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Christianity After Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening
Diana Butler Bass, one of contemporary Christianity’s leading trend-spotters, exposes how the failings of the church today are giving rise to a new “spiritual but not religious” movement. Using evidence from the latest national polls and from her own cutting-edge research, Bass, the visionary author of A People’s History of Christianity, continues the conversation began in books like Brian D. McLaren’s A New Kind of Christianity and Harvey Cox’s The Future of Faith, examining the connections—and the divisions—between theology, practice, and community that Christians experience today. Bass’s clearly worded, powerful, and probing Christianity After Religion is required reading for anyone invested in the future of Christianity.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2012
303 people are currently reading
1911 people want to read
About the author
Diana Butler Bass
33 books254 followersDiana Butler Bass is an author, speaker, and independent scholar specializing in American religion and culture. She holds a PhD in religious studies from Duke University and is the author of seven books, including the bestselling Christianity for the Rest of Us, released by HarperOne in 2006. It was named as one of the best religion books of the year by Publishers Weekly and Christian Century, won the Book of the Year Award from the Academy of Parish Clergy, and was featured in a cover story in USA Today. Her much-anticipated next book, A People's History of Christianity, will be released in March 2009 from HarperOne. She is currently Senior Fellow at the Cathedral College of the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Bass regularly consults with religious organizations, leads conferences for religious leaders, and teaches and preaches in a variety of venues.
Bass blogs at Progressive Revival on Beliefnet and Sojourners' God's Politics. She regularly comments on religion, politics, and culture in the media including USA Today, Time, Newsweek, The Washington Post, CNN, FOX, PBS, and NPR. From 1995 to 2000, she wrote a weekly column on American religion for the New York Times syndicate. She has written widely in the religious press, including Sojourners, Christian Century, Clergy Journal, and Congregations.
From 2002 to 2006, she was the Project Director of a national Lilly Endowment funded study of mainline Protestant vitality—a project featured in Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report, The Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times. Bass also serves on the board of directors of the Beatitudes Society.
She has taught at Westmont College, the University of California at Santa Barbara, Macalester College, Rhodes College, and the Virginia Theological Seminary. She has taught church history, American religious history, history of Christian thought, religion and politics, and congregational studies.
Bass and her husband, Richard, live with their family in Alexandria, Virginia. She is a member of the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany in downtown Washington, D.C.
Bass blogs at Progressive Revival on Beliefnet and Sojourners' God's Politics. She regularly comments on religion, politics, and culture in the media including USA Today, Time, Newsweek, The Washington Post, CNN, FOX, PBS, and NPR. From 1995 to 2000, she wrote a weekly column on American religion for the New York Times syndicate. She has written widely in the religious press, including Sojourners, Christian Century, Clergy Journal, and Congregations.
From 2002 to 2006, she was the Project Director of a national Lilly Endowment funded study of mainline Protestant vitality—a project featured in Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report, The Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times. Bass also serves on the board of directors of the Beatitudes Society.
She has taught at Westmont College, the University of California at Santa Barbara, Macalester College, Rhodes College, and the Virginia Theological Seminary. She has taught church history, American religious history, history of Christian thought, religion and politics, and congregational studies.
Bass and her husband, Richard, live with their family in Alexandria, Virginia. She is a member of the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany in downtown Washington, D.C.
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June 28, 2021
The subtitle of this book is unfortunate because it suggests the author's purpose is to do away with Christianity. Not so. What Diana Butler Bass is actually arguing for is a way for Christianity to reclaim its authority in a modern world where more and more people are claiming an identity as both religious and spiritual. For the multitudes who have given up on church based orthodoxy, but who still long for something to take its place, Bass offers a picture of what that Christian something might look like and points them in a direction for how it can be achieved. For people interested in a documented discussion of where the previously churched have gone and why, this is a fine introduction that asks and answers many key questions. For those who are threatened by any suggestion that Christianity can and should change, this is probably not a book for you. For those willing to be challenged by the idea that some of the newest ideas about the meaning and practice of Christianity are paradoxically some of the oldest, there is much grist for your mill to be found here. The church as an institution is not held in a favorable light. No question about that. But put into an historical context she presents a compelling argument for the existence of a new awakening that could lead to a Christianity that is not only compatible with science, but also with respect for the planet as a threatened ecosystem, and ethics based practices that lead us to the commitment of belonging to Christian community and a belief system validated by experience. I found her discussion both thought provoking and encouraging and admittedly a bit idealistic. But then again I have never had the courage to believe in nothing, so I am attracted to idealists.
April 1, 2012
A Valuable Message to Mainline Americans: Don’t Be Afraid of Spiritual Change
Don't be afraid. Religious life in America is changing dramatically, but for millions of Americans who are searching for faith, inspiration and hope on a daily basis—the underlying spiritual strength of our American culture is alive and well. In a couple of sentences, that's the wise and helpful message of Diana Butler Bass's new book, Christianity After Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening.
As a longtime journalist covering religion in America myself, I have been reading Diana Butler Bass's work for about a decade now and we have been doing interviews through those years, as well. If you are drawn to her books, I also highly recommend A People’s History of Christianity: The Other Side of the Story and Christianity for the Rest of Us: How the Neighborhood Church is Transforming the Faith.
In preparing to cover her new book as a journalist, I asked Diana the very question that millions of Americans are having trouble answering for pollsters: “How do you identify yourself religiously these days?” She laughed, because religious transformation in our culture is the central point of this new book. We're all changing—like it or not. Finally she said, “Can we just say: She responded with a big silence?”
When I pressed her, though, she said, “I understand myself as a Christian who is leaning toward an unknown future and I am feeling a sense of loss. I know we have to leave some things behind in terms of ritual practices and traditions of the Church, but I am also full of a sense of wonder and imagination. What is Christianity going to look like for my daughter? For my unborn grandchildren? I am hopeful. I see the possibility of a Christianity that can be open and fluid and that will no longer be guarded by huge boundaries and barriers set up by human beings to close out so many people. I see a Christianity emerging that will embrace people around the world in love. I hope for a future of healing for our planet.”
That’s not a bad response on the fly in an interview! And, if that summary sounds like you, then you already can see why you should get a copy of this book and read it, then share it with friends in your congregation. That uplifting voice from Diana Butler Bass comes through, loud and clear, in these nearly 300 pages of solid research data, analysis and advice to church leaders about ways to adapt to our current transformation in American religion.
