How to Be a Christian without Going to Church , livre ebook

Baker Publishing Group - Kelly Bean

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128 pages

English

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As many--young people especially--leave the traditional church in droves, they often still long for a genuine Christian community in which to practice their faith and share their spiritual journeys with others. They want to be faithful but struggle to find a place where they flourish.Whether they've already left the church behind or are merely considering it, readers will find here both heartfelt encouragement and practical steps for finding or creating a community of faith that honors God and offers rest, love, and communion with other believers. Author Kelly Bean broadens our definition of church to include many alternative forms of Christian community. With true stories of those who have given up on church and what they're doing now, this book is also helpful for pastors and churchgoers to help them understand why people leave the church--and what might be done to help them stay.

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Philosophie et théologie

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Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	24 juin 2014
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781441246530
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0432€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

© 2014 by Kelly Bean
Published by Baker Books
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.bakerbooks.com
Ebook edition created 2014
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4412-4653-0
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com
The Scripture quotation labeled ESV is from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2007
The Scripture quotation labeled Message is from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson, copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved.
“Kelly’s book is a significant gift, gathering into one place the real-world brilliance and experience of fellow travelers who are asking the question of church.”
— Wm. Paul Young, author of the New York Times bestseller The Shack
“Bean has done something of the impossible here. That is, she really has compiled a balanced and informing, clear, and more or less comprehensive guide to today’s alternative Christian communities. Even more important though, it seems to me, is the fact that she has laid open for full scrutiny the mind-sets, religious perceptions, and soul-filled motivations that undergird such communities and their individual constituents. Bean’s approach, while admittedly sympathetic, is also born of hard-core, personal experience, and she speaks with both the integrity and authenticity of one who has suffered in the course of arriving at her summations and conclusions. I could wish that every Christian today would read this one.”
— Phyllis Tickle , author of The Age of the Spirit and The Great Emergence
“Kelly Bean is a wise, whimsical, and revolutionary iconoclast. Anyone concerned about the life of the church or the dwindling and precarious role of Christianity in our culture will find her thoughts sufficiently provocative and compelling. Her invitation to a non-church faith and faithfulness is a radical reexamination about what it means to be intentionally oriented to the life of Christ in community rather than a pattern of church attendance. This book will call some to leave what is really not church, and it will call others to reengage the meaning of being a redemptive church.”
— Dan B . Allender , PhD, professor of counseling psychology and founding president of The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology
“Alarming numbers of people are leaving the church. For some this is a loss to mourn, but for others this represents an amazing opportunity to pursue a more authentic and embodied faith. I believe our hunger to ‘be the church’ and not just ‘go to church’ reflects a larger shift in our culture toward a more integral consciousness. In How to Be a Christian without Going to Church , Kelly Bean chronicles the stories of many who have left church institutions to create new communities of care, spiritual formation, and neighborhood engagement. Kelly doesn’t dwell on what’s wrong with more traditional church expressions or make harsh distinctions between old and new forms. Instead, she celebrates the possibilities with examples from her own life and the lives of her global network of friends. She addresses critical questions we should consider and reminds us that being a Christian without going to church actually requires greater commitment and intentionality. I wish this book could have been written twenty years ago. It would have saved me from a lot of frustrated groping in the dark for new alternatives. For those who struggle with church as they know it, this book can awaken imagination for all that Christian community can be. Kelly Bean writes with a wise, gentle, honest, and persuasive voice that we should pay attention to.”
— Mark Scandrette , author of Free , Practicing the Way of Jesus , and Soul Graffiti
