To be a follower of Jesus means to bear witness to the truth of God. In an age when so many contemporary voices portray faith as a form of personal therapy, Gene L. Davenport, Professor Emeritus of Religion at Lambuth University, has consistently reminded us in his own witness that the truth of the Gospel entails confrontation with the world that dwells in darkness. These essays in honor of Davenport address the meaning of witness in the face of racism, sexism, and religious bigotry, to name but some of the forms this darkness takes. The topics range from emerging forms of prayer to religious themes in cowboy music, from the work of white pastors in Mississippi during the growing Civil Rights Movement to the meaning of the Righteous Gentile in Jewish-Christian friendship.Contributors:D. Brent LaythamRandy CooperStanley HauerwasBilly VaughanJames T. LaneyKenneth L. CarderM. Douglas Meeks Phyllis TickleL. Edward PhillipsTex SampleCindy WesleyJoseph T. ReiffMargaret J. MeyerCharles Mayo

L. Edward Phillips is Associate Professor of Worship and Liturgical Theology at the Candler School of Theology of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He is the author of The Ritual Kiss in Early Christian Worship and co-author of In Spirit and Truth: United Methodist Worship for the Emerging Church. Billy Vaughan is co-director of The Memphis School of Servant Leadership and works with the Sustaining Pastoral Excellence and Formation for Ministry programs at Memphis Theological Seminary in Memphis, Tennessee.