Prophetic Speech in a Non-Prophetic Age

In his first book on social commentary and the African American church, Dr. Earl C. Johnson addresses the burning social issues of our time and challenges America's urban churches in Prophetic Speech in a Non-Prophetic Age. In his deep-seated analysis, Dr. Johnson writes about ways to save urban communities by addressing the pathologies that trap people into positions of isolation and class warfare. He believes that the 'prophetic voice' of many local churches has been silenced and co-opted while the people in its congregations suffer from a leadership dearth in the church community, the silence of many black clergy on social issues, the myths surrounding health care, the HIV/AIDS crisis, and the mass incarceration of black men and women. Additionally, he discusses how the new rise of charter schools and the decline of public schools affects urban children. One of the most compelling questions Dr. Johnson raises is this: Does the African American church have a social agenda for congregations that are suffering from bad political policies, poverty, job loss, social engineering, voter suppression, community violence and mass incarceration