THERE’S A STORM COMIN’

The American church is unprepared for the current socio-political climate that is generating severe racial strife and tension in American society. Highly publicized killings of unarmed black people presents an intense political issue for individuals and communities. These shootings cause considerable psychological distress in individuals and racial tension in communities and cities. The church is unprepared and thus vulnerable to division and strife within its own walls, is hindered in achieving and sustaining ethnic diversity, and typically fails to provide a robust, prophetic message of hope in the midst of socio-political despair. 

Drawing from current sociological, psychological, and political research, Dorrell makes the case that the church must take proactive measures to prepare for racialized crises. Churches must prepare for these crises to reduce their severity and impact in their communities and cities. Dorrell then recommends strategies drawn from the academic and professional fields of climate change adaptation and natural hazard mitigation to reduce the severity of these storms within congregations and communities. These insights are synthesized with biblical data to create a framework that gives churches practical steps to prepare for and respond to racial crises that inflict trauma to the social fabric of America.