Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith by Barbara Brown Taylor
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Book Reviews of Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith
Book Review: Honest and Interesting and Well Written
Summary: 4 Stars
Barbara Brown Taylor's memoir was interesting and revealing on several levels.
On a personal level I appreciated her honesty about herself and how she grappled with the challenges of ordained ministry in the church.
On literary level, this is a fine work. It is elegent in choice of words and even poetic in places as she paints for the reader the currents of her life, thought and reflections on her ministry in the church.
On a theological level this book reveals a great deal about the agonizing struggle of so many in the church today over questions that are rooted in core theological convictions. What she reveals is her own core theological convictions (though without explicitly elaborating on them) regarding the authority and interpretation of Scripture, the person and importance of Jesus Christ for Christians (and others who do not profess to to be) and moral/ethical matters over human sexuality.
I enjoyed the book, less for it's biographical telling of the details of her life, and more for what it says about her own struggle within herself to serve in a church that has progressively abandoned historic Chritian orthodoxy and moral strictures to govern its common life and belief(a move which she certainly wishes were accelorated).
Book Review: Rich, Beautiful Textured Read
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a beautiful book that should be enjoyed slowly over a good cup of coffee and cake. She has an amazingly gentle and firm grasp of the English language which gives her the ability to describe her relationship with God in a special yet real way. Coming from a background where the church structure has been so fundamental, I could relate to many points she brought up.
If you liked this...
I read this just a day after Have a Little Faith: A True Story. Together with that and The Shack, these books have helped bring down some of my religious scales of who God is and where he is.
Parting Thought: The Sabbath
The way she related this Jewish tradition was one of the most eye-opening things. The concept of full rest and not doing any work is lost in our modern society where it just often means to turn up in church. She brought this to life in terms of how it honors God and how in turn, God honors our rest.
Book Review: A Moving, Surprising Account
Summary: 4 Stars
Writing in carefully structured format, former Episcopalian priest, Barbara Brown Taylor, splices the why of her anti-climactic divestment. Cut into thirds (Finding, Losing, Keeping) she covers her spiritual journey, many times verging on the apologetics of the spiritual vs. religious route.
At first I was a bit disappointed she dwelt so much on her role of pastor and the examination of the usefulness/logic of such a profession. I originally picked this book up searching for a kindred spirit as ex-church peon. But I was able to reach across the differences we shared in stations and identify with her journey, undoubtedly a testament to Brown's empathy and talent.
This is the first "Christian" book I've read in 5 years. It drew mixed emotions. I cried as I read Brown's description of tending to broken birds yet recoiled at her tendency to wrap her spiritual experiences up as anecdotal. Yet this was a good book, well worth the read for either side of the track: heretics (etymologically meaning those who make a choice, as Taylor informs) or faithful church-goers.
Book Review: Leaving Church, Keeping the Faith
Summary: 4 Stars
Barbara Brown Taylor's ministry memoir will resonate with people who have been given a change of direction by God. Taylor was an associate pastor in a large Atlanta area parish, but she falls in love with a little church building in a small town and determines to someday pastor that church, and she does. But after a while, she is ready for a change, and she answers the call of academia. She has always loved theology and God and questioning things,and this new assignment fits her well.
The book is about how you can leave church and still find and experience faith, hope, and love. Barbara Brown Taylor is a terrific writer and a great preacher, but I wonder if she went to that small church for the best reasons. It seems that she was more motivated by her love for the church building than she was by a love for the church people.
Yet the Lord is blessing her writing and teaching ministry, and we may not have all these wonderful books if she had not answered the call to Piedmont College.
Book Review: We Are Not Alone---"though much is taken, much abides."
Summary: 4 Stars
I am unfamiliar with the other works of thjs authoress, but will take steps to remedy this state. She is named as one of the twelve most effective preachers in the English-speaking world, and we crave people of this calibre, whether in a pastoral charge, or some other ministry. I have warmed to the story she relates, and to the pleasant and feisty manner in which she says it. I would recommend its message to all those who are unsatisfied with their experience of the "established church", but whose spirituality leads them forward without abandoning their faith.