Sounding the Trumpet: How Churches Can Answer God's Call to Justice

For 40 years, J. Alfred Smith, Sr. served as the Senior Pastor for Allen Temple Baptist Church in Oakland, a church with a national reputation for its ministry of black empowerment and liberation. In 2002, he began mentoring a young, white preacher from Harvard, Brooks Berndt. Eventually, as the pastor of a church in white suburbia, Berndt longed to see the same spirit of liberation come alive in his own congregation. Through an exchange of letters, Smith offers sage advice and wisdom as Berndt turns his longing into reality. The result is an intimate glimpse into the story of two friends who encounter the challenges of responding to God’s call for justice, but, ultimately, find a wellspring of hope and inspiration. “J. Alfred Smith—my intellectual Godfather in the ministry—and Brooks Berndt—his prophetic student and interlocutor—have produced a masterpiece. It is full of deep spiritual truths and genuine Christian wrestling with our prophetic vocation in this difficult moment.” —Cornel West, Professor of Philosophy and Christian Practice, Union Theological Seminary “Based on their hard fought struggles to help the hurting and helpless, Pastors Smith and Berndt have written with wisdom and spiritual depth about the imperative of justice.” —Barbara Lee, Congresswoman "A book to read, and re-read, and cherish, and pass on." —Allan Boesak, The Desmond Tutu Chair of Peace, Global Justice, and Reconciliation Studies at Christian Theological Seminary and Butler University