Christianity for the Rest of Us: How the Neighborhood Church Is Transforming the Faith [Paperback]

Diana Butler Bass (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2, 2007

For decades the accepted wisdom has been that America's mainline Protestant churches are in decline, eclipsed by evangelical mega-churches. Church and religion expert Diana Butler Bass wondered if this was true, and this book is the result of her extensive, three-year study of centrist and progressive churches across the country. Her surprising findings reveal just the opposite—that many of the churches are flourishing, and they are doing so without resorting to mimicking the mega-church, evangelical style.

Christianity for the Rest of Us describes this phenomenon and offers a how-to approach for Protestants eager to remain faithful to their tradition while becoming a vital spiritual community. As Butler Bass delved into the rich spiritual life of various Episcopal, United Methodist, Disciples of Christ, Presbyterian, United Church of Christ, and Lutheran churches, certain consistent practices—such as hospitality, contemplation, diversity, justice, discernment, and worship—emerged as core expressions of congregations seeking to rediscover authentic Christian faith and witness today.

This hopeful book, which includes a study guide for groups and individuals, reveals the practical steps that leaders and laypeople alike are taking to proclaim an alternative message about an emerging Christianity that strives for greater spiritual depth and proactively engages the needs of the world.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Most pundits will tell you that the mainline churches—Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans, Episcopalians, Congregationalists and Disciples of Christ—are in decline: it is now commonplace to assume that liberal churches are doomed and only evangelical churches are growing. Think again, says Butler Bass (The Practicing Congregation) in this challenging and hopeful book, which summarizes the findings of a three-year study funded by the Lilly Endowment. Yes, many mainline churches are struggling, but not because liberal Christianity is a contradiction in terms. Rather, the old neighborhood Protestant church has fallen on hard times because the old neighborhood has been replaced by a strip mall. And many mainline churches are thriving. Butler Bass showcases 10 of them, including Redeemer UCC in New Haven, Conn., and Saint Mark (Lutheran) in Yorktown, Va. She then examines 10 practices, from hospitality to worship to vigorous theological discussion, and posits that these practices are the heartbeat of vital mainline churches. Her provocative conclusions include the observation that today's mainliners have redefined politics by favoring bottom-up acts of service over structural change. And, she says, the thriving congregations are neither red nor blue, but purple—a mix of Democrats and Republicans. This is Bass's best book yet. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“This excellent and timely book celebrates a vastly important phenomenon that has been too little noticed.” (Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury )

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne (October 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060859490
• ISBN-13: 978-0060859497
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,493 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #81 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Church History

More About the Author

Diana Butler Bass was born in Baltimore, Maryland and grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona. For as long as she can remember, she's been interested in religion, history, and politics--the passions she intertwines in her books and writing. She holds a Ph.D. in American religious history from Duke University. After a dozen years teaching undergraduates, she became a full-time writer, lecturer, educator and consultant. Her work has been cited in the national media, including USA TODAY and the Washington Post, and she has appeared on CNN, FOX, PBS, and on Air America and NPR. For five years, she wrote a weekly feature on American religion for the New York Times syndicate. She currently blogs for Beliefnet at Progressive Revival and is a contributing editor at Sojourners magazine.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

72 of 79 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Clarion Call to Revitalize the Church, September 20, 2006

By 

Becky Garrison "author, "Jesus Died for T... - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Christianity for the Rest of Us: How the Neighborhood Church Is Transforming the Faith (Hardcover)

Anyone who feels that only evangelical megachurches are capable of increasing in membership should pick up a copy of Dr. Butler-Bass' most recent book. "Christianity for the Rest of Us" This book, which contains the results of her seminal sociological study of exploring vitality in mainline congregations, disproves the commonly held theory that the mainline church is either dead or on life support. Throughout the book, Dr. Butler-Bass sheds valuable insight on why some moderate to progressive mainline churches are indeed thriving. She dedicates chapters to explore the common characteristics such as hospitality, social justice, and worship that she discovered in these mainline churches that are growing and expanding.

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read This Book!, November 22, 2006

By 

A church goer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Christianity for the Rest of Us: How the Neighborhood Church Is Transforming the Faith (Hardcover)

I'll cut straight to the chase: If you are associated with, interested in, a member of, a leader of, responsible for, or curious about the grouping of denominations and church bodies known as "the mainline" you simply must read this book.

It is not an apology for mainline decline and it is not an attack on other faith traditions (such as fundamentalists and evangelical expressions of church); rather, it describes a relatively new development (one little noticed because it is occurring in a context--the neighborhood denominational church--that is not thought worthy of exploration) that moves the church beyond its often dull status quo toward an exciting, transformative future.

How does this happen? Certainly not by attacking or mimicking others. Instead, the churches included in Bass's lively account of her on-the-ground research find their best selves by exploring both their local history and the grand sweep of Christian tradition. She has found a pattern in these explorations that she describes as 10 "signposts of vitality"--such as hospitality, theological reflection, discernment, and justice.

The mainline may not have the numbers it once had, but it is not because of the churches profiled in this book or the others like them. Join them and "the rest of us" in the effort to create churches where head and heart, past and present, and self and community can find life together.

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars real stories from real churches: a guidebook for authentic community, September 27, 2006

By 

seekJesus25 (Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Christianity for the Rest of Us: How the Neighborhood Church Is Transforming the Faith (Hardcover)

Diana Butler Bass' book offers hope to neighborhood churches everywhere and points the way toward healthy, vibrant, faithful Christian community. As a young adult, I yearn for a Christianity that is rooted in tradition, yet filled with the Spirit of the living God --- a Christianity that is aware and responsive to the needs, concerns and hopes of this aching planet. Diana shares real stories from real churches all around the country seeking to live the gospel way of life --- feeding, forgiving, healing, reconciling and transforming.

For three years Diana studied centrist and progressive churches and discovered many that are "flourishing, and they are doing so without resorting to mimicking the mega-church, evangelical style." Paraphrasing one commentator, it may just be that the church so many are yearning for is just around the corner. God grants us wisdom and courage through the words of this fellow pilgrim. Here's a glimpse inside Diana's book,

"On my journey, I traveled with those who are more comfortable in the wilderness, people who were willing to explore the new terrain around them. Yet they did not travel alone. I found that in the breakdown of old villages, Christians are forming a different sort of village in congregations cross the country. Not spiritual gated communities or protected rural villages. Rather, their new kind of village is a pilgrim community embarked on a journey of rediscovering Christianity, where people can forge new faith ties in a frightening and fragmented world. For those I met, change was not always easy, and their churches were not perfect. But they embodied courage, creativity, and imagination. And risk. In reaching toward a new kind of Christianity (which is, as I hope will become obvious, actually an old kind of Christianity), they serve as a living guidebook for spiritual nomads who are seeking to find wisdom's way." Christianity for the Rest of Us, pg. 25