When I picked up this new book by Diana Butler Bass I wondered, “Who is ‘us’?” Now that I’ve finished reading it, I can tell you that ‘us’ is the people in mainline Protestant denominations who see themselves as theologically centrist to liberal/progressive, and feel isolated in today’s American religious culture.
As Butler Bass frankly states in her introduction: “The religious right seems to have hijacked American Christianity, and I can barely stand to read the news about religion and politics.” The jacket contains endorsements by Marcus Borg (who calls it “the most important book of the decade about emerging Christianity”), Barbara Brown Taylor, and Brian McLaren, among others.
Christianity for the Rest of Us is the result of a three year study on vital mainline denominations, which was funded by the Lily Foundation and based at the Virginia Theological Seminary. Diana Butler Bass was the project’s director. An appendix details the methodology used in the project study, which involved varying degrees of investigation and participation in 50 medium size mainline congregations that are identified as theologically “centrist to liberal.”
For those not familiar with her background, it is helpful to know that the author’s spiritual journey has taken her from the fundamentalist, evangelical side of the church to life as a theologically liberal/progressive Episcopalian. The “us” and “them” dichotomy between these two viewpoints has thus become very important to her and colors many of her observations and conclusions as she continues to wrestle with her past.
This is an intriguing book that prompts the reader to critical thinking. I found myself tabbing 23 pages as I prepared to write this review. Some tabs marked places I thought were insightful and some marked parts that I disagreed with. Just when I began to wonder how to use it as a study for an adult CE class, I noticed that the author has thoughtfully provided a section in the back “reflections for reading groups."
Christianity for the Rest of Us is well-written and easy to read. There are a few graphs and charts included, but most of the book is devoted to anecdotal stories are included that illustrate the many ways in which some mainline congregations are reviving themselves.
Butler Bass emphasizes ten “signposts of renewal” that characterize the congregations she studied: hospitality, discernment, healing, contemplation, testimony, diversity, justice, worship, reflection and beauty. Each signpost gets its own chapter that includes descriptions of how some mainline congregations are living out that aspect of faith. The emphasis is on these spiritual practices rather than theology as a way of reviving and renewing the "emerging" mainline church.
This review would be too lengthy if I tried to explain each one, but here are a few examples. In the chapter on hospitality, Butler Bass distinguishes between hospitality as a recruitment strategy designed to manipulate strangers into church membership and hospitality as a a vital feature of congregational life which she found at one Seattle area Lutheran church that hosted a tent city for the homeless on the church’s front lawn. Another example was the “Welcome Table” at a Washington D.C. area Episcopal church that offered worship, breakfast and small group Bible study for 200 homeless people every Sunday. Although the impression of “emerging” churches is that they emphasize entertainment, constant activity and loud music in worship, Butler Bass’ chapter on contemplation examines a movement toward silence in worship. At one Presbyterian congregation in the study the worship service includes time for silent contemplation and there is a weekly evening Centering and Healing service.
As noted earlier, I do have number of disagreements with some of the observations and conclusions in the book. Again, the review would get too lengthy if I tried to include them all, so here are a couple of examples arise in the chapter on diversity.
In writing about a Presbyterian church in California, the Butler Bass states, “the most troubling division comes from the tensions within the Presbyterian denomination between the church’s traditionally more liberal constituency and its vocal evangelical minority.” In fact, every study of the PCUSA shows that the majority of its members identify as centrist to conservative theologically and that the “liberal constituency” is the minority—although it is not the minority among the national leadership of the church.
Butler Bass also attributes broader racial diversity in congregations as a reflection of the emerging mainline church as contrasted with the evangelical/independent churches. However in the Houston area, where I live, the church with the most diverse membership –1/3 white, 1/3 African-American, 1/3 Hispanic—is Lakewood Church, an independent conservative evangelical congregation. My impression is that this is true in some other independent evangelical "megachurches" so it seems that her bias against these churches affected her conclusion.
I’m sure that every reader of the book will find something to agree with and something to disagree with which is why I think it is a good subject for study and discussion for all kinds of adult small groups.
I enjoyed reading about all the different congregations discussed in the book. The “signposts of renewal” stories were usually inspiring and thought-provoking. Groups looking for ways to renew and revitalize their mainline congregations will doubtless benefit from a study of Christianity for the Rest of Us. If you’re interested in a hopeful book about the future of the American mainline church, then you will want to read this book.
This afternoon's mail included a catalogue from something called Despair, Inc. located in Austin, Texas. I promise I'm not making this up. Their motto is: "Motivational products don't work, but our Demotivational products don't work even better."