Here's what this is not: This is not another "inspirational" book by a spiritual writer sharing a personal vision of change. There are many fine books in that genre from individual teachers, but Diana Butler Bass is not merely writing a personal manifesto here. She is a highly respected historian of American religious life and a scholar of contemporary religious culture and is regularly invited to lecture to conferences, colleges and gatherings of church leaders. By the time you reach the back cover of her book, you will understand the breadth of current research by Diana herself and by a wide array of other top scholars as well.
And this is not another guilt trip from a "church-growth expert," designed to whack congregational leaders over the head with 10 Things You’re Doing Wrong in Marketing Your Church. That's not Diana Butler Bass's profession nor her intention. This new book is a stirring (and, to be honest, a troubling) look at change in America’s religious life. But we are in the hands of a scholar whose vocation is driven by the hopeful promise that smart and well-informed church leaders can take positive steps.
Why is it so important that she covers the waterfront in current research?
Because we're not simply relying on Diana's own conclusions, leaving the reader to guess whether we should trust her. Instead, she fills in the other voices in a kind of panel discussion of top scholars, including as one example the widely known Harvard scholar Robert Putnam (famous for his work on Bowling Alone) and his colleague from Notre Dame David E. Campbell. Together, their latest book is American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us, which I also recommend.
Ultimately, this is a terrific book for small-group discussion. Not only will it spark lively conversations, but there's an even more important reason to work this book into your congregation's small-group schedule this year. It's this: Rather than simply arguing about various opinions concerning change, reading Diana's new book will give everyone in your community a firm footing on the latest research into these questions. Oh, people still will disagree, debate and question each other. That’s the fun of small-group discussion. But, at least everyone will know the wide array of solid findings that now are available to help us chart the future.
.
A People's History of Christianity: The Other Side of the Story
Christianity for the Rest of Us: How the Neighborhood Church Is Transforming the Faith
Bowling Alone : The Collapse and Revival of American Community
American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us
Don't be afraid. Religious life in America is changing dramatically, but for millions of Americans who are searching for faith, inspiration and hope on a daily basis—the underlying spiritual strength of our American culture is alive and well. In a couple of sentences, that's the wise and helpful message of Diana Butler Bass's new book, Christianity After Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening.
As a longtime journalist covering religion in America myself, I have been reading Diana Butler Bass's work for about a decade now and we have been doing interviews through those years, as well. If you are drawn to her books, I also highly recommend A People’s History of Christianity: The Other Side of the Story and Christianity for the Rest of Us: How the Neighborhood Church is Transforming the Faith.
In preparing to cover her new book as a journalist, I asked Diana the very question that millions of Americans are having trouble answering for pollsters: “How do you identify yourself religiously these days?” She laughed, because religious transformation in our culture is the central point of this new book. We're all changing—like it or not. Finally she said, “Can we just say: She responded with a big silence?”
When I pressed her, though, she said, “I understand myself as a Christian who is leaning toward an unknown future and I am feeling a sense of loss. I know we have to leave some things behind in terms of ritual practices and traditions of the Church, but I am also full of a sense of wonder and imagination. What is Christianity going to look like for my daughter? For my unborn grandchildren? I am hopeful. I see the possibility of a Christianity that can be open and fluid and that will no longer be guarded by huge boundaries and barriers set up by human beings to close out so many people. I see a Christianity emerging that will embrace people around the world in love. I hope for a future of healing for our planet.”
That’s not a bad response on the fly in an interview! And, if that summary sounds like you, then you already can see why you should get a copy of this book and read it, then share it with friends in your congregation. That uplifting voice from Diana Butler Bass comes through, loud and clear, in these nearly 300 pages of solid research data, analysis and advice to church leaders about ways to adapt to our current transformation in American religion.
Here's what this is not: This is not another "inspirational" book by a spiritual writer sharing a personal vision of change. There are many fine books in that genre from individual teachers, but Diana Butler Bass is not merely writing a personal manifesto here. She is a highly respected historian of American religious life and a scholar of contemporary religious culture and is regularly invited to lecture to conferences, colleges and gatherings of church leaders. By the time you reach the back cover of her book, you will understand the breadth of current research by Diana herself and by a wide array of other top scholars as well.
And this is not another guilt trip from a "church-growth expert," designed to whack congregational leaders over the head with 10 Things You’re Doing Wrong in Marketing Your Church. That's not Diana Butler Bass's profession nor her intention. This new book is a stirring (and, to be honest, a troubling) look at change in America’s religious life. But we are in the hands of a scholar whose vocation is driven by the hopeful promise that smart and well-informed church leaders can take positive steps.
Why is it so important that she covers the waterfront in current research?
Because we're not simply relying on Diana's own conclusions, leaving the reader to guess whether we should trust her. Instead, she fills in the other voices in a kind of panel discussion of top scholars, including as one example the widely known Harvard scholar Robert Putnam (famous for his work on Bowling Alone) and his colleague from Notre Dame David E. Campbell. Together, their latest book is American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us, which I also recommend.
Ultimately, this is a terrific book for small-group discussion. Not only will it spark lively conversations, but there's an even more important reason to work this book into your congregation's small-group schedule this year. It's this: Rather than simply arguing about various opinions concerning change, reading Diana's new book will give everyone in your community a firm footing on the latest research into these questions. Oh, people still will disagree, debate and question each other. That’s the fun of small-group discussion. But, at least everyone will know the wide array of solid findings that now are available to help us chart the future.
.
A People's History of Christianity: The Other Side of the Story
Christianity for the Rest of Us: How the Neighborhood Church Is Transforming the Faith
Bowling Alone : The Collapse and Revival of American Community
American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us
May 12, 2012
I chose to read this book because I am at a time of questioning the place of organized church in my own life. Several months ago we stopped attending the church of which my wife and I have been members for twenty-three years because actions of the church leaders do not coincide with our beliefs on proper Christian responses to society. Further, meaningful dialog seems to be impossible as the leaders' opinions are forcefully inserted in discussions in ways so as to squash other opinions from being expressed. Prior to joining this church we left a different church for similar reasons. At the time our current church seemed to be more open to honest exploration of opposing viewpoints, but with time, it too has become a place where opposing viewpoints are no longer tolerated as more and more of those who held views different than that of the church leaders have left. We have attended several organized churches in the past several months; none have yet seemed to be places where we can find community. Bass's description of the new spiritual awakening, and the unfortunately too frequent response of the established church, struck a chord with me. She relates that members of many organized religious communities are experiencing similar situations. This book explores the situation in historical context and results in not only hope, but advice on how to participate in the new spiritual awakening.
