{"id":802,"date":"2008-01-17T00:45:14","date_gmt":"2008-01-17T04:45:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/archives\/802"},"modified":"2008-01-09T01:46:50","modified_gmt":"2008-01-09T05:46:50","slug":"book-review-christianity-for-the-rest-of-us-by-bass","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/archives\/802","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: Christianity for the Rest of Us by Bass"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Much is said and written today regarding the emerging church.  In <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Christianity-Rest-Us-Neighborhood-Transforming\/dp\/0060859490\/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&#038;s=books&#038;qid=1199856753&#038;sr=1-1\">Christianity for the Rest of Us<\/a><\/em>, Diana Butler Bass shares stories from mainline Protestant congregations experiencing renewal and transformation through re-connection with historic Christian practices.  In reality, she debunks the myth that only fundamental conservative congregations transform lives.  <!--more--><\/p>\n<p><img src='http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/01\/bass.jpg' alt='bass.jpg' \/><\/p>\n<p>The working assumption of many people today is that mainline Protestants are \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the frozen chosen\u00e2\u20ac\u009d who \u00e2\u20ac\u0153sit around in the dark with their eyes shut.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d  According to many reporters, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153politically conservative evangelicalism is the only vital form of the Christian faith.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d  In the introduction to Christianity for the Rest of Us, Bass contends that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153other\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Christians exist and have found meaningful ways of living together with traditions, social justice, spiritual practices, and emotive worship.<\/p>\n<p>Diana Butler Bass came to her convictions about the vitality of mainline Protestantism through research.  Her three-year research project focused on 50 mainline congregations \u00e2\u20ac\u0153in which new things appeared to be happening, and where people were growing deeper and experiencing a new sense of identity by intentionally engaging Christian practices.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d  Ten of the churches were studied in depth, and Bass gleaned stories from these congregations through interviews, surveys and visits.<\/p>\n<p>While the author confesses many mainline Protestant churches are struggling to survive, she asserts that lively faith is not located in buildings, programs and structures.  \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Spiritual vitality lives in human beings; it is located at the heart of God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s people and the community they form.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d  <\/p>\n<p>Bass discovered paths to renewal for mainline congregations are varied, but all seem to find new vitality through intentionally engaging in Christian tradition and embodying spiritual practices.  As a result of her research, Bass identifies ten \u00e2\u20ac\u0153signposts\u00e2\u20ac\u009d of renewal:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Hospitality<\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthe practice of welcoming strangers into community and into God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s transformative love without expecting anything in return.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Discernment<\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthe practice of paying attention to God.  Discernment involves serious reflection on scripture that is grounded in prayer and informed by experience.  It is both personal and communal.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Healing<\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthe practice of creating a space where all can find healing from brokenness, where sinners find peace.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Contemplation<\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthe practice of encountering God in silence, attention and adoration.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Testimony<\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthe practice of sharing personal stories of God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s transforming work.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Diversity<\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthe practice of actively constructing a community that crosses boundaries, making room for the kingdom of God.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Justice<\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthe practice of engaging the powers\u00e2\u20ac\u201dtransforming all systems of injustice, violence, and exclusion.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Worship<\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthe practice of encountering God in a way that transforms the heart.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Reflection<\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthe practice of bringing head, heart and experiences into conversation with faith.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Beauty<\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthe practice of creativity within a congregation, i.e. singing beautiful music together or experiencing works of art or film that help us encounter God.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Another common characteristic of these emerging congregations is the capacity for change.  These congregations recognize they are on journey with God\u00e2\u20ac\u201da journey of faith that will not end.  Congregants speak of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153becoming\u00e2\u20ac\u009d because they are constantly listening to God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s call and responding to it.  While these congregations are re-connecting with tradition, they recognize that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153tradition needs to be fluid.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d  Anxiety about change has given way to real spiritual hunger to go deeper with God.<\/p>\n<p>I very much enjoyed reading Christianity for the Rest of Us and found myself resonating with Bass in significant ways.  Because congregations often have different scorecards to measure \u00e2\u20ac\u0153success,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I find it refreshing to hear the stories of congregations that wrestle with what it means for them to be faithful.  These congregations are self-defined and engaging in spiritual practices in new and fresh ways.  I highly recommend this book to all who desire to shape and form authentic Christian communities.  <\/p>\n<p><img src='http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/01\/maplesbanner.jpg' alt='maplesbanner.jpg' \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Much is said and written today regarding the emerging church. In Christianity for the Rest of Us, Diana Butler Bass shares stories from mainline Protestant congregations experiencing renewal and transformation through re-connection with historic Christian practices. In reality, she debunks &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/archives\/802\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,37],"tags":[62,119,118],"class_list":["post-802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-reviews-recommendations","category-congregational-life","tag-book-review","tag-christianity-for-the-rest-of-us","tag-diana-buttler-bass"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=802"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}