Fully Free is a stellar example of a style of scholarship that is at once empathetic, critical, and prophetic. Mark Lawson understands the plight of white Evangelical Christianity from the inside. At the same time, he deploys his considerable historical skills to illuminate the political and racial dynamics of the predicament in which American Christianity finds itself today. Then he concludes with what is clearly God’s call toward a path forward. All this in a lucid, compelling prose style. For anyone who cares about the present crisis and future prospects of Christianity in America, Fully Free is essential reading.

—John L. Farthing
Emeritus Professor of Religion and Classical Languages
Hendrix College

As a New Testament theologian, pastor, and American citizen, Mark Lawson invites his readers to think deeply about freedom—both about the biblical proclamation of liberation and the American ideal of liberty. Because freedom demands accountability, Lawson gently reminds us of all the ways we are not yet free. Sharing his own relatable story, Lawson is bold enough to imagine that in a community of love, we will learn together the true meaning of “the freedom of Christ.”

—Jennifer A. Glancy
Professor of Religious Studies
Le Moyne College

Seasoned pastor and astute interpreter of Scripture, J. Mark Lawson offers a timely theological analysis of the contemporary threats of continued racism amidst Christian (white) nationalism. Written out of his own formation in Southern Christianity, he argues for a more robust view of human freedom as rendered by biblical writers, who understood marginalization. The renewal of American Christianity will require Black and white Christians to ponder these texts together, Lawson proposes, with whites evincing humble receptivity for the Black church tradition, which offers a more perceptive understanding of the fullness of freedom.

—Molly T. Marshall, PhD
President, United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities
Saint Paul, Minnesota

In our religiously and politically polarized moment, this book offers urgently needed context. Lawson accompanies his readers through Scripture and American history to illuminate the ways in which the ideal of freedom has been flattened and weaponized. He offers “the rest of us,” anxious about church decline and alarmed by the rise of Christian nationalism, the theological grounding upon which to take our next step.

—Rev. Marjorie Purnine, PhD
Dean of the New York School of Ministry
Associate Conference Minister, New York Conference UCCM

Observing both our nation and its varying forms of Christianity, J. Mark Lawson very rightly states, “We are at a moment of reckoning.” The great wisdom of this book is in how we move forward at this pivotal moment. As Lawson says, we can either stay on our current path of discord, or we can pursue the harder, but more holistic path driven by a vision of multiracial renewal where clergy and laity re-examine the Scriptures, engage in brave and honest dialogue about how faith shapes citizenship, while also embracing the biblical reality that “my” freedom is deeply connected to “our” freedom. As a pastor, racial justice educator, and activist, I have encountered many ideas for pathways forward, but it is not until this book, that I believe we genuinely have it.

—Rev. Gary T. Smith
Racial Justice Coordinator, UCC-NY Conference
Senior Pastor, United Church of Christ in Mattydale

Rev. Lawson takes the reader on an extraordinary journey of Scripture and American Christianity through the lens of race and freedom. This thorough exploration of the persistent influence of race and racism in the development of Christian denominationalism in America is a gift not only to the church universal but also to the scholarly, historian, and lay church-goer alike. With passion and historical accuracy, Lawson invites us to re-examine our understanding of the gospel message, the Church, and what it means to truly be free.

—Rev. Dr. Marsha Williams
Conference Minister, New York Conference