May 22, 2012
Are we in the midst of a great spiritual awakening? Reports from the churches might suggest otherwise, but there is other evidence that despite the apparent decline being experienced by institutional religious entities, there is great interest in spirituality. The New Atheists have tried to gain a foothold, but their message of a godless world appeals only to a few. Science has its place, but seems not to answer all humanity’s questions. But, the same is true for older forms of religion. While people aren’t giving up on God, growing numbers of people, especially among the younger generations aren’t convinced that churches, synagogues, mosques, or temples can fill the spiritual void they’re feeling. Thus, the fastest growing religious groupings today are known as the “spiritual but not religious” or as “nones.”
There have been a number of books and studies that address this issue. Many of these authors believe that we’re either on the verge of a spiritual awakening or we’re in the middle of one. As a historian, I’m cognizant that it’s often difficult to truly gauge something transformative while you’re in the middle of it. We can look back and see signs of change happening in the 16th century or the 18th century and deem these to be times of reformation or awakening. During such moments, old forms give way to new forms, or at least radically changed forms, but are we at such a moment? Only time will tell.
The rest of the review is found on my blog -- http://www.bobcornwall.com/2012/05/ch...
There have been a number of books and studies that address this issue. Many of these authors believe that we’re either on the verge of a spiritual awakening or we’re in the middle of one. As a historian, I’m cognizant that it’s often difficult to truly gauge something transformative while you’re in the middle of it. We can look back and see signs of change happening in the 16th century or the 18th century and deem these to be times of reformation or awakening. During such moments, old forms give way to new forms, or at least radically changed forms, but are we at such a moment? Only time will tell.
The rest of the review is found on my blog -- http://www.bobcornwall.com/2012/05/ch...
July 6, 2012
It took me awhile to read this book because 1. there's a lot to digest and 2. I got a lot on my plate right now. I checked this book out because the author is speaking in DC later this month and I wanted to get more out the talk. This book is a good blend of sociology, history, and theology. It offers a good look into the current climate of christian religion, faith, and spirituality in the United States. It summarizes the Great Awakening(s) nicely and puts them into a nice historical and theological context.
I would give the first 2/3 of the book 3 or 4 stars and the last 1/3 (particularly the second to last chapter) 4 or 5 stars. Overall, I found this book very hopeful (my parents, however, would probably shit themselves and pray for my eternal soul).
This book really echoes what I think is the main arc of christianity/jesus/the bible - love, compassion, equality, justice. In other words (to me, and others i'm sure), it is incongruous when people claiming christianity value doctrine over relationship, or love. and by relationship i mean with other humans.
I would give the first 2/3 of the book 3 or 4 stars and the last 1/3 (particularly the second to last chapter) 4 or 5 stars. Overall, I found this book very hopeful (my parents, however, would probably shit themselves and pray for my eternal soul).
This book really echoes what I think is the main arc of christianity/jesus/the bible - love, compassion, equality, justice. In other words (to me, and others i'm sure), it is incongruous when people claiming christianity value doctrine over relationship, or love. and by relationship i mean with other humans.
May 17, 2012
I wish I could give half stars--I would give 4.5. I thought this was the best of DBB's writing so far. Though I would not say there was a ton of new-to-me information, I will say that she does a wonderful job organizing, putting words to, and presenting things many of us have been thinking about for a long time. This is an accessible read even for non-professional church people. I so appreciate the clarity with which the author offers us both history and a framework for the present, along with hope for the future but not a program for how to get the future right now.
I do think the framework would be enhanced by exploration/overlay of Strauss and Howe's generational theory, and I wish there had been more interplay between these two understandings of how the culture of the world and the culture of the church work together/against each other/etc.
We'll probably use this for a church book group at some point, as it's so insightful yet manageable.
I do think the framework would be enhanced by exploration/overlay of Strauss and Howe's generational theory, and I wish there had been more interplay between these two understandings of how the culture of the world and the culture of the church work together/against each other/etc.
We'll probably use this for a church book group at some point, as it's so insightful yet manageable.
April 21, 2012
Excellent, excellent book. From my blog:
This weekend, read this book. Pulling together analysis from Harvey Cox, Brian McLaren, Phyllis Tickle and others, Diana analyzes the shifts in Christianity which explain – among many other things:
- why faithful people in my denomination want to leave the PCUSA to join the ECO or EPC while other faithful people want to remain in the PCUSA
- why the “how” questions (“How do I believe?”) is a better question today than the “what” questions (“What do I believe?”)
I love this book. It sparks ideas for theological education, sermons, liturgy, and endless grappling conversations over coffee. Your brain, soul, and faith communities will thank you.
This weekend, read this book. Pulling together analysis from Harvey Cox, Brian McLaren, Phyllis Tickle and others, Diana analyzes the shifts in Christianity which explain – among many other things:
- why faithful people in my denomination want to leave the PCUSA to join the ECO or EPC while other faithful people want to remain in the PCUSA
- why the “how” questions (“How do I believe?”) is a better question today than the “what” questions (“What do I believe?”)
I love this book. It sparks ideas for theological education, sermons, liturgy, and endless grappling conversations over coffee. Your brain, soul, and faith communities will thank you.
June 8, 2012
Diana Butler Bass really nails it, I think. This is a must read for every church governing board, evangelism committee, and clergy person.
August 5, 2017
Diana Butler Bass has always been on the forefront of religion/church. In this book she gives us a hopeful vision of the new awakening for a renewed faith by building from the bottom up. This is an important book.
April 16, 2017
For pastors who applaud and those who dread (and everyone in between) the shifts Bass explores in this text, it’s crucial things to have awareness surrounding. I appreciated her measured view of the shifts—some are choosing to create a bricolage religion for themselves and some find themselves thrust outside the mainstream whether they wish to be or not. The word association with religion and spirituality that she reports practicing all around North America, reveal that spirituality, on the whole, is increasingly a positive term and religion a negative one (68-70). Again, for some of us this is a truism that hardly needs articulation and yet reading about her conversations with church leaders, I hear echoes of leaders and congregants I know—some have either yet to receive the memo or have radically understood it if they have. As pastors, it is our job to speak to the questions people are actually asking and care for their real needs. I don’t mean to imply that we change the gospel to suit the times. Not at all. But I do mean that our job, our God-given calling in fact, is to learn to speak the vernacular of where we live. This has always been the call of God’s people.
