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Life After Church: God's Call to Disillusioned Christians, By Brian Sanders

Life After Church

God's Call to Disillusioned Christians

by Brian Sanders

Life After Church
Paperback
$27.99
  • Length: 191 pages
  • Dimensions: 5.5 × 8.25 in
  • Published: October 08, 2007
  • Imprint: IVP
  • ISBN: 9780830836062

Life without church. It's getting easier to imagine.And maybe you already left. A leaver, then. Committed to Jesus, not an institution. Perhaps you've left your church in spirit, remaining in the pew. Outwardly silent. Secretly bored. Ineither case, Brian Sanders has a word for you.Out of his own experience as a leaver, Brian distills the complex problem into two viable options:

  • Stay. Remain in your church with the blessing of Christ and in the power of his greatvision for the church to come.
  • Take the path of revolutionary leaving. Move purposefully, seeking the kingdom of God that is beyond institutions.

Whether Sunday mornings find you alone in a one-bedroom apartment or isolated in a church of thousands, Brian reminds you to keep listening for God's call.Reform the church that is Christ's. Be it from the inside out, or the outside in.

REVIEWS

"Hopeful, prophetic, Brian Sanders speaks for the many among us who long for the kingdom of God--but find ourselves frustrated by the church as we know it. In Life After Church he offers a gentle, constructive and hopeful vision of how wecan reform ourselves as a body to be the hands and feet of Jesus in our world. Simple but not simplistic, prophetic but not angry, Brian's writing is honest about the struggle to live authentic faith, striking a careful balance between honoring thepast and inviting us to imagine what could be."Mark A. Scandrette, author, Soul Graffiti, and executive director and cofounder, ReIMAGINE!
"For anyone who really believes Christ is Lord and head of the church, this book is a real roller coaster. At first I found myself angry and defensive in response to Sanders's critique, and yet I also found myself resonating with his deep longing for the church to be more. For those of us staying, Sanders and his 'leavers' articulate important questions. They are critical questions for the leaders of any church that desires to be faithful to its Christ-given mission and relevant to a new generation."Candie Blankman, pastor, First Presbyterian Church, Downey, California
"I'm blown away by Life After Church. I've never yet seen a book of its kind that addresses those who 'stay' in church and those who leave! It's a significant book."Mike Morrell, editor, The Ooze, and emerging church coordinator, Not For Sale Campaign
"Wow!!! Sanders has my attention. And the book never gets bitter or ruthless. It expresses the pain, not of unrealistic idealists who are not able to be satisfied, but of honest men and women who see what the rest of us do not want to see, for whatever may be our reasons. Read this book. Read this book. Read this book."Don Bryant, pastor, Coastal Church, Hanover, Massachusetts
"This is the only book I know of that is about leaving church, not in the sense of tossing in the towel, but of thoughtful, deliberate, wise leaving because one's heart burns for the kingdom more than one's local church does. This book is not crazy or angry; it's thoughtful, judicious, and programmatic for those who want to pick up stakes and do church differently, more radically."Scot McKnight, from jesuscreed.org
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CONTENTS

An Introduction to Leaving the Church
1. Leaving for Good: Looking for Jesus Outside the Exits
2. Five Dead Fish: Some of Our Reasons for Leaving
3. Our Scandalous Choice: Wondering How to Leave
4. Our Building Project: The Leavers? Reconstruction of Church
Interlude: Our Lucid Hope
5. The People of God
6. The Word of God
7. The Mission of God
8. The Kingdom of God
Interlude: Empowered Staying
9. How to Stay and Find Joy
10. Staying for a Change
11. Living Change
Interlude: Revolutionary Leaving
12. Leaving Well
13. Re-forming Church
Conclusion: Life After Church
A Leaver's Manifesto: Our Lucid Hope Revisited
Notes
Scripture Index

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ABOUT Brian Sanders

Brian Sanders

Brian Sanders founded and directs Tampa Underground (tampaunderground.com), a missional network of microchurches in urban Tampa, Florida. He has served as a teaching pastor at a local church and has helped to launch more than fifteen home churches.

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