What do you think?
Rate this book
Flourishing on the Edge of Faith: Seven Practices for a New We
"This book is at once comforting and discomfiting in a deeply personal way. Whether you're a believer or not, Flourishing on the Edge of Faith will give you the shameless courage necessary to stand for peace." Dr. Alex de Waal, President, World Peace Foundation
"This book is subtle and radical... If you open your heart enough, it will introduce you to a new worldview, and maybe even change your world." Eboo Patel, Founder and President, Interfaith America
People are leaving traditional religion in droves and wonder if they can rediscover a faith that responds to their deepest questions and nourishes authentic flourishing. I’m one of them and wrote this book out of my own experience of voluntary displacement from any traditional religious community. I’ve worked around the world as a pastor, professor, and peace practitioner in conflict zones. But mainly, I’m a fellow human being with my own burning questions, intimate pain, and unrelenting desire for flourishing in our shared universe.
I believe the spiritual practices shared in this book can revitalize our faith, fuel inclusive belonging, and sustain our most radical hopes, even when we fear everything is lost. Some of the people I most wildly respect – Christians, atheists, Muslims, Jews, journalists, therapists, medical doctors, entrepreneurs, addicts – have said this book inspired them or made them cry or gave them hope or helped them heal. I share it with you in the hope that it will energize and expand your flourishing in fresh and surprising ways. Thank you for joining me in this journey.
"This book is subtle and radical... If you open your heart enough, it will introduce you to a new worldview, and maybe even change your world." Eboo Patel, Founder and President, Interfaith America
People are leaving traditional religion in droves and wonder if they can rediscover a faith that responds to their deepest questions and nourishes authentic flourishing. I’m one of them and wrote this book out of my own experience of voluntary displacement from any traditional religious community. I’ve worked around the world as a pastor, professor, and peace practitioner in conflict zones. But mainly, I’m a fellow human being with my own burning questions, intimate pain, and unrelenting desire for flourishing in our shared universe.
I believe the spiritual practices shared in this book can revitalize our faith, fuel inclusive belonging, and sustain our most radical hopes, even when we fear everything is lost. Some of the people I most wildly respect – Christians, atheists, Muslims, Jews, journalists, therapists, medical doctors, entrepreneurs, addicts – have said this book inspired them or made them cry or gave them hope or helped them heal. I share it with you in the hope that it will energize and expand your flourishing in fresh and surprising ways. Thank you for joining me in this journey.
- GenresTheology
240 pages, Paperback
Published November 14, 2022
13 people are currently reading
162 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 10, 2023
Some of my favorite books have been written about the Lord’s Prayer. Crossan’s work and NT Wright are great examples. In light of these numerous works, what more could be said about this small portion of Scripture?
Well, DeCort has written a book that is likely my favorite work to date on the Lord’s Prayer. It’s full of well-versed, poetic observations, but is also very concise, and quick-moving. It is centered on and loaded with practical application.
Even more importantly, it’s been a long time since I have been this personally challenged by a book. This read confronted me and provoked me, and yet, I never felt myself patronized by or angry with DeCort. His words are gracious even as they are direct. He does not let you off the hook for one single second, and yet you are drawn to the points in this book.
Speaking out of his own real life, real-lived experience, DeCort pens a reflection that is, quite frankly, dangerous. I am afraid to really reflect on and consider what this means for my life. Can I afford to consider this?
Can I afford not to?
Well, DeCort has written a book that is likely my favorite work to date on the Lord’s Prayer. It’s full of well-versed, poetic observations, but is also very concise, and quick-moving. It is centered on and loaded with practical application.
Even more importantly, it’s been a long time since I have been this personally challenged by a book. This read confronted me and provoked me, and yet, I never felt myself patronized by or angry with DeCort. His words are gracious even as they are direct. He does not let you off the hook for one single second, and yet you are drawn to the points in this book.
Speaking out of his own real life, real-lived experience, DeCort pens a reflection that is, quite frankly, dangerous. I am afraid to really reflect on and consider what this means for my life. Can I afford to consider this?
