Böcker av Lewis Brogdon

African Americans have always wrestled with hopelessness. Yet in the face of hopelessness, African Americans fought for hope that America can be a land of equality, opportunity, and justice. The fight for hope has been difficult and has taken a toll on African Americans. Today the signs of hopelessness abound in black communities across the nation as an increasing number of leaders express concern about a pervasive problem that they could not identify. Beyond the continuing injustices and inequities linked to systemic racism, they recognize a growing internal apathy in African Americans. This internal apathy is nihilism, the embrace of nothingness, meaninglessness, and internalized oppression. Nihilism has been slowly emerging since the 1980s and is the reason there is an increasing number of blacks who turn to defeating and destructive behaviors that only worsen their plight. In nihilism's wake, leaders and communities are left trying to help people who have turned on themselves and abandoned hope that things can get better. The first step toward hope requires an understanding of hopelessness. Only then can we step into a world that pushes people to the brink and hope to make a difference. Hope on the Brink offers an exploration into this hopelessness.

Have you ever had a dream that seemed so real that you thought it was real? Once you woke up you were definitely glad it was a dream. Well what do you do when things have transpired in your life that are very real and painful? Can Anybody Stop the Pain is here to help you with probably the most definitive point in your life. How you handle real pain directly affects your future, as well as people around you who love you and need you. Difficult and painful setbacks can be a temporary hindrance or roadblock for you or they can completely ruin your life. It depends on a host of factors, one of which is how you choose to respond. We have all been hurt. We have also all been affected by people who have not recovered from their pain. We know how miserable they make their life for themselves and the ones they love. Maybe you are yet to conquer the pain of your past. Well if you are ready to get real with yourself and be an overcomer, then read this book. There has to come a point in your life when you claim that the pain of your past is not going to keep getting the best of you. In other words, you decide not to give up on believing in the good life. Life can be good again. I have good news for you. You do not have to live hurt for the rest of your life. There is emotional and spiritual healing for you. So take heart because there is someone who can stop the pain.

About the Contributor(s):Lewis Brogdon is Assistant Professor of New Testament and Black Church Studies and Director of the Black Church Studies Program at Louisville Seminary. Brogdon has served churches in Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio. He has coauthored an article with Amos Yong on "The Decline of African American Theology? A Critical Response to Thabiti Anyabwile" in the Journal of Reformed Theology, and recently published an essay on "African American Pentecostalism" in A Handbook of Pentecostal Christianity.