The current upheaval and conflict is an extreme version of the nativism that she describes as beginning in the 1980s (in this vein, while I know it will not be easy to watch, I look forward to seeing Hulu screen Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale which was inspired by the Moral Majority and etc. of the 1980s). Bass quotes Fogel as describing the situation around the millennium as causing “people to lose their bearings…[fearing[ not only for their safety but also for their livelihoods” (222). This is happening not just in the US but around the world. And it is up to us as leaders to speak up for a gospel that is untethered from any political party or empire. And to keep hoping, praying for, and working to inaugurate a new awakening. It is time.
The current upheaval and conflict is an extreme version of the nativism that she describes as beginning in the 1980s (in this vein, while I know it will not be easy to watch, I look forward to seeing Hulu screen Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale which was inspired by the Moral Majority and etc. of the 1980s). Bass quotes Fogel as describing the situation around the millennium as causing “people to lose their bearings…[fearing[ not only for their safety but also for their livelihoods” (222). This is happening not just in the US but around the world. And it is up to us as leaders to speak up for a gospel that is untethered from any political party or empire. And to keep hoping, praying for, and working to inaugurate a new awakening. It is time.
July 8, 2022
Necessarily Provocative
This is not same old/same old fodder. Whatever God holds for us in the future, it will not be a repeat of the past or a return to it. Someone has to speak in such a way to garner our attention and stir our faith. DBB has done just that.
This is not same old/same old fodder. Whatever God holds for us in the future, it will not be a repeat of the past or a return to it. Someone has to speak in such a way to garner our attention and stir our faith. DBB has done just that.
October 30, 2021
3.5 stars. “Reclaiming a faith where belief is not quite the same thing as an answer, where behavior is not following a list of dos and don’ts, and where belonging to Christian community is less like joining an exclusive club and more of a relationship with God and others.”
February 11, 2014
In her Acknowledgments at the end of Christianity After Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening, Diana Butler Bass says, "These pages are my long-considered answers to questions a book and a teacher raised during my senior year in college." Christianity After Religion is one of those books that took me a long time to read. Not because it was difficult, but because it required me to look at questions that have lingered around my faith and life for years.
Raised in a very religious home, faith has always been an integral part of my everyday life. It was not merely a program to be consumed a couple times a week at our local church. It was giving thanks at every meal. It was hearing the Bible read each night as we gathered in my parents' bedroom. Those readings closed with us all kneeling beside the bed and expressing prayers to God. The church of my youth taught me that when some tenet of that faith was challenged by culture or science or another doctrine, the first response was defensive because the challenge seemed to attack the very foundations of all the provided meaning and purpose for every aspect of my life. Religion had been framed as a no-holds-barred death-match…winner-take-all.
There was a point about 12 years into my vocational ministry that this framework made absolutely no sense to me. My denomination had been embroiled in religious/theological/cultural battles for 20 years and the lines that were drawn between the sides didn't seem to be significant or substantial enough to justify the carnage being wrought between good and faithful people (Diana Butler Bass has a wonderfully succinct description of this battle on page 233). It was for damn sure draining my very soul. A journal entry I made during that time simply said, "God, if you're there, cool. If you're not, cool." I had had enough.
During that time, my family was a part of a community of faith that seemed to be a refuge from the battles…a spiritual DMZ so to speak. No doubt, our congregation was labeled by those in the fight, but my pastor, Dr. Larry Taylor, and the good people of that community had remained true. There was something different for me about that place. These people were not sheltered by any means and if pressed for a position on the issues of the day, whether religious or political, you would get an impassioned and well reasoned opinion from anywhere on the continuum of possibilities. But, we were ultimately followers of Jesus in a place called Emmanuel Baptist Church and that community was more important and life giving than any one political/theological position.
When looking back, I recognized that I had experienced this same type of community in a couple of places before. In the Baptist Student Union at LSU led by Frank Horton, and in the college department of First Baptist Church, Baton Rouge, led by Anne and Jack Lord. Rather than soul-sucking battles for "truth", I found life-giving and transformative spiritual community. It was in these communities of my college days that I felt a call to vocational ministry. And it was Emmanuel Baptist Church that helped salvage that call from the hubris of denominational leaders seeking to tear apart such communities in the name of their particular versions of truth.
By the time I reached Chapter 7 and read Diana Butler Bass' description of The Great Reversal, I recognized she was describing those communities from my past. These were not utopian by any stretch. But when taken as a whole, my experiences in those places were lived examples of belonging, behaving, believing (in that order). Butler Bass' connecting this vision of community with spiritual awakening was exactly the appropriate link to make and her practical actions of "prepare, practice, play & participate" placed the lofty aspirations of such an awakening on the solid ground of experience and tangible action.
Christianity After Religion has become a foundational book for me. I'll read it again and, with difficulty, will attempt to find more space for notes and thoughts in it's margins. I recommend it very highly. And I recommend you take your time. It's not a "page-turner" and I mean that in the absolute best sense of that term.
Raised in a very religious home, faith has always been an integral part of my everyday life. It was not merely a program to be consumed a couple times a week at our local church. It was giving thanks at every meal. It was hearing the Bible read each night as we gathered in my parents' bedroom. Those readings closed with us all kneeling beside the bed and expressing prayers to God. The church of my youth taught me that when some tenet of that faith was challenged by culture or science or another doctrine, the first response was defensive because the challenge seemed to attack the very foundations of all the provided meaning and purpose for every aspect of my life. Religion had been framed as a no-holds-barred death-match…winner-take-all.
There was a point about 12 years into my vocational ministry that this framework made absolutely no sense to me. My denomination had been embroiled in religious/theological/cultural battles for 20 years and the lines that were drawn between the sides didn't seem to be significant or substantial enough to justify the carnage being wrought between good and faithful people (Diana Butler Bass has a wonderfully succinct description of this battle on page 233). It was for damn sure draining my very soul. A journal entry I made during that time simply said, "God, if you're there, cool. If you're not, cool." I had had enough.
