A Churchless Faith (Paperback)

by Alan Jamieson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
'This is a lively and topical book... it is written very fluently, it is based upon genuine research and it tackles an issue that is extremely important to churches today - namely finding out why people leave churches.' Professor Robin Gill, University of Kent at Canterbury * "One of the most significant discussions on the future of the Christian movements you are likely to read." Mike Riddell

Product Description
This text is based on research with those who have left churches but are nethertheless pursuing a journey of faith. Most of the church leavers interviewed for this text had been in their churches for over 15 years; most had held key leadership positions, and 40 per cent had been in full time theological study of church work. The text outlines how churches can help leavers and suggests a conversion between post-church groups and churches.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Spck (July 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0281054657
• ISBN-13: 978-0281054657
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #599,520 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Growing not dying - encouragement for leavers and pastors, July 4, 2003

By	Simon Phipps (Southampton, UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I found this book extremely thought-provoking and encouraging. In particular, it introduced me to the work of James Fowler in modelling spiritual growth as stages of faith. The book challenges the prevailing view about church leavers and I felt has clear messages for both the individual feeling church is no longer for them, and for churches facing the departure of well-known members.

From the perspective of someone rethinking their religious faith, the most helpful aspect of the book was the level-voiced and non-judgemental survey work (drawn from Jamieson's doctoral thesis) showing why people stop attending churches. Jamieson develops a model showing why people leave and the summary, surprising to some, is that it's a matter of growth of faith rather than death of faith that makes the majority of leavers go it alone. The key message to the individual? "You're not the first to face this, and you're not on your own".

Like the related book 'The Post-Evangelical', Jamieson discusses the fact that faith systems today exist in the context of a culture completing the transition to a post-modern outlook. His challenge to church leaders is to see leavers not as the fallen but as pioneers. His research finds in the majority of cases individuals with insight into expressing faith in post-modern terms rather than in the modernist terms of the established churches. The key message to the church? "Culture is changing, and your leavers are your congregations's pioneers".

Overall this is a book that should be on every minister's shelf and which could offer relief to long-term church members and leaders suffering 'burn out'.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tremendously helpful, September 13, 2006

By	Annika Ryan "Annika Ryan" (Germany) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you grew up in the church, are bored with or sick of church & shallow evangelicalism this book is awesome. It doesnt try to prescribe any solutions, it only observes why people leave evangelical churches and what happens to them afterwards. Best thing about the book: you know you are not alone and you understand what's going on inside of you.

5.0 out of 5 stars Research Based Book with Thoughtful Analysis, May 17, 2009

By	Ronald T. Tipton - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the best book that I have read so far on the subject of faith and attending (or not) building based churches. The book is based on research that Alan Jamieson did for his doctoral thesis. It is was a very easy and enjoyable read based on solid research.

The book focuses on people who have left what the author calls EPC (Evangelical, Pentecostal, and Charismatic)churches. He makes a case for lumping these types of churches together based on similarities in these groups and that they are growing parts of Christianity worldwide. The data for the book comes from interviews with 108 church leavers and 54 church leaders. Interestingly many of the church leavers had held positions of leadership in the church.

The author categorizes the church leavers into seven groups and not only describes the commonalities of people in these groups but relates them back to James Fowler's stages of faith. The main point of the book is that most of the people in his study did not leave the church to reject their faith but as part of its development.

The book gives an evenhanded analysis of not just what church leavers feel and think but also the positive and negative consequences of their decision to leave an EPC church.