning about him and found a soul similar to mine. At a time when it was dangerous to include black congregants, Jordan invited them in and showed them the love of Jesus. His speeches about progressive Christianity made him a target while treating those at his commune with love. No crazy cult stuff here. I enjoyed reading the sermons and was very glad to learn about Jordan. I received an ARC from the publisher; all opinions are my own.
There are many well-thought responses to Clarence Jordan’s collected words in The Inconvenient Gospel, including essential introductions by Editor Frederick L. Downing and Reverend Starlette Thomas. It seems that all that can be said has been said of Clarence Jordan’s revolutionary work and prophetic words about the scandal of racial injustice, wealth disparity, and hatred that seems to loom both in our history and in the daily news. For me, Jordan’s juxtapositions between Jesus’ parables and his own prescience about race and wealth and war in mid-century Georgia that still have us in their grip seem encapsulated in Luke 15:18: I will get up and go to my father and will tell him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight.” Whether one is a believer or non-believer, Jordan’s connection of Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son and Jesus’ healing of the tormented and demoniac young man hiding in in the tombs struck me as a message for our time. Surely much of our nation seems like an asylum that needs radical healing. Jordan asserts that reconciliation is key. It was a tall order then, and so it is now. Jordan’s voice comes to us across decades of the effects of inequality, abuse of power, and self-righteousness where many have attempted to tame, as Jordan said, God for their own purposes. This poses questions of what it will take for healing. I think the prophet Clarence Jordan would still affirm that every action, no matter how small, to make things right is right. There is no blueprint, only the Spirit of God to help us treat each other with love. This must not be just a nice thought but a radical communal redirection for the powerful and a radical confirmation for those who feel powerless to make a difference but want to do so. I recommend this book wholeheartedly.
Plough's most recent book, An Inconvenient Gospel, brings a selection of the most important writings of Clarence Jordan to a new generation. I first heard of Jordan as an undergraduate in the mid-1990s at a small Baptist liberal arts college. Jordan is perhaps best known for his founding of the interracial Christian community Koinonia Farm in Georgia in 1942. A farmer and Baptist minister by vocation, Jordan translated Scripture into the vernacular of the Southern United States, and interpreted them within the context of the racial South. But Jordan's writings, here compiled in chronological order, demonstrate how significant his message was and remains in 21st century America. This little book is indeed about "the inconvenient Gospel" of Jesus Christ, one that confronts and challenges our own cultural context in fresh and vital ways. Jordan, for example, endured threats from the Klu Klux Klan, while continually pointing to the radical nature of following Jesus -- confronting and transforming culture into communities of reconciliation. This is a very welcome edition of Jordan's work for a new generation.
The Inconvenient Gospel" is a selection of the talks and writings of Clarence Jordan, a farmer, preacher, and Bible scholar, who founded Koinonia Farm, a pacifist interracial Christian community in Georgia, USA. It consisted of 440 depleted acres, where Christians of different races pooled land and money to create “a demonstration plot for the kingdom of God. Like the first century Christians, they shared everything they possessed, working together to rejuvenate the soil and revive the local economy. In doing so, they would demonstrate racial and social justice with their lives. Clarence Jordan spoke with a crystal-clear prophetic voice. He was unwavering and relentless in his pursuit of God. He unequivocally rejected materialism, militarism, and racism as obstacles to the authentic faith of Jesus Christ. He fearlessly believed that greater change can happen in this world by living an authentic Christian life. Clarence Jordan bravely lived out the Gospel that he so fearlessly preached with exemplary courage and a highly contagious sense of humor. I am deeply honored to review "The Inconvenient Gospel" by Clarence Jordan. He did not hesitate to embrace Christ’s suffering, at any cost. As part of a community of Christ in this world, it helps us to see our own unique place in history. The vision of Clarence Jordan will survive for eternity. I am grateful to God that such a man lived and left such an enduring legacy for others to follow in his daring footsteps. Clarence Jordan embodied the cross and walked the talk. His bold experiment in nonviolence, economic justice, and sustainable agriculture was deeply rooted in his understanding of the Person and teachings of Jesus. “You can’t put Christianity into practice,” Clarence Jordan wrote, “Christianity is not a philosophy of life to be ‘tried.’ Christianity is not a system you work – it is a Person who works you.” I highly recommend this deeply inspiring book to teach Clarence Jordan’s radically biblical vision to a new generation of peacemakers, community builders, and social activists. United as one in Christ, we can strive to make a difference in this world in which we live. Let us not underestimate the powerful fact that "one with Christ is a majority."
I highly recommend this deeply inspiring book to teach Clarence Jordan’s radically biblical vision to a new generation of peacemakers, community builders, and social activists. United as one in Christ, we can strive to make a difference in this world in which we live.
If you are unfamiliar with the writing of Pastor Jordan, I caution you. If you read a collection of his writings such as The Inconvenient Gospel, your understandings of Christian doctrine likely will be confronted. A Christian scholar of Greek who lived the Sermon on the Mount, Dr. Jordan will challenge any staid Christian learning you may carry with you. Words are nice, but actions are what matter and our acts show how serious we are about being a Christ follower.
