Product Description

For decades the accepted wisdom has been that America's mainline Protestant churches are in decline, eclipsed by evangelical mega-churches. Church and religion expert Diana Butler Bass wondered if this was true, and this book is the result of her extensive, three-year study of centrist and progressive churches across the country. Her surprising findings reveal just the opposite—that many of the churches are flourishing, and they are doing so without resorting to mimicking the mega-church, evangelical style.

Christianity for the Rest of Us describes this phenomenon and offers a how-to approach for Protestants eager to remain faithful to their tradition while becoming a vital spiritual community. As Butler Bass delved into the rich spiritual life of various Episcopal, United Methodist, Disciples of Christ, Presbyterian, United Church of Christ, and Lutheran churches, certain consistent practices—such as hospitality, contemplation, diversity, justice, discernment, and worship—emerged as core expressions of congregations seeking to rediscover authentic Christian faith and witness today.

This hopeful book, which includes a study guide for groups and individuals, reveals the practical steps that leaders and laypeople alike are taking to proclaim an alternative message about an emerging Christianity that strives for greater spiritual depth and proactively engages the needs of the world.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2968 in Books
• Published on: 2007-10-01
• Released on: 2007-10-02
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Most pundits will tell you that the mainline churches—Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans, Episcopalians, Congregationalists and Disciples of Christ—are in decline: it is now commonplace to assume that liberal churches are doomed and only evangelical churches are growing. Think again, says Butler Bass (The Practicing Congregation) in this challenging and hopeful book, which summarizes the findings of a three-year study funded by the Lilly Endowment. Yes, many mainline churches are struggling, but not because liberal Christianity is a contradiction in terms. Rather, the old neighborhood Protestant church has fallen on hard times because the old neighborhood has been replaced by a strip mall. And many mainline churches are thriving. Butler Bass showcases 10 of them, including Redeemer UCC in New Haven, Conn., and Saint Mark (Lutheran) in Yorktown, Va. She then examines 10 practices, from hospitality to worship to vigorous theological discussion, and posits that these practices are the heartbeat of vital mainline churches. Her provocative conclusions include the observation that today's mainliners have redefined politics by favoring bottom-up acts of service over structural change. And, she says, the thriving congregations are neither red nor blue, but purple—a mix of Democrats and Republicans. This is Bass's best book yet. (Oct.)
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About the Author

Diana Butler Bass is the author of five books on American Protestantism, including Strength for the Journey and The Practicing Congregation. She taught at the University of California at Santa Barbara, Rhodes College, and Virginia Theological Seminary. From 1995 to 2000 she wrote a weekly column on American Religion for the New York Times syndicate and is an increasingly popular lecturer at retreats and conferences across the country.

Customer Reviews

Christianity for the Rest of Us
This is probably well written, but I don't really believe in many of the concepte she is proposing therefore I cannot consider it a good book. For those who are searching for something it would be a good read.

Following the GPS on a new journey
Diana Butler Bass continues presenting her helpful (and hopeful) data and analysis for mainline congregations. This is an excellent book to study in clergy groups, or with parish lay leaders as part of a strategic planning process. On many counts the information is time-tested; but there are fresh insights about new directions for "God-provided-signs" (GPS)to guide us toward the Kingdom.

A book of hope for today's church
First off, I must say that I loved this book. I actually checked it out of the library but half-way through I knew I needed to own it.

"Christianity for the Rest of Us" is the result of a three year study of emerging mainline churches in the United States. If you are like me, then you probably need "mainline" defined for you. Mainline churches are the "brand-name" churches you see across the country - Methodists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Congregationalists, and Episcopalians. These churches are often more liberal and progressive than their evangelical counterparts (although they may not like these labels). These churches have also been perceived (with some reality behind the perception) to be declining while more conservative and evangelical churches have been growing. The purpose of Bass' study was to visit and explore growing and vital moderate-to-liberal mainline churches. The study included 50 participating congregations but focused on ten.

These churches are filled with people who do not fit into the new evangelical Christian majority in the United States. They are desiring to know God and follow Jesus in our world but are not interested in embracing the evangelical culture of political and religious conservatism and/or fundamentalism. On the other hand, these churches are also not interested in the largely secular religion indicative of many declining mainline churches. For the most part, these churches include a diverse group of people from all ideologies and backgrounds - including some conservatives.

In some ways, this was actually a strange book for me to read. I am not part of a mainline church (or any institutional church for that matter). I have never even attended a mainline church. I know very few people who attend mainline churches. And I grew up in very conservative evangelical churches, in which mainline churches were largely discredited. Yet it is because of all of these statements that I felt the need and desire to read this book. I wanted to see what God is doing in an area I am very unfamiliar with. And in short, I was very excited about what I read - God is certainly doing a lot.

Throughout reading this book, I was struck by how well it complements Gibbs' and Bolger's "Emerging Churches." Whereas "Emerging Churches" focuses on a new breed of churches that have largely come out of the evangelical movement, "Christianity for the Rest of Us" looks at a new type of church coming from the old mainline of Christianity. What is so interesting is that these stories overlap in so many ways! "Emerging Churches" deals with a reaction against the sometimes dead religion that results from fundamental evangelicalism and "Christianity for the Rest of Us" looks at how churches are emerging from the liberal secularism found in some mainline religion. However, both of these "emerging churches" are heading in the same direction. They are both looking to follow Jesus without the trappings of the liberal/conservative divide, apart from the modern focus on reasoned certainty or skepticism, and in a way that is relevant to a new post-Christian culture. Many of the findings of these books are very similar. They even identify some very similar traits in the churches they studied. Is this really one movement of Christians that is being observed? Just in different environments and from different backgrounds? At least in some ways, I think so.

In short, I find all of this very intriguing and encouraging. God is working in a lot of different places. This is good news. God is not confined to any particular "movement" or perspective. He is busy using people to transform others and to influence the world. All are welcome to play a part.