While many individuals might seek out an assortment of spiritual practices and approaches, the local congregation still remains the place where most Christians turn for religious education, nurture, ritual, and a sense of community. Yet many congregations struggle to respond to the spiritual needs of new faces in their pews. In Excellent Protestant Congregations, respected religion journalist Paul Wilkes profiles nine dynamic, geographically and denominationally diverse congregations that have the ability to create a vibrant community of worship. The result is a book that provides real-world insights that are both inspiring and applicable in a local congregation.
Paul Wilkes, author of the newly released Holding God In My
Hands from Liguori Publications, is one of America's most
respected writers on religious belief and personal spirituality.
He is the author of over twenty books, and the host, writer,
director or producer of seven PBS documentaries.
His book, In Due Season: A Catholic Life, was chosen by
Publishers Weekly as one of 2009's 100 outstanding books.
In a review, PW called In Due Season "an exquisite memoir
that often reads like a novel ."
Paul lectures across the country about the role of religious
belief in individual lives as well the place and impact of
religion in public life. As a commentator on religious issues,
he has appeared on all major television networks.
His book, In Mysterious Ways: The Death and Life of a Parish
Priest, was a Book of the Month Club selection, and won a
Christopher Award. In addition to MERTON, which aired
on PBS, Paul Wilkes was host, writer, and associate producer
of the acclaimed television series, SIX AMERICAN
FAMILIES, which won a DuPont-Columbia award for
documentary excellence.
He has written for numerous national magazines, such as The
New Yorker, The Atlantic and The New York Times Magazine,
and is a former reporter for the Baltimore Sun and the Boulder
(Colorado) Daily Camera.
He has been a visiting writer and guest lecturer at Clark
University, Columbia University, the University of
Pittsburgh, College of the Holy Cross, Boston University and
Brooklyn College. He was Welch Visiting Chair at Notre
Dame, and Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University
of North Carolina at Wilmington.
Paul has been honored for his body of work with a
Distinguished Alumnus Award from Columbia University's
Graduate School of Journalism, where he received his
advanced degree, and with a By-Line Award from
Marquette University, where he graduated.
A practicing Catholic, active in his parish, he lives in
Wilmington, North Carolina, with his wife Tracy, who
founded DREAMS, an arts program for at-risk children. The
Wilkes have two sons, Noah and Daniel.
In 2006, Paul founded Homes of Hope India-US to assist
orphanages and schools for street children in India. He is a
co-founder of CHIPS (Christian Help in Park Slope), a
Brooklyn center that has served the poor and homeless
young mothers and children for over thirty-five years.