Can I afford not to?
March 9, 2023
Update: I got to interview Andrew about the book on The Check-in podcast by Telos (which, non-coincidentally, I also host), and it was a true delight: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0LL5... !
Andrew has met G-d. Read this, and be invited to meet God too.
There are so many things I love about this book. It’s beautifully written. It’s invitational and stretching. It’s clear and narrative-driven and full of insight. And it offers a new language for faith in a moment when that faith is aching to molt and shed its dead skin. Andrew’s book is an invitation to do just that, and discover the gleaming, new skin underneath of a faith pregnant with the possibility of true flourishing—for ourselves and for our world.
In particular though, I am so deeply struck by the way Andrew marries the necessary movements of internal transformation with external practice. As people of faith, we have not yet understood our calling if we have not seen our work as one of de/reconstruction of our hearts, and de/reconstruction of the world. So many of the problems we see in the church are caused by the divorce of this truth.
What do I mean by that?
That our calling is to divest of power and prestige, letting the ego die to find the safety and joy of resurrection. To see the face of God in all, even our enemy, and imagine a new “we” bigger than our biases and fears. To trust in G-d’s provision and our global mutuality, rejecting the lie of scarcity that says I need more to thrive, even if at the expense of my neighbor. Among so much more…
But our calling is also to the work of seeking the flourishing of our neighbors and even our enemies. To pursue justice for the oppressed even when it costs us. To resist violence not with more violence, but with power in love.
There is so much here to explore. And as he says, there is so much more to practice.
This book deserves to be a classic.
Andrew has met G-d. Read this, and be invited to meet God too.
There are so many things I love about this book. It’s beautifully written. It’s invitational and stretching. It’s clear and narrative-driven and full of insight. And it offers a new language for faith in a moment when that faith is aching to molt and shed its dead skin. Andrew’s book is an invitation to do just that, and discover the gleaming, new skin underneath of a faith pregnant with the possibility of true flourishing—for ourselves and for our world.
In particular though, I am so deeply struck by the way Andrew marries the necessary movements of internal transformation with external practice. As people of faith, we have not yet understood our calling if we have not seen our work as one of de/reconstruction of our hearts, and de/reconstruction of the world. So many of the problems we see in the church are caused by the divorce of this truth.
What do I mean by that?
That our calling is to divest of power and prestige, letting the ego die to find the safety and joy of resurrection. To see the face of God in all, even our enemy, and imagine a new “we” bigger than our biases and fears. To trust in G-d’s provision and our global mutuality, rejecting the lie of scarcity that says I need more to thrive, even if at the expense of my neighbor. Among so much more…
But our calling is also to the work of seeking the flourishing of our neighbors and even our enemies. To pursue justice for the oppressed even when it costs us. To resist violence not with more violence, but with power in love.
There is so much here to explore. And as he says, there is so much more to practice.
This book deserves to be a classic.
December 31, 2022
The Lord’s Prayer - an Encyclopedia of Transformation >>
Jesus gave us the gift of The Lord’s Prayer. DeCort’s book “Flourishing on the Edge of Faith” etches The Prayer’s fine details and nuanced meanings by studying it --formed from other languages, times, and peoples-- to bring us a fresh harvest of wisdom and hope. “Flourishing on the Edge of Faith” is a resource I explored like an encyclopedia as each once-familiar phrase became a power in its own right. The Prayer as a whole is no less effective today than when Jesus promised it would be the only one we need.
DeCort weaves compelling testimonies about how each movement or phrase in The Lord’s Prayer gives perspective on human potentiality, spiritual formation, and cultural change. DeCort shares personal and world stories of transformation that inspire urgency, outrage, and compassion. The book's original illustrations by Holly Harris are intense images worthy of Visio Divina companions to the text. Try some of the spiritual practices suggested in each chapter “Flourishing on the Edge of Faith” and see if even one line of The Lord’s Prayer isn’t enough to move you into a new place.
