LEAVING CHURCH

LEAVING CHURCH

I just finished reading Barbara Brown Taylor’s newest book, “LEAVING CHURCH: a memoir of faith” (HarperSanFrancisco, 2006).

The book describes her faith journey into the Episcopal priesthood, then from a large-multi staffed church into a small rural church, and then out of the parish ministry when that small rural church became large. Taylor is now a college professor. She is still ordained, and sees her ministry as teaching.

I shall endeavor not to put words into Taylor’s mouth by condensing what she has said herself. Let me just say that she loves the church, loved parish life, and loves God. She identifies her own faults, and goes so far as to say this memoir is about her own journey, and it is not everybody’s journey. I’m so glad she made that point important.

There are parts of the book that make me cry with joy. Every part of the book is insightful. It is filled with depth yet incredibly easy to read. I especially like the part where she talks about new ways of being and doing church. Let me give an example.

“What if people were invited to come and tell what they already knew of God instead of learn what they are supposed to believe? What if they were blessed for what they’re doing in the world instead of chastened for not doing more at church? What if the church felt more like a way station than a destination? What if the church’s job were to move people out the door instead of trying to keep them in, by convincing them that God needed them more in the world than in church?” (p. 222)

My problem with the book is that she seems to be saying, “You don’t have to go to church to be a Christian, and you don’t even have to be a Christian.”

I like the way she says it, and I like most (in fact, almost all) of what she says. I can travel even with her so far, but I have a hard time with either conclusion.

George R. Pasley