An untidy faith : journeying back to the joy of following Jesus

A gentle guidebook for Christians caught in the messy middle In the wake of scandal, culture wars, and abuse, many Christians are wondering whether the North American church is redeemable—and if not, whether they should even stay. While many are answering no to those questions, this book is for those who long to disentangle their faith from all the cultural baggage and recapture the joy of following Jesus. Through personal anecdotes, encounters with the global church, deep dives into Scripture, and helpful historical context about Christianity, An Untidy Faith takes readers on two journeys. The first journey lays out the grand vision of Christianity and the legacy passed on to us by the early believers in hopes of renewing readers' belief in the church writ large. The second journey helps believers understand why they feel distant from their church settings and provides a reorientation drawn from Scripture of God's vision for community. A gentle companion, Kate Boyd walks alongside those who have questions but can't ask them for fear of being labeled by or cast out of their communities. An Untidy Faith is a guidebook for those who want to be equipped with practices to rebuild their faith and shape their communities to look more like Jesus. "A gentle guidebook for Christians caught in the messy middle. In the wake of scandal, culture wars, abuse, many Christians are wondering if the American church is redeemable-and if it's not, they question if they should even stay. While many are answering "no" to that question, this book is for those still wondering, caught in the messy middle. Through personal anecdotes, encounters with the global church, deep dives into Scripture, and helpful historical context of Christianity, An Untidy Faith will take the reader on two journeys. The first journey will lay out the grand vision of Christianity and the legacy the early believers have passed on to us in hopes of renewing their belief in the Church writ large. The second journey helps the believers understand why they feel distant from their church settings and provides a reorientation of God's vision for community from Scripture. In this gentle, inviting guidebook, Kate Boyd walks alongside those who have questions but can't ask them for fear of being labeled or cast out of their communities, equipping them with the beliefs and practices to rebuild their faith and shape their communities to look more like Jesus"-- Provided by publisher