As DeCort states, “We see that God’s dream looks like a reintegrated we, both within and between our selves. When we look carefully, all of Jesus’s healings have this holistic, reconciling dimension. They simultaneously restore personal dignity, agency, and community. They open the way to our deepest desire: home. Jesus called this integrated healing the clearest sign that heaven is coming to earth. The kingdom remarries our highest hopes and life as we know it.“ (56)
Divine declarations of love and inclusion are critical to flourishing in faith and loving from the center of who we are. DeCort’s book shows us how to offer the Lord’s Prayer with new intention. The exercises and spiritual practices he suggests help us see what is possible when we surrender to flourishing in The Lord's Prayer.
Jesus gave us the gift of The Lord’s Prayer. DeCort’s book “Flourishing on the Edge of Faith” etches The Prayer’s fine details and nuanced meanings by studying it --formed from other languages, times, and peoples-- to bring us a fresh harvest of wisdom and hope. “Flourishing on the Edge of Faith” is a resource I explored like an encyclopedia as each once-familiar phrase became a power in its own right. The Prayer as a whole is no less effective today than when Jesus promised it would be the only one we need.
DeCort weaves compelling testimonies about how each movement or phrase in The Lord’s Prayer gives perspective on human potentiality, spiritual formation, and cultural change. DeCort shares personal and world stories of transformation that inspire urgency, outrage, and compassion. The book's original illustrations by Holly Harris are intense images worthy of Visio Divina companions to the text. Try some of the spiritual practices suggested in each chapter “Flourishing on the Edge of Faith” and see if even one line of The Lord’s Prayer isn’t enough to move you into a new place.
As DeCort states, “We see that God’s dream looks like a reintegrated we, both within and between our selves. When we look carefully, all of Jesus’s healings have this holistic, reconciling dimension. They simultaneously restore personal dignity, agency, and community. They open the way to our deepest desire: home. Jesus called this integrated healing the clearest sign that heaven is coming to earth. The kingdom remarries our highest hopes and life as we know it.“ (56)
Divine declarations of love and inclusion are critical to flourishing in faith and loving from the center of who we are. DeCort’s book shows us how to offer the Lord’s Prayer with new intention. The exercises and spiritual practices he suggests help us see what is possible when we surrender to flourishing in The Lord's Prayer.
May 24, 2023
Taken seriously, this book is possibly the most important work I have read in a very long time. Whether I have what it takes to live out the practices within is another matter, and if I am being honest, I am not sure I have what it takes. But the stories of those who have come before me and faced far greater trials than I can imagine are immensely encouraging.
When I moved away from the Catholic expression of my faith, I left the Lord’s Prayer behind as just another needlessly repetitious element of my relationship with God. Unfortunately, that decision has blinded me to the power of this prayer for over two decades, but I believe Andrew DeCort has given me a whole new perspective. As he says in the closing pages of his book, it is important that we keep this prayer as a “thoughtful practice” rather than a “thoughtless habit.”
As a result of DeCort’s devotion to living it out, he has gone through gut-wrenching personal experiences and been witness to countless others. Seeing his hope and optimism on these pages and through my conversation with him, I cannot deny the power of this prayer any longer. As I embarked on my journey through this book, I implemented the Lord’s Prayer into the bedtime routine with my boys; it has already yielded beautiful fruit. I can only imagine what twenty years of this practice will do to me and those around me, and I thank DeCort for being my trailblazer.
When I moved away from the Catholic expression of my faith, I left the Lord’s Prayer behind as just another needlessly repetitious element of my relationship with God. Unfortunately, that decision has blinded me to the power of this prayer for over two decades, but I believe Andrew DeCort has given me a whole new perspective. As he says in the closing pages of his book, it is important that we keep this prayer as a “thoughtful practice” rather than a “thoughtless habit.”
As a result of DeCort’s devotion to living it out, he has gone through gut-wrenching personal experiences and been witness to countless others. Seeing his hope and optimism on these pages and through my conversation with him, I cannot deny the power of this prayer any longer. As I embarked on my journey through this book, I implemented the Lord’s Prayer into the bedtime routine with my boys; it has already yielded beautiful fruit. I can only imagine what twenty years of this practice will do to me and those around me, and I thank DeCort for being my trailblazer.
