Customer Reviews

The Unauthorized Guide to Choosing a Church

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This book has proved to be a treasure to me. I'm a journalist who writes frequently about religion and the way that Berry sorts out, defines and describes the nuances of different styles of Christian worship is terrific! Raised in the Nazarene faith, Berry has grown into the kind of seeking Christian who is able to write clearly and without bias about different aspects of Christian experience. Her descriptions of the differences between "Catholic," "Congregational" and "Wesleyan" churches, for instance, are dead on. She spices up her history with a lot of humor...her portrayal of John Knox is great "I believe he can be best understood as a Scotsman first, and then as a Protestant..." After reading this book, for the first time in my life I feel I really understand the difference between things like "African Methodist Episcopal, "AME Zion," "CME," what makes a church a "holiness" church, what it really means to be "Baptist" as opposed to other Protestant experiences. She offers great tips and perspectives on what you'll experience by attending worship at different churches. This book is ideal for anybody who is searching for a Christian church, researching different Christian denominations, may be looking to return to the Christian fold or just simply wants to understand more about their own faith. One of the few indispensable research books that's also just plain fun to read!

Having just left a difficult church situation, I found this book fascinating. Berry is well-researched and quite literate in the ups and downs of committing to any particular church or denomination. Her sense of humor lends lightheartedness to a subject that has too often been overshadowed by scandals and misunderstandings. If you're looking for information and guidance on choosing a church without having to wade through the author's individual preferences, this is the book for you!

Ms. Berry's book does just what it sets out to do. As a graduate of a seminary with a degree in theology, I wish I'd had much of the information she included in her exploration of various denominations and church history. She takes what scores of theologians spend oodles of time writing volumes on and distills it to the essentials. If you're a "born-again" Christian looking to understand more about many denominations, this book is great. Just remember that the intent of this book is NOT to convert souls, but rather to explain how denominations came to be, and what they basically look like as a result. I would highly recommend this book to anyone either looking for a church, trying to help someone understand the nuances between churches, or simply trying to make sense of the cumbersome topic of church history. I'm proud of Ms. Berry's ability to take a topic like this and make it accessible to everyone.

Having been a member all my life of a local Methodist church, deciding to find a new place to worship was both difficult and wrenching, leaving friends with whom I'd formed close relationships. But I knew- KNEW - that I was spiritually stagnating. Ergo buying Carmen Berry's "Unauthorized Guide to Choosing a Church". Berry helped me understand my need for growth, giving me the run-down of churches in my area with an eye towards history, tradition, and belief systems. So this is a pretty weighty tome, right? Wrong. With a mixture of relaxed commentary and amusing anecdotes, Berry's book captivates and informs from page one. I'd recommend this to pretty much everybody as a useful, interesting read that manages to be both spiritual yet without the saccharine that I'm used to in similar books.

This book gives a good overview of churches in America. The research was extensive, reviewing some obscure groups...I felt like the author did a good job of being objective...there were pros and cons to every group....I agreed with her representation of the groups I have personally visited....So, 1-extensive research, 2-objective, 3-easy reference, and 4-well written.

What should you expect from a book titled The Unauthorized Guide To Choosing A Church? The "unauthorized" notation would presume that there would be variations from the "authorized" version (Not really the case. Much has been taken from official church literature and websites). Choosing? You should expect a real blunt comparison of the churches (Berry is pretty blunt, even comparing history, traditions, and styles of dress). And Church? I expected there to be an overview of the various major religions in the U.S. This discussion is obviously truncated.

The most recent Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life report, "U.S. Religious Landscape Survey", noted the various religious groups and their relative percentages in the U.S, [2008, and I recognize this survey was conducted after Berry's book was published]. In addition to the listing of "Christian" religions, they noted the following percentages:

Buddhist 0.7%
Hindu 0.4%
Jewish 1.7%
Muslim 0.6%

While these percentages are small, they represent large numbers of adults. At the very least, I would have expected something more than total exclusion from discussion. Perhaps one chapter?

