Deconstructed Do-Gooder

by Britney Winn Lee, D.L. Mayfield (Foreword)

In a Christian culture driven by answer-knowing and movement-making, we have largely become addicted to figuring out the way and ensuring that others are walking it as well in order to be counted faithful. An addict to this end herself, Britney Winn Lee is no stranger to the question posed by the lawmaker in the story of the Good Samaritan: "Teacher, what must I do . . . ?" Here, she takes us through her journey of becoming every character in the parable--from Priest to Innkeeper, from Robber to Wounded. Lee offers us an invitation to find ourselves in the story, be that in conservative evangelicalism, overseas missions, new monastic communities, cynical doubts, or the pain of postpartum depression and ministries ending. Her complicated road of theological deconstructions (expressed through narrative) exposes the harm that can be caused by a deep desire to do good as well as the mercy that can be found when all of one's religious paths and purposes are lost.

"What does it look like to love one other after we've been stripped of pride and certainty, or knocked down by exhaustion and grief? In Deconstructed Do-Gooder, Britney Winn Lee invites us into her journey from bright-eyed optimism to holy hustle, and ultimately, to the acceptance that she is spectacularly human. Her story vibrates with tension and sparkles with ordinary life. In the end, she reminds us that surrendering to the gospel can only mean surrendering to mercy. I wish I'd read this decades ago."
--Shannan Martin, author of The Ministry of Ordinary Places and Falling Free

"This is a memoir of new monasticism, a work of narrative theology, a story of continual deconstruction and reconstruction. And in the end, it invites the reader to think about their own roles in this, the most famous story of Jesus. The hero, the villain--or something in between? May you read it, be encouraged, and consider what it might mean to work towards entire systems that are built to take care of our most vulnerable."
--from the foreword by D.L. Mayfield, author of Assimilate or Go Home

Britney Winn Lee is one of those rare voices in contemporary Christian discourse whose joyful truth-telling is as generous as her theology, who doesn't withhold grace. We need more of her.
--Sarah Arthur, author of A Light So Lovely: The Spiritual Legacy of Madeleine L'Engle and A Wrinkle in Time

Britney Winn Lee is a writer and community arts director for a United Methodist church in Shreveport, LA where she lives with her husband and son. Follow her on her blog at britneywinnlee.com.

188 pages, Hardcover

Published May 16, 2019

Reviews

[Breanna Randall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This memoir is raw and thought provoking. The author gives her account of trying and struggling, in a myriad of ways, to be a good Christian, and finding, over and over again that her privelege and power and the imperfections of the church complicate things more than she had ever imagined. She parallels her story with the stories of the characters in the account of the Good Samaritan, starting as the pharisee and ultimately ending as the wounded man on the roadside, learning to recieve mercy. A good read for anyone who has experienced conservative Christianity, or anyone walking through a faith shift.

[LBond · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a point in this book when tears were stinging my cheeks. This may happen to you after reading the same sentence, or in another chapter that rings a bit too closely or catches you off guard. Deconstructed Do-Gooder takes the reader on a journey of mirror moments with the author, Britney Winn Lee. I highly recommend picking up this book and walking this road.