cover image They Walked in the Spirit

They Walked in the Spirit

Douglas M. Strong. Westminster John Knox Press, $29.95 (168pp) ISBN 978-0-664-25706-4

According to historian Strong, the common view of American Protestant Evangelicals as merely conservative and concerned with personal piety is incomplete. He offers eight portraits of evangelical Protestants who take their spiritual vigor to the streets, sweatshops, campuses and church halls of America with what he dubs a ""holistic faith."" Strong examines the lives and works of early 19th-century figures such as abolitionist William Goodell and preacher Julia Foote, as well as 20th-century figures such as Clarence Jordan, founder of the Koinonia Community in Americus, Ga., and author of the Cotton Patch Gospels. Strong believes stories of lesser-known evangelicals who married faith and social action can encourage others to ""walk in the spirit"" (Galatians 5:13-16) by achieving ""inward renewal and outward action."" This book should please both historians and general readers; the stories are interesting and the writing insightful. (Dec.)