The Shame Exchange: Trading Shame for God's Mercy and Freedom [Paperback]

Sally Breedlove (Author), Ralph Ennis (Author), Jennifer Ennis (Author), Steve Breedlove (Author), Jayne E Schooler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 15, 2009

What would happen if Christians faced the issue of shame instead of ran from it? The Shame Exchange includes discussion questions and explores the difference between seven types of shame. Readers, including counselors and church leaders, will learn that facing shame brings deeper intimacy with God, spiritual transformation, and ultimately freedom from shame.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Did you know that all shame is not equal? That some types of shame could be good for you?

Whether or not our shame is useful, facing it is tough. If not for God’s mercy, we would hide forever, as Adam and Eve tried to do in the garden. Join the authors as they identify seven types of shame and help you find your way out of it. Biblical and personal stories of spiritual transformation illustrate that not all shame is unhealthy but that it all can be exchanged for richer life in Christ.

About the Author

Steve and Sally Breedlove have pastored churches in the United States and Canada. Steve (ThM, DMin, Dallas Seminary) has trained and encouraged next-generation leaders and ministers in more than a dozen countries. Sally is an author and a sought-after speaker at retreats and conferences. She and Jennifer Ennis have founded a small-group spiritual direction ministry called JourneyMates.

Ralph and Jennifer Ennis have served with The Navigators since 1975. Ralph (master's in intercultural studies) is an author who consults with and trains church and parachurch leaders in the United States, Europe, and Asia, with a focus on spiritual formation and next-generation leadership. Jennifer is an author, spiritual director, and counselor and is a codeveloper of JourneyMates.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: NavPress (July 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600066259
• ISBN-13: 978-1600066252
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,139,781 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

As a writer and speaker, Sally Breedlove's passion is to help awaken in others the heart courage to discover the life changing mercy and love of God for themselves. She has worked alongside her husband Steve for the last 35 years, leading churches in the United States and Canada and ministering to leaders in other countries. Five children, three of whom are married, five grandchildren, and the best of husbands have made her life rich. Sally serves on the national board of The Anglican Mission in the Americas and on the board of the Christian Foundation of the Triangle, an affiliate of the National Christian Foundation. She is the author of Choosing Rest (NavPress, 2002), one of the authors of The Shame Exchange:(NavPress, 2009), as well as a contributor to the Women of Faith Study Bible and two other books. Sally and her husband Steve live in Chapel Hill North Carolina, where Steve is the rector of All Saints Anglican Church. Sally teaches a weekly Bible Study in Chapel Hill and helps to lead a small group spiritual direction ministry, called JourneyMates, that draws participants from the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding book!, August 5, 2009

By 

Stacy T. Rinehart - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Shame Exchange: Trading Shame for God's Mercy and Freedom (Paperback)

Just finished your book. Outstanding work. Valuable for anyone who wants a closer walk with Jesus and anyone who serves people. Thank you for lending your stories and talents to this book. May it have a broad and lasting ministry for years to come. Dr. Stacy Rinehart Founder, MentorLink

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Read with Discernment, October 7, 2009

By 

M. Kelly (Indiana) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Shame Exchange: Trading Shame for God's Mercy and Freedom (Paperback)

The Shame Exchange is a book designed to aid the reader in dealing with condemning emotions. The authors methodically move through this easy-to-read resource as they define 7 aspects of shame and then reveal in two chapters the common methods of covering shame. They complete this work by informing the reader of how to deal with shame in a biblical manner.

There are a couple of reasons why I am not quick to recommend this book wholeheartedly. The first would be that a clear definition of shame seems to elude the reader through out the book. The authors state that "...by definition, shame makes you feel really bad. It's far more than embarrassment..." I came away not fully understanding what shame is and no real idea on how to identify it. It seems to be a feeling, a "sense", a "desire" or a "soul wretchedness".

The second reason would be that I perceived a slight "Gestalt" flavor of psychology in the book when I was reading it. There was the perception that the reader must "peel the layers" of their life back to find the origin of their shame. Let me be clear, it was not a strong suggestion, but the feeling remained with me as I read.

I liked the fact that the authors were using Scripture as the source of dealing with shame. They provided numerous biblical examples of individuals dealing with shame and adaquately gave the "healing ingredients" for the reader to deal with their own shame: (1) "readings in spiritual formation [must be a] mainstay", (2) "God's Word [is] foundational to...healing, and (3) [community] "the prayers of those who embodied the truths of God's love and acceptance were critical".

Based on these limited observations, I would recommend the book to the discerning reader, and see the use of a book good for stimulating conversation in a counseling type situation. I do appreciate the work and effort and vulnerability the authors poured into this work.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hope for Shame Filled Persons, September 2, 2009

By 

James J. Kane - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Shame Exchange: Trading Shame for God's Mercy and Freedom (Paperback)

The Shame Exchange, written by two couples, both of whom have spent many years in ministry, is a book that is at once profoundly personal and leaves you gasping for words as you journey with them through the stories of people who have dealt with, and/or are dealing with, two kinds of shame.

There is `heaped-on shame' that is `heaped on' you which, as they say later in the book, "needs to be named for what it is and rejected." (Page 176) Then there is what they call "identity-level shame." This is shame they say that is "rightfully ours because of our choices and our heritage as children of Adam..." (Page 63)

The reader will perhaps want to argue theologically with the authors (I did) on the nature and scope of sin and Christ's atonement. But, they recognize that `we need a more profound healing that simply learning to think correctly... We need to be touched beyond the scope of our intellect."

A strength of this book is that deals with the issue of shame from a cross-cultural perspective as they include stories from across ethnic lines and how ethnicity that has fueled a level of shame that does not go easily away. It also affirms the work of Christ on the cross and the value of the church as the community of faith and healing.

Their conclusion, is one that, frankly, we may not want to admit to, "...in the end the way to deepest happiness is through honest shame." (Page 155)