A reader may recall the words of a song, "Where He leads Me I Will Follow," as the book unfolds. The clues and anecdotes Young shares give testimony that his life has been full of adventure in the spiritual arena, challenging on the political scene, insightful in the business world, and an emotional roller coaster in the human rights movement.
Although readers will not find background explanations of the events which he describes, they will identify with periods of time, events, and circumstances, especially if they were involved with the civil rights activities in the 1960s. Young's sharing of that important period in America's history will aid readers in recalling that time of upheaval. The notes he provides for each chapter come from his "own files or from conversations, meetings, discussions, workshops, training sessions, speeches, sermons, and the like."
"God uses all of us in spirte of our weaknesses and imperfections, and no one need be perfect to be a part of God's plan," Young suggests. "It is not reasonable to assume that the plan of God includes specific, detailed, and unique plans for each and every one of God's Children? . . . I learned the importance of 'the practice of the presence of God' to borrow the phrase of Brother Lawrence."
Young's experiences in the non-violent movement had their foundation early in his life. Growing up in a segregated community, he went to elementary and high school in New Orleans. As a teenager he went to Kings Mountain, North Carolina, for a retreat. While there, he saw and sensed that "if I were ever Born Again, this was the moment. A heightened awareness enveloped me. The earth is the Lord's and I am God's child, I said to myself."
He graduated from Howard University, received his theological training at Harvard Seminary, and his practical experience as a pastor in southern churches during his formative stages. Such recollections and experiences, coupled with his reading of Gandhi, prepared him for the leadership role he later assumed in his mature years. "To Gandhi, being whole meant a confluence of the spiritual, personal, social, and political. It also meant independence from colonial rule so that people could determine their own and their nation's destiny."
He was also influenced greatly by the leadership of Martin Luther King, Jr. "Race and ethnic relations must be addressed coninuously. The leadership of the churches of the sixties was an important more and religious influence on our racial attitudes and actions."
In later years he served as a member of Congress, ambassador to the United Nations, and as the mayor of Atlanta. Now he is co-chairman of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and vice president of an engineering firm. Young continues his work on behalf of African Americans and serves on the Board of Directors for the promotion of black history month.
A Way Out of No Way reads swiftly and has a bite and a challenge. The reader will agree with Young when he writes, "The real breakthrough to new levels of faith, mercy, and justice are reached when the power of God enters the human situation."
John M. Butler, a freelance reviewer and writer, lives in Washburn, IA.
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