January 6, 2023
Dr. DeCort’s second book is both a personal odyssey and serious theological reflection, keeping both sides clear and distinct yet intertwined in a pretty amazing way. It unpacks the Lord’s Prayer in a way that combines his clearest influence Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s flair for ever-increasing stakes and gradually building the argument until a powerful climax (chapter 6 in DeCort’s book is a powerhouse), with popular self-help books, using the juxtaposition to call into question those same self-help Christianese books stylistically and hermeneutically. It is a powerful book with an eye to the dispossessed and an ear to the ground of important social movements, without alienating anybody. Just like the farther DeCort parts from stringently accepted or stridently defended dogma the stronger his argument becomes, the sections of the book where the theological roadmap hasn’t been plainly laid out (by Augustine or other theologians) the stronger DeCort’s style becomes and the more exciting both his insights and prose (again, specifically chapter six dealing with the practice of nonviolence). I very much look forward to tracking this author’s continued progression, both theologically and artistically. 5/5
August 7, 2024
Let's flourish together! Great read, amazing stories, and so much good in this book. Jesus' prayer invites us into a web of deeper understanding and flourishing together. May we be the church that does not other people, but radically flourishes with everyone we meet
October 28, 2023
Not just another book on prayer
This book was shared on my favorite podcast, BEMA. And it didn’t disappoint. It brought new insight to the Lord’s Prayer, and a fresh desire to embody Jesus’s call to love others, in word (prayer) and deed (action).
It is dense but easy to read, simple yet profound, & challenging but in an inspirational way.
10/10.
This book was shared on my favorite podcast, BEMA. And it didn’t disappoint. It brought new insight to the Lord’s Prayer, and a fresh desire to embody Jesus’s call to love others, in word (prayer) and deed (action).
It is dense but easy to read, simple yet profound, & challenging but in an inspirational way.
10/10.
October 22, 2023
The most profound and beautifully written prose on how the Lord’s Prayer should change how We see Our Father and understand exactly what Jesus was revolutionizing how society should see and commune with Our Father. I pen-marked so many rich sections and quotes. A new classic in my book!
December 13, 2023
I read this in bits and pieces every morning over the course of a few months. I think that it is an excellent meditation on the Lord's Prayer. Based on what I know and have experienced of the character of Jesus, I think the Lord is well please by what DeCort has written. I also think the world would be better off if we could all truly follow the practices he encourages people to take. I not only buy the argument that Lord's Prayer is a radical directive towards peace, but Im both fond of and convicted by it as well. I need to re-read this slowly, taking time to scrutinize and slowly allow my life to be transformed by the grace of God dripping through these words.
I do have a fairly significant critique of this work. This book is framed as how to "flourish at the edge of faith." it defines the edge of faith as folks who care about the heart of God but who don't see the same social-orientation reflected in the heart of mainstream American evangelicalism. DeCort says to them "don't worry, what you are holding onto is actually the true center of Jesus' teachings." I think this can cultivate a potentially unhealthy "Im right and the whole church is rotten and has forgotten Jesus" mentality. Im not going to defend the American Church here. But I wish that DeCort had gone straight for the heart of what he's saying with a title like "Restoring the heart of faith". Because he isn't talking about the edges of faith. He's dealing with a central part of Jesus' teaching and explaining how it centers things that the institutional church is not centering at this moment. He is calling for renewal, not just comfort for those who feel on the edges of an institution. Also, its worth noting that this social-orientation is not on the edges of faith for many other Christian groups (thinking largely about catholic social doctrine, but also many others who do know how to love well).
