Family isn't only who you're born to. It's who helps you survive.
What if the church has misunderstood Jesus' teaching about family for centuries?
In Beyond Blood, Rev. Jason Carson Wilson introduces Chosen Family Systems Theory and Chosen Family Systems Theology, presenting a groundbreaking theological, pastoral and interdisciplinary framework for understanding the communities people intentionally create when biological families are absent, unsafe or unable to provide love and belonging.
Drawing from Scripture, family systems theory, Black liberation theology, womanist theology, queer theology, pastoral care, psychology, sociology and lived experience, Wilson argues that chosen family is not a substitute for "real" family-it is real family.
Through biblical interpretation, historical analysis, theological reflection and practical application, the book explores Jesus' radical redefinition of family, the overlooked tradition of chosen kinship in early Christianity, Black communities' enduring networks of extended and chosen family, LGBTQIA+ chosen families as sites of survival and resistance, and Family Systems Theory through a liberationist lens. Wilson also introduces Chosen Family Systems Theory as a new interdisciplinary model for ministry, mental health, community care and social transformation.
The book examines how chosen family functions in hospitals, prisons, psychiatric institutions, chaplaincy and other settings where relationships often determine survival and healing. It offers practical guidance for pastors, chaplains, therapists, social workers, educators, community organizers and congregations seeking to build communities rooted in justice, belonging and mutual care.
Readers will also find practical ministry and clinical resources, including chosen family assessment tools, discussion questions, sample liturgies, congregational resources, clinical applications and community organizing strategies.
More than a book about family, Beyond Blood is a call to rethink belonging itself.
Written for clergy, seminarians, therapists, social workers, scholars, students, LGBTQIA+ Christians, Black church leaders and anyone seeking a theology that takes love, justice and community seriously, Beyond Blood offers a hopeful vision of God's family as something far larger than biology.
If you've ever been told your family doesn't count, this book says otherwise.
Because sometimes the people who save your life don't share your DNA-they share your covenant.
