OtherWise Christian 3: What Shall Prevent Me?

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final cover art is still pending

The OtherWise Christian series will continue to expand!

With OtherWise Christian 3: What Shall Prevent Me?, we hope to build a multi-vocal discussion around the evocative and multi layered story of the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8.

Contributions will generally be between 1000 and 2500 words. Style may range from personal or poetic to more formal or scholarly, but accessibility for a general audience is essential.

Contact otherwise.christian@gmail.com or OtherWise Christian on social media.

A range of content from introductory to advanced is anticipated, but the emphasis will generally be on personal encounters and wisdom-sharing. Our aim is to invite and advance discussion and dialogue rather than to provide definitive “answers.”

The OtherWise Christian series is concerned with resisting white supremacy, Christian supremacy, and gender oppression. Contributions reflecting engagement with Africa, the African diaspora, and Black Church traditions, are strongly encouraged. Other reflections demonstrating cultural competence and cultural humility are also welcome. In particular, reflections on (de)colonization, disability, self-determination, land and body sovereignty would be considered valuable contributions.

The following outline is tentative, but reflects both contributions and conversations which are in progress for the collection, though a variety of contributions are still pending.

  • Section 1: The Stories We Tell will feature the Rev. Monica Joy Cross (“Revolutionary Rejoicing”), Peterson Toscano (“What Story Does the Body Tell?”), Mir Plemmons (“Out of Context”), Chris Paige (“Whose Stories Are They?”), and others.
  • Section 2: In the Chariot Together will feature Enzi Tanner (“Assumptions”), Mycroft Masada (“And I Travel On”) reflecting on Act 8 from their various experiences as transgender Jews.
  • Section 3: Claiming the Promise will likely feature Merrick Moses (“A Letter to the Ethiopian Eunuch”), Derek Guy, J Mase III, Dane Edidi, Renae Taylor, and others.
  • Section 4: Race and Gender will feature Debra Hopkins (“Authenticity”), Jamie Lee Sprague-Ballou (“Reading Scripture Anew”), Sean Saxton (“All of Me”), and others.
  • Section 5: In the Church will feature Vivian Taylor (“Our Inclusion Symbols”), Louis Mitchell (“What Actually Prevents Us?”), Fredrikka Joy Maxwell (“Belonging”), and others.
  • Section 6: To Africa and the World will feature perspectives from Africa and beyond as a way to recognize that the conversation about this text must extend beyond the United States.

The phrase “What shall prevent me?” is the anticipated subtitle for this volume as a way of pointing to prominent themes of identity, intersection, and inclusion.

  • FAQ: Updated (2023) on OtherWise Christian 3: What Shall Prevent Me?