I also quibble with the title and framing, because DeCort isnt really dealing with those who, for reasons of identity, are placed on the edges of the American faith institution — the widow, the orphan, the divorced, queer folks, racial and ethnic minorities. These are all folks who many never make it back to the center. I do think God has specific words for why they should be cared for and centered. But there is a difference between being othered because of who you are and feeling on the edge because you see something in God's word that you don't think your church institution is currently practicing. This doesn't mean that this book doesn't speak to people who have been marginalized by the church. Its voice of radical welcome and peace, of course, encompasses them. But it isn't a strong voice directed to the person who was ostracized because they came out as queer or to the parishioner of color who experiences racism in their majority white church. Maybe I'm wishing for the book I wanted to read and not the one that was here. But with a title like "flourishing at the edge of faith" I did expect those edges to be well-accounted for.
To summarize, I think this is an amazing book that could be titled "Gods Heart for Radical Peace: Praying the Lord's Prayer Alongside Jesus". It highlights tension between what we know about God based on the witness of Jesus and what we see in a very capitalist-inculcated American church. That said, I don't think it's focused on how those who are marginalized by the Church (and thus placed on the edges) can carve space for themselves to flourish when they are told they do not belong. And I do think that is a loss.
I do have a fairly significant critique of this work. This book is framed as how to "flourish at the edge of faith." it defines the edge of faith as folks who care about the heart of God but who don't see the same social-orientation reflected in the heart of mainstream American evangelicalism. DeCort says to them "don't worry, what you are holding onto is actually the true center of Jesus' teachings." I think this can cultivate a potentially unhealthy "Im right and the whole church is rotten and has forgotten Jesus" mentality. Im not going to defend the American Church here. But I wish that DeCort had gone straight for the heart of what he's saying with a title like "Restoring the heart of faith". Because he isn't talking about the edges of faith. He's dealing with a central part of Jesus' teaching and explaining how it centers things that the institutional church is not centering at this moment. He is calling for renewal, not just comfort for those who feel on the edges of an institution. Also, its worth noting that this social-orientation is not on the edges of faith for many other Christian groups (thinking largely about catholic social doctrine, but also many others who do know how to love well).
I also quibble with the title and framing, because DeCort isnt really dealing with those who, for reasons of identity, are placed on the edges of the American faith institution — the widow, the orphan, the divorced, queer folks, racial and ethnic minorities. These are all folks who many never make it back to the center. I do think God has specific words for why they should be cared for and centered. But there is a difference between being othered because of who you are and feeling on the edge because you see something in God's word that you don't think your church institution is currently practicing. This doesn't mean that this book doesn't speak to people who have been marginalized by the church. Its voice of radical welcome and peace, of course, encompasses them. But it isn't a strong voice directed to the person who was ostracized because they came out as queer or to the parishioner of color who experiences racism in their majority white church. Maybe I'm wishing for the book I wanted to read and not the one that was here. But with a title like "flourishing at the edge of faith" I did expect those edges to be well-accounted for.
To summarize, I think this is an amazing book that could be titled "Gods Heart for Radical Peace: Praying the Lord's Prayer Alongside Jesus". It highlights tension between what we know about God based on the witness of Jesus and what we see in a very capitalist-inculcated American church. That said, I don't think it's focused on how those who are marginalized by the Church (and thus placed on the edges) can carve space for themselves to flourish when they are told they do not belong. And I do think that is a loss.
January 13, 2025
So grateful for a contextual look at the Lord’s Prayer- a prayer that has at times seemed dry and boring, and outdated. DeCort exposes our tendency to domesticate the words of Jesus, and shows how this prayer is actually revolutionary at every turn. We are invited into true flourishing, which the life and witness of Jesus reveals so beautifully. I’ll be pondering this work alongside the Lord’s Prayer for a long time to come.
January 5, 2023
Incredible, fast-moving, fresh, and good for the soul. A beautiful mix of study and reflection. For those on the edge of faith or even for the long-term believer - this is a must read. Dr. DeCort pulls you in very close to Jesus to learn how to approach tough questions, how to pray as a skeptic, and how to walk closer with in faith no matter who you are. Highly recommend.
April 27, 2023
One of my Lenten books this year. I really liked the content, lots of good nuggets in this book. Probably one I will read and re-read.
November 26, 2024
Read this slow burn for Sunday School and it got really thick at times, but it did elicit some interesting discussions and I really enjoyed the beginning!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews