Customer Reviews

Sexual Shame

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Karen McClintock has written a very timely book which addresses the crisis of shame in our churches. I have served in numerous Roman Catholic and Lutheran churches as a musician, adult educator and now as an ELCA seminarian preparing for ordination, and I know that sexuality is a verboten topic in mainline churches. Though I haven't consciously heard it from the pulpit, I know that the message communicated in church culture is: "Don't do it, and if you are doing it, pretend that you aren't." There are exceptional congregations where sexuality is discussed and embraced, but they are few and far between.

This book is an excellent resource for any clergy person or professional lay minister who is interested in helping people to heal. McClintock is well versed in theological, psychological and family systems approaches to the problem of sexual shame. It is NOT a self-help book, nor is it a method which will provide you with "Ten Easy Steps to a Less Uptight Congregation." In her book, McClintock DOES describe the problem, gives a vision for healing, and warns the reader of possible (and possibly even PROBABLE) pitfalls along the way as a pastor attempts to help her congregation deal with the difficult issue of sexuality.