GRACE MATTERS: A True Story of Race, Friendship and Faith in the Heart of the South

In this extraordinarily candid memoir, nobody is spared Rice's penetrating scrutiny, least of all himself. His account begins in 1981, when Rice, a white student took what he thought would be a brief break from Middlebury College to volunteer with the Voice of Calvary Ministries in West Jackson, Miss. It ends 18 years later when he finally did leave. In the intervening years, Rice fell passionately in love with the fight for racial reconciliation (especially among evangelical Christians), and devoted himself to it by living in an interracial commune called Antioch and developing a public ministry with his best friend, the late Spencer Perkins. More than anything, this book chronicles the stormy, often all-consuming relationship between these two men, who referred to themselves as "yokefellows." Perkins, the son of civil rights activist John Perkins, comes across as a flawed genius. His repeated failures as an administrator in various ministries contrast with his steadfastness as a friend, his unswerving faith and his gifts as a writer and public speaker. Rice portrays himself as an achievement-oriented perfectionist who suffers besetting jealousy of Perkins's attention-getting blackness, charisma and family ties. An antidote to every evangelical depiction of dramatic transformation upon conversion, this confessional autobiography shows how a household full of mature, radical Christians took more than a decade to learn one of the most rudimentary lessons of faith: that grace is the essence of Christian community. (Sept.)

Forecast:This book has some significant advance buzz behind it, including magazine coverage in Moody, Sojourners, NAPRA Review, Christian Retailing and CBA Marketplace.