Gary W. Charles

Brian Blount and Gary Charles team up to introduce us anew to Mark's Gospel. Reinterpreting Mark through sermons preached out of very different socio-cultural contexts, Blount draws parallels between Mark's message and the African American church's heritage of slavery and oppression while Charles wrestles with making the Gospel relevant to well-educated white suburbanites. Each chapter begins with an exegetical study and sermon by one author. Then, the other preacher responds from his own context, offering a different view of the text.

Despite the fact that mainline churches have been on a membership decline for the last generation, there are still active and healthy congregations where bright, able, thinking people have decided to stay and serve. In this book, Gary Charles studies these folks to find out what motivates them to remain in the church. Written in a readable, conversational style, this book describes these people--what they believe, how they understand God and faith, and what prompts them to take what has become a counter-cultural stance to stay in church.