Two great books for kids (and two for adults too)
If you're looking for a gift for kids in your life -
Daneen Akers created Holy Troublemakers, a delightful book about faith leaders who are trying to make a difference in our world. I was honored to be included ...
You can read the profile on me here:
https://www.holytroublemakers.com/brian
and order the book here: https://www.holytroublemakers.com/
Another friend just wrote a beautiful book for adults that is about some more holy troublemakers. Check out Bruce Epperly's Mystics in Action - available here:
You may also be interested in the kids' book I co-wrote - Cory and the Seventh Story, available here:
https://www.theseventhstory.com/kids
And, of course, my January 5, 2021 release, Faith After Doubt, available here:
Books
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A Christmas Gift that Gives Twice – available for order today
I'm honored to be a contributor to this beautiful book -- A Stranger And You Welcomed Me.
It's a collection of homilies (sermons) that correspond to Cycle B of the Liturgical Year.
It's a gift that any Christian in your circle of family and friends will find inspiring and meaningful -- starting with your priest or pastor, but extending far beyond.
All the contributors agreed that all proceeds will go to ministries that help the most vulnerable. So your gift gives twice.
You'll find ordering information here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/194041430X/
Here's a brief description:
After its first successful and award winning book series of homilies and reflections for the three liturgical cycles, Clear Faith Publishing is thrilled to launch its new series! So, once again, some of the finest homilists have come together to build a new compilation of homilies and reflections beginning with Cycle B of the Liturgical Year. A Stranger and You Welcomed Me breaks open the Sunday and Feast Days readings in order to provide insight, warmth, humor and spiritual food for the reader. Under the moniker 'Homilists for the Homeless,' the gift of these preachers makes it possible for proceeds from the sale of every book to go toward charities that welcome the stranger in our lives.
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Q & R: Staying or Leaving? How do I Stay?
I wanted to let you know that The Great Spiritual Migration finally reached me this past month, and was one of the most healing, helpful, encouraging books I've ever read, reaching me in exactly the moment I needed it.I've been feeling utterly alone and unsupported as I work through thoughts on the church's treatment of LGBTQ people, the church's historical treatment of indigenous peoples, and mourning and wondering about the pathways ahead. I am a lay leader in a church that is simply not very engaged in these topics, while meanwhile, my inner world is being broken. This has given me a sense, a clue, about some directions to consider.Two questions:- How have you personally found the courage and clarity to be a confident Galileo for a church that remains solidly geocentric?- How can one discern whether it's healthier to move on to new communities that are pursuing a more "just and generous" vision, or whether to stay and help be an agent for change from the inside of an existing "geocentric" church?"I appreciate your work and humility in pursuing this important calling in your own life. Thanks for heeding the call under the palo verde tree.
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Let’s Talk About Faith and Doubt
Hi, friends –
So many people are experiencing a crisis of faith these days. We see evidence of it in the 65 million adults in the US alone who have dropped out of religious attendance, with 2.7 million more joining them every year.
Some see this is a problem to be solved. I see it as a growth opportunity to be seized.
Over these last few years, as I’ve poured my heart into my new book, Faith After Doubt, I have had the sense that I was coming to understand some deep core issues I had been digging toward for my whole career.
I feel that we are at a watershed moment now, and if enough of us create spaces for needed conversation, we could have a needed breakthrough that would not only help us as individuals and faith communities, but would also make a positive difference in our world.
The book comes out January 5. Of course, you can order it now.
Normally, I would get out on a speaking tour to help launch a new book, but this time, that’s impossible. So here’s what I’d like to try – with your help, of course.
If you can recruit ten or more friends to order the book and begin reading it, I would like to show up for an an online Q & R session with you.
We can do it via Zoom, Google Hangout, Skype, whatever you prefer. We can do it on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday night, or possibly at a different time that we can make work, in January, February, or March. Here's a simple proposed schedule:
- You as host would welcome the group. (It might be good if you could ask in advance 2 or 3 people to come prepared with their first questions.)
- To set the stage, I would read a few paragraphs from the chapters we're focusing on, offer a few ground rules, and then ask, "Who has the first question?"
- We would have some question and response for about 40 - 45 minutes. Then I would offer a few closing comments and turn it back to you for a final good-bye. I think we could pack a lot of learning and mutual encouragement into an hour.
If possible, I’d like to go deep in one or two chapters each week. So here’s a rough schedule. Obviously, I’ll be happy to respond to any question … but it would be of special interest to me if we could dig deeper according to the following schedule:
Week of – Focus
January 5 – Permission to Doubt Preface/Introduction
January 10 – Doubt as Loss, Doubt as Loneliness (1 – 2)
January 17 – Doubt as Crisis, Doubt as Doorway (3-4)
January 24 – Doubt as Growth (5)
January 31 – Doubt as Descent and Dissent (6-7)
February 7 – Doubt as Love, a Human Problem (8-9)
February 14 – Doubt, Beliefs, Revolutionary Love (10)
February 21 – Communities of Harmony (11)
February 28 – Theologies of Harmony (12)
March 7 – Spiritualities of Harmony for the Rising Generation (13)
March 14 – Harmony as a Survival Strategy, A Civilization in Doubt (14-15)
March 21 – Before Simplicity, Spirituality Through the Stages (Appendices)
Are you interested? It’s really easy!
- Fill out a quick form here.
- You’ll hear back from us within a few days.
- Start recruiting!
You might be interested in the Publisher’s Weekly starred review, here.
Here’s that link again to schedule a virtual visit with your group, class, fellowship, etc.
I’m looking forward to seeing you soon!
Brian
PS. We've had a lot of interest already, but we still have room to schedule some more, so please let us know if you're interested ASAP.
Here’s the Table of Contents:
Preface: Permission to Doubt
Introduction: Moments of Terror
Part 1. Your Descent Into Doubt
Chapter 1. Doubt as Loss
Chapter 2. Doubt as Loneliness
Chapter 3. Doubt as Crisis
Chapter 4. Doubt as Doorway
Chapter 5. Doubt as Growth
Part 2. All in Doubt
Chapter 6. Doubt as Descent
Chapter 7. Doubt as Dissent
Chapter 8. Doubt as Love
Chapter 9. A Human Problem
Chapter 10. Doubt, Beliefs, and Revolutionary Love
Part 3. Life After (and With) Doubt
Chapter 11. Communities of Harmony
Chapter 12. Theologies of Harmony
Chapter 13. Spiritualities of Harmony for the Rising Generation
Chapter 14. Harmony as a Survival Strategy
Chapter 15. A Civilization in Doubt
Appendices: Before Simplicity, Spirituality Through the Stages
I look forward to visiting your group!
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A week or two this summer in the wild? Consider Ring Lake Ranch!
One of the places I've come to love most on the planet - both because of its natural beauty and because of the community that hosts gatherings there - is Ring Lake Ranch. This August, we're hoping to be able to gather there in person. One week, I'll be co-leading a session with my amazing daughter Jodi on "Unleashing Your Inner Artist," and the following week, I'll be co-leading with my amazing friend Mickey Scottbey Jones on "Cultivating the Inner & Outer Work of Community." The rest of the summer has fantastic events too. You can learn more by downloading this newsletter ...
Ring Lake Ranch 2020 Fall Carillon
Or you can go directly to the site, here.
Horseback riding, hiking, kayaking, fishing, relaxing on a rocking chair, exploring petroglyphs, breathing fresh air ... you just might need this in 2021!
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