During that time, my family was a part of a community of faith that seemed to be a refuge from the battles…a spiritual DMZ so to speak. No doubt, our congregation was labeled by those in the fight, but my pastor, Dr. Larry Taylor, and the good people of that community had remained true. There was something different for me about that place. These people were not sheltered by any means and if pressed for a position on the issues of the day, whether religious or political, you would get an impassioned and well reasoned opinion from anywhere on the continuum of possibilities. But, we were ultimately followers of Jesus in a place called Emmanuel Baptist Church and that community was more important and life giving than any one political/theological position.
When looking back, I recognized that I had experienced this same type of community in a couple of places before. In the Baptist Student Union at LSU led by Frank Horton, and in the college department of First Baptist Church, Baton Rouge, led by Anne and Jack Lord. Rather than soul-sucking battles for "truth", I found life-giving and transformative spiritual community. It was in these communities of my college days that I felt a call to vocational ministry. And it was Emmanuel Baptist Church that helped salvage that call from the hubris of denominational leaders seeking to tear apart such communities in the name of their particular versions of truth.
By the time I reached Chapter 7 and read Diana Butler Bass' description of The Great Reversal, I recognized she was describing those communities from my past. These were not utopian by any stretch. But when taken as a whole, my experiences in those places were lived examples of belonging, behaving, believing (in that order). Butler Bass' connecting this vision of community with spiritual awakening was exactly the appropriate link to make and her practical actions of "prepare, practice, play & participate" placed the lofty aspirations of such an awakening on the solid ground of experience and tangible action.
Christianity After Religion has become a foundational book for me. I'll read it again and, with difficulty, will attempt to find more space for notes and thoughts in it's margins. I recommend it very highly. And I recommend you take your time. It's not a "page-turner" and I mean that in the absolute best sense of that term.
January 23, 2018
Christianity Without Religion is a very American centric look at the changes in mainstream Christianity in the last three hundred years. Summarizing the last three Great Awakenings, and their impact socially, politically, and religiously in the United States, Bass describes events since the 1960s in the United States in such a way as to suggest that American Christians are experiencing a fourth awakening like the first three. Most of the book speculates on how church may change to accommodate this changing culture.
This is not a new idea. Writers in the 1960s, inside and outside of the United States were already identifying major cultural shifts within the church, just as culture was shifting dramatically in other ways at the time. Many of the points in this book are the same ones made then. Though Bass does use data, most of this book's persuasion is anecdotal, rather than reasonable or data based. Stories last many pages to illustrate very simple points that cover ideas that have been part of the conversation in church for many decades, and were popular considerations in the emerging church culture ten years before this book was published.
The book is accessible to anyone who prefers a more casual, long form medium for these ideas. The church will always have disaffected members drifting away and questioning their identity. I suppose books like this will continue to be published so that something new is available for them. I can imagine this book being helpful to an American who has been steeped in mainstream church culture only to just now begin discovering there is a different way to look at things. But to anyone who has been following the alternative voices in the church, there isn't much new to be found here, nor much to find that hasn't been more concisely and convincingly said elsewhere.
For those looking for a different alternative voice on the contemporary church, I would recommend starting with Brian Macleran, John Shelby Spong, Peter Rollins, and John Caputo.
☠
Trade Paperback
HarperOne, 2013
Two Stars
January 22-23, 2018
☠
This is not a new idea. Writers in the 1960s, inside and outside of the United States were already identifying major cultural shifts within the church, just as culture was shifting dramatically in other ways at the time. Many of the points in this book are the same ones made then. Though Bass does use data, most of this book's persuasion is anecdotal, rather than reasonable or data based. Stories last many pages to illustrate very simple points that cover ideas that have been part of the conversation in church for many decades, and were popular considerations in the emerging church culture ten years before this book was published.
The book is accessible to anyone who prefers a more casual, long form medium for these ideas. The church will always have disaffected members drifting away and questioning their identity. I suppose books like this will continue to be published so that something new is available for them. I can imagine this book being helpful to an American who has been steeped in mainstream church culture only to just now begin discovering there is a different way to look at things. But to anyone who has been following the alternative voices in the church, there isn't much new to be found here, nor much to find that hasn't been more concisely and convincingly said elsewhere.
For those looking for a different alternative voice on the contemporary church, I would recommend starting with Brian Macleran, John Shelby Spong, Peter Rollins, and John Caputo.
☠
Trade Paperback
HarperOne, 2013
Two Stars
January 22-23, 2018
☠
May 4, 2015
Interesting and engaging. Bass has a lively prose style, heavily anecdotal but takes a balanced look at modern culture and trends influencing religion in a North American context. Her central argument in which she inverts the traditional order of believing, behaving, and belonging to the exact reverse is a compelling one for church practice.
The tragedy of this work is that Bass engages in speculation and enthusiasm in her third section that is heavily colored by her political beliefs. Bass's work takes a very predictable and pedestrian turn as she discusses the concept of "awakening" that is supremely dependent on her own parochial educated bourgeois view of reality. According to Bass the "awakening" that's coming is a greater openness and sense of experimentation in spirituality and social order which she never defines except by platitudes about "peace" "justice" and "understanding." In opposition to this "awakening" are reactionary forces that represent all that is evil in the world. (Bass is even brash enough to repeat the claim of a "friend" that the Tea Party is the most hateful group to emerge in the past fifty years - say what you will about the politics of the tea party its violence amounts to little more than rhetoric - contrast this with the Occupy movement that's responsible for property destruction and murder). Bass, who has demonstrated in the first two parts of the work that she is a talented and balanced analyst of data and culture fails to find that balance as she moves into ideas. I wish she had something more meaningful to say at the end than "The Holy Spirit is moving history so that myself and people who think like me will be right." That is not any formula for community and violates her own hopes of "belonging" being broadened by excluding those who disagree with her. The third section, which Bass seems very proud of, makes the entire book a failure.