“Despite her provocative title, Kelly Bean loves the church. Indeed, she loves it so much she yearns for it to become more and more the sign, instrument, and foretaste of God’s redeeming grace it was intended to be. Packed full of inspiring stories and deep insights, this book will help those struggling to remain in institutional churches, and those who’ve left, to understand the challenge we all face today and to set some markers for the road ahead.”
— Michael Frost , author of Exiles and The Road to Missional
“Some people are leaving traditional Christian congregations to become more faithful and devoted followers of American consumerism. But others are leaving traditional congregations for better, completely unexpected, and wonderfully inspiring reasons. Kelly is the best person I know to tell you about some incredible options.”
— Brian McLaren , blogger, speaker, author of We Make the Road by Walking
“I interact regularly with people of all shapes, sizes, and faith traditions. They love God but have found themselves on the fringes of many church systems. However, their desire for a deep and active faith remains real and strong. In this challenging and engaging book, Kelly Bean acts as an expert guide for exploring the diverse possibilities for living a vibrant Christian faith outside of traditional confines. Filled with real-life stories of creativity, community, hope, and justice, How to Be a Christian without Going to Church offers inspiration and ideas that challenge our souls and call us to practice. In a changing landscape of spirituality and church, this book offers a fresh breath of hope and possibility for our future as Christ-followers.”
— Kathy Escobar , copastor of The Refuge and author of Down We Go : Living into the Wild Ways of Jesus
“Being outside the box is overrated. It’s inside the box along the edge where prophetic leaders do their thing. In this book Kelly Bean has established her credentials as an inside-the-box but along-the-edge leader. From her history with the church, her experience as a leader, her life as a wife and mother, and her journey out of the institutional church, Kelly offers wisdom and guidance. This book is part personal journal, part chronicle of the church in our time, and part spiritual guide. All the way through Kelly is both fair minded and nonreactive toward an institution whose authority she’s earned the right to question. Walter Brueggemann is famous for calling prophetic leaders to both critique and energize the church. Without question Kelly Bean is a prophetic leader.”
— Jim Henderson , coauthor of Outsider Interviews and Jim and Casper Go to Church , CEO, Jim Henderson Presents
Contents
Cover 1
Title Page 2
Copyright Page 3
Endorsements 4
Acknowledgments 7
Introduction 9
Part 1 The Big Shift—From Going to Being 15
1. The Backstory 17
2. What the Heck Is Church? 27
3. Why Are People Leaving? 38
Part 2 Expressions of Faith 59
4. What Are They Doing Now? 61
5. Face-to-Face 72
6. God with Us 95
7. Hands On 104
Part 3 New Structures 127
8. Alternatives 129
9. Money, Money, Money 145
10. Without the Container 152
11. Alt–Sunday School and Alt–Youth Group 175
12. Parish Is Hip 190
13. Intentional Communities 206
14. Conclusion 223
Epilogue: An Open Letter to Churches 225
Personal Note 227
The Urban Abbey Story Teaser 231
Notes 233
Back Ads 239
Back Cover 240
Acknowledgments
The creation of this book would not have been possible without, first and foremost, the support of my husband, Ken Bean—one of the most patient, dear souls on the planet. I love you, Kenneth. Thanks to my children for stepping up as well during disruptions and prolonged absences for the sake of this book.
Baker editor Chad Allen qualifies as the second most patient person on this planet. Thank you, Chad, for seeing the need for this book and encouraging me kindly for a long, long time. Thanks to Brian McLaren and Jim Henderson for telling me to write and for opening doors. Thanks also to Rebecca Cooper, Brittany Ouchida, Danielle Searl, Molly Kenzler, Stephane Gerhig, and Mary Wenger for your significant roles as editors and readers. You helped bring this book home, and I am grateful.
Thanks to Edie Briggs (the best mom on the planet) and dear friend Gayle Wright—a good share of this book was born in Maui. Thanks to Rich and Joyce Ares—another good portion was born overlooking the ocean at the Oregon Coast. And thanks to Tom and Anita Morgan and Michele Nielsen—a stellar view of Mt. Hood frequently inspired my writing. The creation of this book was made possible because of community.
My Third Saturday Community and Urban Abbey Community have been schools of life and loving, supportive communities through so many stories and through this writing process. I cannot thank each of you friends enough.
Lori Martin, Joyce Ares, and Christine Brunken saved my bacon over and over while I wore too many hats at once. I greatly appreciate the African Road board members and friends who took the work in East Africa to heart while I wrote and helped me carry so many pieces of a newly forming nonprofit in these last years: Susan, Sean, Tom, Dennis, Carol, Timira, Kay, Mary, Bob, Linda, Michael, Marbry, Francine, and Shelley.
Thank you, Marcella Gowan, Adele and Joe Rocket, Jen Lemen, Michele Nielsen, and Michelle Ouchida for believing in me. Thank you, dear friends Molly and Sharon, for faithful prayer and a lot of listening all along the way.
I am blessed with more s