Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove
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Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove is a Christia
writer
and
preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as ...
who has graduated both from Eastern University and
Duke Divinity School The Divinity School at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, is one of ten graduate or professional schools within Duke University. It is also one of thirteen seminaries founded and supported by the United Methodist Church. It has 39 regular ...
. He associates himself with
New Monasticism New Monasticism is a diverse movement, not limited to a specific religious denomination or church and including varying expressions of contemplative life. These include evangelical Christian communities such as " Simple Way Community" and Jonathan ...
. Immediately prior to the
2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...
, he and his wife, Leah, were members of a Christian
peacemaking Peacemaking is practical conflict transformation focused upon establishing equitable power relationships robust enough to forestall future conflict, often including the establishment of means of agreeing on ethical decisions within a community, ...
team that traveled to Iraq to communicate their message to Iraqis that not all
American Christians Christianity is the most prevalent religion in the United States. Estimates from 2021 suggest that of the entire US population (332 million) about 63% is Christian (210 million). The majority of Christian Americans are Protestant Christians (14 ...
were in favour of the coming
Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...
. Wilson-Hartgrove wrote about this experience in his book ''To Baghdad and Beyond: How I Got Born Again in Babylon''. Also in 2003, he became one of the co-founders of Rutba House, a Christian intentional community in Durham, North Carolina's Walltown Neighborhood. In 2006, he founded th
School for Conversion
a popular education center committed to "making surprising friendships possible." He taught workshops there alongside his mentor and freedom teacher, Ann Atwater, until her death in 2016. Wilson-Hartgrove has also worked with the Rev. William J. Barber, II to promote public faith for the common good through
Moral Mondays Moral Mondays are protests that originated in North Carolina, United States and emerged elsewhere in the United States. Led by religious progressives, the leaders of the protesters sought to restore "morality" in the public sphere. Protests began ...
and the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. In his 2008 book ''Free to Be Bound: Church Beyond the Color Line'' (NavPress), Wilson-Hartgrove writes about
racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonis ...
and the central importance of racial reconciliation to Christianity. He co-wrote the 2008 book ''Becoming the Answer to Our Prayer: Prayer for Ordinary Radicals'' (InterVarsity Press) with fellow New Monastic
Shane Claiborne Shane Claiborne (born July 11, 1975) is a Christian activist and author who is a leading figure in the New Monasticism movement and one of the founding members of the non-profit organization, The Simple Way, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Claib ...
, and published a book on what new monasticism has to say to the church, ''New Monasticism'' (Baker Books). They also collaborated on the popular daily prayer guide ''Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals'' (Zondervan). Wilson-Hartgrove wrote ''God's Economy'' (Zondervan), which was published in 2009, and a study of the Benedictine practice of stability, ''The Wisdom of Stability'' (Paraclete Press), which was published in 2010. He published two books in 2012: ''The Awakening of Hope: Why We Practice a Common Faith'' (Zondervan) and ''The Rule of St. Benedict: A Contemporary Paraphrase'' (Paraclete Press). In 2013, he wrote a book about his experiences with
hospitality Hospitality is the relationship between a guest and a host, wherein the host receives the guest with some amount of goodwill, including the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis, chevalier de Jaucourt describes ...
called ''Strangers at My Door: A True Story of Finding Jesus in Unexpected Guests''. During
Holy Week Holy Week ( la, Hebdomada Sancta or , ; grc, Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς, translit=Hagia kai Megale Hebdomas, lit=Holy and Great Week) is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. In Eastern Churches, w ...
2015, Wilson-Hartgrove was one of approximately 400 Christian theologians and leaders who signed a public statement arguing that capital punishment in the United States should cease. He has worked closely with the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II in
Moral Mondays Moral Mondays are protests that originated in North Carolina, United States and emerged elsewhere in the United States. Led by religious progressives, the leaders of the protesters sought to restore "morality" in the public sphere. Protests began ...
and the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival and is co-author of ''The Third Reconstruction: Moral Mondays, Fusion Politics, and the Rise of a New Justice Movement'' (Beacon Press). After the 2016 election, Wilson-Hartgrove began teaching about the legacy o
slaveholder religion
in American Christianity and published ''Reconstructing the Gospel: Finding Freedom from Slaveholder Religion'' (InterVarsity Press). In 2020 he published ''Revolution of Values'' (InterVarsity Press), a book that explores how the religious right taught Americans to misread the Bible as an endorsement of Christian nationalism and invites people of faith to re-read Scripture from the perspective of the poor and marginalized whom Jesus blessed.


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson-Hartgrove, Jonathan Living people American autobiographers American Christian pacifists American evangelicals Christian monasticism Writers from Durham, North Carolina Writers about activism and social change Eastern University (United States) alumni Duke Divinity School alumni American Christian writers American anti–death penalty activists American anti–Iraq War activists American Christian clergy Wilson-Hartgrove, Jonathan Activists from North Carolina Year of birth missing (living people)