ROOTS IN THE COTTON PATCH

In honor of what would have been Clarence Jordans one hundredth birthday and the seventieth anniversary of Koinonia Farm, the first Clarence Jordan Symposium convened in historic Sumter County, Georgia, in 2012, gathering theologians, historians, actors, and activists in civil rights, housing, agriculture, and fair-trade businesses to celebrate a remarkable individual and his continuing influence. Clarence Jordan (1912-1969), a farmer and New Testament Greek scholar, was the author of the Cotton Patch versions of the New Testament and the founder of Koinonia Farm, a small but influential religious community in southwest Georgia. Roots in the Cotton Patch, Volume 1 contains Symposium presentations addressing Clarences influence as a storyteller and contextual preacher and prophet, his pacifist witness in a violent and segregated South, and the contemporary meaning of his lifes work in Christian community. Uniting these powerful essays is the obvious impact Jordans life has had on so many. His life and work continue to inspire a new generation of activists, seminary students, and people in search of the meaning of Christian community. The world needs more Clarence Jordan--and this book helps accomplish that! The contributors to this fantastic volume add much depth and nuance to Jordan and the Koinonia community. I pray that this book will find its way into many hands, and then into many minds. --Brian Kaylor, author of Presidential Campaign Rhetoric in an Age of Confessional Politics In a world filled with so much cynicism and callousness, Clarence Jordan reminds us that the life together can be a more hopeful and compassionate alternative. This book echoes Jordans call to be a prophetic demonstration plot in a world desperately in need of reconciliation. --Anton Flores-Maisonet, Alterna, Georgia Both volumes of these books should come with a warning label. For years, Clarence Jordan has been both a gadfly and a mentor for me. These volumes, which consist of pr