In Defrocked, Frank Schaefer tells the story of officiating at his son's same-sex marriage and, six years later, his subsequent trial by a United Methodist court. That trial stripped Schaefer of his ordination after more than 20 years of ministry in the nation's largest mainline Protestant denomination.

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, ...

From the posterboy of Catholic conservatism, a major change of heart and soul on one of the Church's most controversial and intractable stances."This past February, a conservative Roman Catholic blog, Contra|Diction, gave me perhaps my best headline ever: 'Michael Coren Complicit in Destruction of Souls Who Practice Homosexuality, Pt 1' (I'm still waiting for part two). It was one of countless posts, tweets, and articles that have condemned me for coming out in favo...

“It would be difficult to imagine anyone reading this book without finding some new insight or inspiration, some new and unexpected testimony to the astonishing breadth of Christianity through the centuries.” — Philip Jenkins, author of The Lost History of Christianity“Interesting, insightful, illuminating, and remarkably relevant.” — Marcus Borg, author of The Heart of ChristianityIn the tradition of Howard Zinn comes a new kind of church history that rev...

"A genuinely Catholic life should feed the soul as well as the mind; should offer a vision of men and women made whole by the love of God, the knowledge of creation, and the reality of things unseen; should enable us to see the beauty of the world in the light of eternity; and should help us recapture the nobility of the human story and the dignity of the human person. This is the kind of witness that sets fire to the human heart."—Archbishop Charles J. ChaputIn thi...

A new way to follow Jesus that draws on old ways of following him. Prominent progressive writer, speaker, and minister Robin Meyers proposes that the best way for the faithful to recapture the spirit of the early Christian church is to recognize that Jesus-following was - and must be again - subversive in the best sense of the word because the gospel taken seriously turns the world upside down. No matter how the church may organize itself or worship, the defining characteristic of the chur...

Kathryn Joyce's fascinating introduction to the world of the patriarchy movement and Quiverfull families examines the twenty-first-century women and men who proclaim self-sacrifice and submission as model virtues of womanhood—and as modes of warfare on behalf of Christ. Here, women live within stringently enforced doctrines of wifely submission and male headship, and live by the Quiverfull philosophy of letting God give them as many children as possible so as to win the religion and cultur...

This book presents the case for loving the local church. It paints a picture of the local church in all its biblical and real life guts, gaffes, and glory in an effort to edify local congregations and entice the disaffected back to the fold. It also provides a solid biblical mandate to love and be part of the body of Christ and counteract the "leave church" books that trumpet rebellion and individual felt needs.Why We Love the Church is written for four kinds of people - t...

One powerful truth is undeniable: if Christ had never been born, nearly every facet of human life would be worse. Discover what the world would have been like without Jesus, and how some of the world’s greatest accomplishments exist only because he lived.We live in a cynical age in which only one prejudice is tolerated: anti-Christian bigotry. Yet despite the near constant and attacks against the faith, one powerful truth is undeniable: if Christ had never been bor...

The legendary Episcopal Bishop tells of his lifelong struggle to champion an authentic christianity based on love, not hatred.

New Monasticism is a growing movement of committed Christians who are recovering the radical discipleship of monasticism and unearthing a fresh expression of Christianity in America. It's not centered in a traditional monastery--many New Monastics are married with children--but instead its members live radically, settling in abandoned sections of society, committing to community, sharing incomes, serving the poor, and practicing spiritual disciplines.New Monasticism by Jon...

"Gomes is an iconoclast, and his book is an alternately eloquent and folksy attack on everybody who is sure of the right answer." — NewsweekHow the Church Domesticated JesusWith his unique blend of eloquence and insight, the esteemed Harvard minister Peter J. Gomes invites us to hear anew the radical nature of Jesus' message of hope and change. Using examples from ancient times as well as from modern pop culture, The Scandalous Gospel of...