The tragedy of this work is that Bass engages in speculation and enthusiasm in her third section that is heavily colored by her political beliefs. Bass's work takes a very predictable and pedestrian turn as she discusses the concept of "awakening" that is supremely dependent on her own parochial educated bourgeois view of reality. According to Bass the "awakening" that's coming is a greater openness and sense of experimentation in spirituality and social order which she never defines except by platitudes about "peace" "justice" and "understanding." In opposition to this "awakening" are reactionary forces that represent all that is evil in the world. (Bass is even brash enough to repeat the claim of a "friend" that the Tea Party is the most hateful group to emerge in the past fifty years - say what you will about the politics of the tea party its violence amounts to little more than rhetoric - contrast this with the Occupy movement that's responsible for property destruction and murder). Bass, who has demonstrated in the first two parts of the work that she is a talented and balanced analyst of data and culture fails to find that balance as she moves into ideas. I wish she had something more meaningful to say at the end than "The Holy Spirit is moving history so that myself and people who think like me will be right." That is not any formula for community and violates her own hopes of "belonging" being broadened by excluding those who disagree with her. The third section, which Bass seems very proud of, makes the entire book a failure.
May 21, 2025
A BOOK FOR THE MILLIONS OF ‘SPIRITUAL, NOT RELIGIOUS’ SEEKERS
Diana Butler Bass is a former Religious Studies professor at several institutions. She wrote in the introductory chapter of this 2012 book, about a high school friend who asked her why she kept a Bible in her locker, and she responded, ‘I’m not religious… I’ve got a relationship with God. I don’t really like religion. Religion keeps us away from Jesus… It’s a spiritual thing.’ My answer did not register. She turned away… It would be at least another decade before I would hear someone confess to being ‘spiritual but not religious.’ … A few months earlier I had started attending a new church… where the pastor urged members to get born again. I wasn’t entirely sure what they meant…
“What I didn’t know was that millions and millions of other people shared our story---of growing up in a formal religion, finding that somehow chilly or distant, and rediscovering God through a mystical experience… They embraced all sorts of theologies, from fundamentalism to medieval Catholic mysticism [and] Pentecostalism… And it was not only Christians. Many of my Jewish friends recount similar experiences of finding God anew… For those of us who followed Jesus, we had stumbled into a world of Christianity after religion, a spiritual space beyond institutions, buildings, and organizations, a different sort of faith.” (Pg. 2-3)
She explains, “This book is concerned with religion and change---especially how Christianity … in the United States, is changing and how people are questioning conventional patterns of faith and belief… I do think… it is exceedingly wise for faithful people to intentionally engage emerging religious questions in order to reform, renew, an reimagine ancient traditions in ways that make sense to contemporary people… What follows is a sustained reflection on how religion has changed in our lifetime… and what this means for Christian faith and practice. Much has changed. Where Christianity is now vital, it is not really seen as a ‘religion’ anymore. It is more of a spiritual thing.” (Pg. 7)
She argues, “Is it the end of Christian America? The end of Christianity? The end of religion? I think that the endings around us make a new beginning… And the awakening... entails waking up and seeing the world as it is, not as it was. Conventional, comforting Christianity has failed. It does not work. For the churches that insist on preaching it, the jig is up. We cannot go back, and we should not want to… But waking up is only the first step toward AWAKENING. To awaken spiritually means that we develop a new awareness of God’s energy in the world in order to discern what is needed to open the possibilities for human flourishing… [a] new understanding of self, neighbor, and God---a vision of what can and should be…. What will make a difference to the future is awakening to a faith that fully communicates God’s love---a love that transforms how we believe, what we do, and who we are in the world.” (Pg. 36-37)
She observes, “A crisis of legitimacy begins when new choices present themselves and when the path ahead is not clear, but such a crisis is made manifest when large numbers of people question basic aspects of meaning and life… most [questions] revolve around three… ‘What do I believe? How should I act? Who am I?’… the three questions … offer a framework in which to negotiate whether to stay within or leave a tradition.” (Pg. 47)
She notes, “The language of ‘spirituality’ is certainly different from the language for God and faith that many Christians used as children… But spirituality is neither vague nor meaningless… the word ‘spiritual’ is both a critique of institutional religion and a longing for meaningful connection… ‘Spirituality’ is… a word that is taking on fresh dimensions of meaning in a fluid and pluralistic religious context. To say that one is ‘spiritual but not religious’ is often a way of saying, ‘I am dissatisfied with the way things are, and I want to find a new way of connecting with God, my neighbor, and my own life.” (Pg. 68) Later, she adds, “Christianity is moving away from being a religion ABOUT God to being an experience OF God.” (Pg. 110)
She asserts, “Pride and hubris do not particularly seem to be humanity’s problem at the moment---they began to erode when the first atomic bomb fell on Hiroshima. In the last seven decades, a certain lostness has fallen over the human race… Salvation is not being saved from ourselves, escaping some dreadful fate of judgment, damnation, and hellfire at the hands of a wrathful God; rather, it is being saved to ourselves, finding who was lost and the joy of discovery in the hands of a loving Creator.” (Pg. 182)
She says of evangelicals, “two sorts of evangelical religion emerged in the 1970s and 1980s. One type was that of Jerry Falwell and the other moral crusaders; the other type was that of evangelical liberation theologians and other innovators. I call these forms ‘dogmatic evangelicalism’ and ‘romantic evangelicalism.’ The first type is of … those who want to shore up boundaries, reinforce creeds, and ensure group identity through theological purity and strict behavior. The second type… is led by those who wish to connect with people and ideas that are different, to explore the meaning of story and history, and to include as many as possible in God’s embrace.
“Dogmatic evangelicalism is … [a] belief-centered, externally bounded religion, a realm of authority and stability; romantic evangelicalism is… experiential, internally-driven faith, the arena of adventure and spiritual fluidity. ‘Dogmatic’ and ‘romantic’ forms of faith are not the exclusive purview of evangelicalism. Indeed, there are dogmatic Roman Catholics… dogmatic Jews and Anglican and mainline Protestants…” (Pg 232)
She concludes, “We cannot … make Isaiah’s ancient promise [2:2-4] come true. But we can embody some of its ideals and precepts more fully in this world. We can love God and neighbor better. Every spiritual awakening seeks to make visible, even if only in some incomplete way, God’s dream for creation. And each has succeeded in some way in doing so, as awakenings have resulted in greater compassion and equality in history… This awakening will not be the last in human history, but it is our awakening. It is up to us to move with the Spirit instead of against it, to participate in making our world more humane, just, and loving.” (Pg. 269)
It is interesting to contrast this 2012 book with Ms. Bass’s 2006 book, ‘Christianity for the Rest of Us,’ which was a strong support for ‘mainline’ churches. She now seemingly no longer has much hope for the institutional forms of Christianity. At any rate, this book will be of great interest to progressive Christians, as well as the ‘spiritual not religious’ person.
