The volume you are holding is a vivid testimony

…to the value of examining this variety and dynamism from multiple, overlapping points of view

…to the value of both realist and idealist voices

…to the value of articulating wisdom.

From the foreword by John D. Witvliet, Calvin Institute of Christian Worship

Since the publication of the first volume of Readings in African American Church Music and Worship, public and academic interest in the music and worship in black churches has significantly increased. This second volume makes available the most recent scholarship on twenty-first-century developments and trends, through a representative number of articles, essays, and chapters written by brilliant musicians, authors, and theologians of our time. The list of contributors includes some of the finest emerging scholars, whose voices we will be hearing for years to come, as well as offerings from seasoned authors, whose research and writings are well regarded by peers and the worshiping community at large. The significant contributions—from names new and familiar—greatly broaden the field of study.

The 43 chapters of this volume are divided into 7 categories:

• Worship and Liturgical Practices
• Perspectives on Praise and Worship
• Liturgical Theologies
• Hip Hop and/in the Church
• Proclamation of the Word
• Perspectives on Women and Gender
• Hymnody: Sound and Sense

Insightful, thought-provoking, challenging, hopeful—this volume will be a source of knowledge, a stimulus for discussion, and a call to (re)consider the many and varied viewpoints of the African American church.

Featuring the writings of:
James Abbington, LaTrese Adkins, Sandra L. Barnes, Tuere A. Bowles, Ruthlyn Bradshaw, Michael Joseph Brown, Melvin L. Butler, James H. Cone, David Douglas Daniels III, Robert Darden, Leo H. Davis Jr., Valerie Bridgeman Davis, Michael Fox, Kenyatta R. Gilbert, Daniel White Hodge, Birgitta J. Johnson, Alisha Jones, Tammy L. Kernodle, S T Kimbrough, Jr., Cheryl A. Kirk-Duggan, Cleophus J. LaRue, Monica T. Leach, Tamura Lomax, Pamela P. Martin, Marvin A. McMickle, Monica R. Miller, Stephanie Y. Mitchem, Thomasina Neely-Chandler, Deborah S. Pollard, Luke A. Powery, Samuel D. Proctor, Teresa L. Reed, Braxton D. Shelley, Martha Simmons, Josef Sorett, Rodney A. Teal, Frank Thomas, Kathleen S. Turner, Kenneth C. Ulmer, Gayle Wald, James Melvin Washington, Ralph C. Watkins, Lisa M. Weaver, Melinda E. Weekes, Christina Zanfagna

James Abbington is Associate Professor of Church Music and Worship, Candler School of Theology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia. He also serves as Executive Editor of the African American Church Music Series, published by GIA Publications, Inc.