But there's more.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons)? No chapter for them (although they are recognized once as existing). Of course, they only have 6 million members in the U.S.

Unitarian Universalists? Society of Friends (Quakers)? Must be too liberal. "In my opinion, by denying the divinity of Christ, the Unitarian-Universalists moved themselves outside of Christendom. So, that's all I'll say about them..." (p. 227; ellipsis as presented by author).

Same sex marriage, abortion, and gay and lesbian ministers and preachers? For some reason, not relevant (through she hints at some church policies regarding leadership positions, p. 141, 233, 244, 260). Even when this was published in 2003, these were significant issues involving national discussions.

The bloody histories of many churches? Berry mentions them as if they were irrelevant to today's world. The intolerance of many of the listed religions toward each other? Who cares?

How did author Carmen Renee Berry choose which churches to include and exclude from this collection? "First, I narrowed my focus to those I view as distinctly Christian. ...[and] I focus on denominations that represent broad theological and historical movements" (p. 27-28]. She presents a "faith survey" (pages 29-320, but gives the reader no idea as to what the various combinations of faith statements mean. [See BeliefOMatic for a nice summary of how your faith statements mesh with various faith traditions.] Finally, she mentions that you should think about your personal needs, and your "nonnegotiables." Then? Visit the worship service at least three times before making a decision.

Berry confesses her status as a member of the Church of the Nazarene. She'll let you know that Mennonites believe "God has established unique roles for man and woman...", and that "At death the unsaved enter into everlasting punishment and the saved into conscious bliss with Christ..." (p. 327). And that "glossolalia" - speaking in tongues - is a spiritual gift in some Pentecostal churches. And she's got a whole chapter on... the Salvation Army?


Fundamentally, this book is a very uneven review of selected faith communities. Her filters of "distinctly Christian" and "recognizable to me" exclude significant faith communities, with millions of followers in the U.S. Berry makes a special effort to mention the inclusion or exclusion of women, but makes no real mention about political or same sex marriage stances.

I see this book being of limited use. Much more information is available online. And here is the fundamental issue: any person using this book as the central guide to "choosing a church" will have a limited view of the religious landscape in the U.S. Is that Berry's real intention?

I did learn more about the church I was baptized into: the Moravian Church. I don't remember any of it, but I have a piece of paper that states that it happened.

I wish there were more books like this: an accessible, mostly nonjudgmental approach to the differences between the Christian denominations in America today. In a style similar to the For Dummies and Complete Idiots series, Berry provides the history of each denomination and various offshoots, plus principle beliefs, worship styles, and what to expect if you visit. However the book needed more careful editing and fact-checking (the last section is particularly sloppy), and it seems odd to completely leave out Quakers, Mormons, and Unitarians. I understand her point in excluding the Unitarians (and can guess why she never once mentions the Mormons), but you'd think she'd want to add a few more details for the sake of contrast and completeness. Otherwise, this is a great starting point for the curious church-seeker, or anyone like me who is fascinated by the shades of belief and interpretation among Christians.

I feel that this book is what is needed for anyone searching for a church for the first-time or because of issues with your current church. One thing to remember is that NO church or denomination knows everything about God, and the purpose of this book is to point the reader in the direction of a church or denomination that suits them. I am researching different denominations and this is one of the main books I am using in my research, because it is so well written and easy to understand. Do not let those that think they know everything mislead you, this book is a blessing! God Bless

I am looking for a church home. I stumbled across this book at my local public library after going to several Christian bookstores who didn't have a clue as to what to recommend to me in my spiritual journey.
I enjoyed Berry's tips on church politics, warning signs (how to tell if the pastor is a control freak), and spiritual abuse. My only problem was that she left out denominations such as Unity, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and Christian Science.

Limited only to author approved, mainstream Christian sects, this book is not useful as an overall guide to those interested in all religious sects.