Diana Butler Bass is a former Religious Studies professor at several institutions. She wrote in the introductory chapter of this 2012 book, about a high school friend who asked her why she kept a Bible in her locker, and she responded, ‘I’m not religious… I’ve got a relationship with God. I don’t really like religion. Religion keeps us away from Jesus… It’s a spiritual thing.’ My answer did not register. She turned away… It would be at least another decade before I would hear someone confess to being ‘spiritual but not religious.’ … A few months earlier I had started attending a new church… where the pastor urged members to get born again. I wasn’t entirely sure what they meant…
“What I didn’t know was that millions and millions of other people shared our story---of growing up in a formal religion, finding that somehow chilly or distant, and rediscovering God through a mystical experience… They embraced all sorts of theologies, from fundamentalism to medieval Catholic mysticism [and] Pentecostalism… And it was not only Christians. Many of my Jewish friends recount similar experiences of finding God anew… For those of us who followed Jesus, we had stumbled into a world of Christianity after religion, a spiritual space beyond institutions, buildings, and organizations, a different sort of faith.” (Pg. 2-3)
She explains, “This book is concerned with religion and change---especially how Christianity … in the United States, is changing and how people are questioning conventional patterns of faith and belief… I do think… it is exceedingly wise for faithful people to intentionally engage emerging religious questions in order to reform, renew, an reimagine ancient traditions in ways that make sense to contemporary people… What follows is a sustained reflection on how religion has changed in our lifetime… and what this means for Christian faith and practice. Much has changed. Where Christianity is now vital, it is not really seen as a ‘religion’ anymore. It is more of a spiritual thing.” (Pg. 7)
She argues, “Is it the end of Christian America? The end of Christianity? The end of religion? I think that the endings around us make a new beginning… And the awakening... entails waking up and seeing the world as it is, not as it was. Conventional, comforting Christianity has failed. It does not work. For the churches that insist on preaching it, the jig is up. We cannot go back, and we should not want to… But waking up is only the first step toward AWAKENING. To awaken spiritually means that we develop a new awareness of God’s energy in the world in order to discern what is needed to open the possibilities for human flourishing… [a] new understanding of self, neighbor, and God---a vision of what can and should be…. What will make a difference to the future is awakening to a faith that fully communicates God’s love---a love that transforms how we believe, what we do, and who we are in the world.” (Pg. 36-37)
She observes, “A crisis of legitimacy begins when new choices present themselves and when the path ahead is not clear, but such a crisis is made manifest when large numbers of people question basic aspects of meaning and life… most [questions] revolve around three… ‘What do I believe? How should I act? Who am I?’… the three questions … offer a framework in which to negotiate whether to stay within or leave a tradition.” (Pg. 47)
She notes, “The language of ‘spirituality’ is certainly different from the language for God and faith that many Christians used as children… But spirituality is neither vague nor meaningless… the word ‘spiritual’ is both a critique of institutional religion and a longing for meaningful connection… ‘Spirituality’ is… a word that is taking on fresh dimensions of meaning in a fluid and pluralistic religious context. To say that one is ‘spiritual but not religious’ is often a way of saying, ‘I am dissatisfied with the way things are, and I want to find a new way of connecting with God, my neighbor, and my own life.” (Pg. 68) Later, she adds, “Christianity is moving away from being a religion ABOUT God to being an experience OF God.” (Pg. 110)
She asserts, “Pride and hubris do not particularly seem to be humanity’s problem at the moment---they began to erode when the first atomic bomb fell on Hiroshima. In the last seven decades, a certain lostness has fallen over the human race… Salvation is not being saved from ourselves, escaping some dreadful fate of judgment, damnation, and hellfire at the hands of a wrathful God; rather, it is being saved to ourselves, finding who was lost and the joy of discovery in the hands of a loving Creator.” (Pg. 182)
She says of evangelicals, “two sorts of evangelical religion emerged in the 1970s and 1980s. One type was that of Jerry Falwell and the other moral crusaders; the other type was that of evangelical liberation theologians and other innovators. I call these forms ‘dogmatic evangelicalism’ and ‘romantic evangelicalism.’ The first type is of … those who want to shore up boundaries, reinforce creeds, and ensure group identity through theological purity and strict behavior. The second type… is led by those who wish to connect with people and ideas that are different, to explore the meaning of story and history, and to include as many as possible in God’s embrace.
“Dogmatic evangelicalism is … [a] belief-centered, externally bounded religion, a realm of authority and stability; romantic evangelicalism is… experiential, internally-driven faith, the arena of adventure and spiritual fluidity. ‘Dogmatic’ and ‘romantic’ forms of faith are not the exclusive purview of evangelicalism. Indeed, there are dogmatic Roman Catholics… dogmatic Jews and Anglican and mainline Protestants…” (Pg 232)
She concludes, “We cannot … make Isaiah’s ancient promise [2:2-4] come true. But we can embody some of its ideals and precepts more fully in this world. We can love God and neighbor better. Every spiritual awakening seeks to make visible, even if only in some incomplete way, God’s dream for creation. And each has succeeded in some way in doing so, as awakenings have resulted in greater compassion and equality in history… This awakening will not be the last in human history, but it is our awakening. It is up to us to move with the Spirit instead of against it, to participate in making our world more humane, just, and loving.” (Pg. 269)
It is interesting to contrast this 2012 book with Ms. Bass’s 2006 book, ‘Christianity for the Rest of Us,’ which was a strong support for ‘mainline’ churches. She now seemingly no longer has much hope for the institutional forms of Christianity. At any rate, this book will be of great interest to progressive Christians, as well as the ‘spiritual not religious’ person.
June 25, 2019
Christianity After Religion by Diana Butler Bass offers a promising subtitle, a magnificent and helpful lens by which to view both history and Christianity, but ultimately drops the ball applying this helpful lens to our present crisis of division.
The Good: Diana’s explanation of religion as believing, behaving, and belonging and how that order needs to be reversed is amazingly helpful. This discussion forms the heart of this book, and it is definitely worth your time.
The Bad: Part 3 is uninspired and, compared with the content of the previous part, seems rushed and short-changed. Parts 1 and 2 are both helpful and about 100 pages long; part 3, particularly the final chapter 9, is just over 50 pages and offers almost nothing that people haven’t been saying for hundreds of years. (Read the Bible and pray? Get out there and do something? These don’t help me figure out how to thrive in our nativist-backlash time.)
The Ugly: The description of Old Lights and New Lights will alienate the people who need to hear this the most - conservative nativists who may not understand their role in the history of revival.
Going in to part 3, this book was poised to be one of my favorite books of all time. However, the truncated concluding section dropped the ball so hard I’m not sure I can recommend anyone read chapter 9. We’d be better off coming to our own conclusions and finding our own creative solutions...which actually might be what Diana had in mind all along...well played, Diana, well played.
EDIT: I’m now a couple of weeks out from finishing this book, and I appreciate it more. Changed my 3 star rating to 4.
The road ahead is not clearly marked - we make the trail by walking it.
The Good: Diana’s explanation of religion as believing, behaving, and belonging and how that order needs to be reversed is amazingly helpful. This discussion forms the heart of this book, and it is definitely worth your time.
The Bad: Part 3 is uninspired and, compared with the content of the previous part, seems rushed and short-changed. Parts 1 and 2 are both helpful and about 100 pages long; part 3, particularly the final chapter 9, is just over 50 pages and offers almost nothing that people haven’t been saying for hundreds of years. (Read the Bible and pray? Get out there and do something? These don’t help me figure out how to thrive in our nativist-backlash time.)
The Ugly: The description of Old Lights and New Lights will alienate the people who need to hear this the most - conservative nativists who may not understand their role in the history of revival.
Going in to part 3, this book was poised to be one of my favorite books of all time. However, the truncated concluding section dropped the ball so hard I’m not sure I can recommend anyone read chapter 9. We’d be better off coming to our own conclusions and finding our own creative solutions...which actually might be what Diana had in mind all along...well played, Diana, well played.
EDIT: I’m now a couple of weeks out from finishing this book, and I appreciate it more. Changed my 3 star rating to 4.
The road ahead is not clearly marked - we make the trail by walking it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 2, 2016
1.5/5. Some helpful data & analysis on religious & cultural trends in America. Some good nuggets on the nature of faith & spiritual experience, as well. But this book is built upon caricatures--of groups, arguments, & ideas. Also, though I appreciated that she attempted to give anticipatory counterarguments to traditionalist critics (like me), they were generally poor attempts, for they often amounted to assertions (thus, I was rarely persuaded). Also also, the turn for the political in the last quarter of the book was surprisingly shallow. (She literally grouped together the Tea Party & jihadist terrorists at one point, and saw the election of Obama as a key moment in our country's alleged current spiritual awakening [lol].) Ultimately, I have profound disagreements with Bass's understanding of what Christian faith ought to be. If I were to write a book in response to this one, I might title it "Christianity After Butchering".
March 30, 2012
This is an important book. This book would be worthwhile reading for anyone who has ever examined their own spiritual journey, questioned their faith, or even been hurt by the 'church'. Some issues would be clarified and brought to light.
In addition this book is for every Christian who cares about Jesus, who cares about the future of Christian faith. Diana carefully researches the status of the Church today, and examines the life and faith of followers of Jesus.
What is the future of the Church? In reading this book, I find hope for journey.
In addition this book is for every Christian who cares about Jesus, who cares about the future of Christian faith. Diana carefully researches the status of the Church today, and examines the life and faith of followers of Jesus.
What is the future of the Church? In reading this book, I find hope for journey.
February 5, 2016
Although having an American slant, this book has helped me understand how Christian culture is expressed these days in England. I'm not a visitor from another planet, but having lived in Africa for years I might just as well be - things have changed and seem strange to me. The author is able to paint an interesting overview of not just church history but also the more subtle shifts and trends in personal attitudes to church and faith. Somehow I am left feeling braver about accepting and even being part of change.
March 25, 2013
Prophetic, analytic and downright fascinating! A guidebook to the "great awakening" taking place within the halls of orthodoxy of American Christianity. The pesky little secret that just won't stay hidden. If you want an understanding of where the church is headed in the 21st Century, this is a good place to start. In able company of the likes of Rob Bell, Parker J. Palmer, Brian McLaren and others, Butler Bass's writing is compelling and fresh.
August 15, 2013
This is Diana Butler Bass' best work to this point and one of the clearest and most helpful examinations of the dynamic within culture in relation to spirituality and religion. It is helpful in understanding many of the larger struggles going on not only in religion, but also in the larger cultural and political struggles for identity going on within our country. I found this not only a helpful book but a very hopeful one.
July 10, 2012
A fascinating look at where we've been. A sobering look at where we are. A hope-filled look at where we might be going. Though the church is changing dramatically, it may not be so bad. We may even have a chance to discover an even more faithful way of being in this post-Christian/emerging vision of "spiritual and religious."
August 4, 2012
An interesting take on the current religious tensions in the US, from the perspective of someone who thinks that Christianity-as-belief is a reactionary attempt to go back to a previous age. Ultimately, I think her criticisms of conservative religion (not the same as religious conservatism) are more convincing that her suggestions as to the alternative.
March 25, 2012
My review is here:http://www.billdahl.net/headline/chri...
And on Amazon...books like this are crafted once every 5 years...This is a Treasure!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And on Amazon...books like this are crafted once every 5 years...This is a Treasure!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
April 17, 2012
This book teaches me very wide range aspects of Christendom especially in U.S. I'll preserve this book in my bookshelf. I'm a foreigner of christianity and of the U.S., but I could understand what this author want to say.
July 10, 2012
Excellent overview of the evolution of religion in the US and how the changes taking place can be utilized by individuals who are searching among the diversity of choices for communal belonging. Or even the possibility of creating new ways of spiritually being present with a little imagination.
November 14, 2012
I'm going to have to put this down, mostly because I get depressed whenever I open it. Maybe I'll try again some other time. It's good - very good. Very insightful. But it makes me feel extinct, and that's not really working for me right now. When I'm feeling less irrelevant, I'll try again.
May 12, 2012
I wanted something more in this conclusion beyond a 4-step individual plan but I suppose that's the point. The only thing that you can really change us yourself. The rest will follow.
March 19, 2012
Right on target for the future of church as we know it...
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