In the course of our reading and reviewing of spiritual books over the years, we have come across what we consider to be the most important and relevant books on the changing face of American Christianity. They stand alongside Diana Butler Bass's Christianity After Religion: The End of the Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening. Most of these authors would be described as "Progressive Christians." Some of them are very critical of the damage wrought by institutionalized religion and very adventuresome in their assessments of the surge of spirituality in America.
To read even two or three of these books is to fill in any missing pieces of the puzzle and gain a glimpse of the big picture during this sea change in the life of the church. Of course, we can learn from the past and not be too hasty in our explanations of what is really going on. The mystics of all ages have challenged us to respect both Divine and human mysteries. Click on the links to read the full reviews and see excerpts from the books.
Emerging Heart: Global Spirituality and the Sacred
by Beverly Lanzetta
An audacious presentation of a new global spirituality that is mystical, nonviolent, compassionate, and heart-centered.
Finding Our Way Again: The Return of the Ancient Practices
by Brian McLaren
A dramatic emergent form of everyday Christian spirituality based on seven ancient practices.
Finding Your Religion: When the Faith You Grew Up with Has Lost Its Meaning
by Scotty McLennan
An intriguing book on the different stages of faith that celebrates the spiritual practice of hospitality.
The Future of Faith
by Harvey Cox
A helpful and hopeful overview of church history and the positive dimensions of the Age of the Spirit we are now experiencing.
God Is Not a Christian: And Other Provocations
by Desmond Tutu
A poignant collection of sermons, speeches, and writings from Desmond Tutu's forty-year Christian ministry.
The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering a Life of Faith
by Marcus J. Borg
A bellwether work that sets out in cogent, compassionate, and imaginative terms the direction of the Christian way in difficult times.
If the Church Were Christian: Rediscovering the Values of Jesus
by Philip Gulley
An imaginative vision of what the church might look like if it truly incarnated what Jesus taught and how he lived.
Integral Spirituality: A Startling New Role for Religion in the Modern and Postmodern World
by Ken Wilber
A visionary work that presents a thought-provoking overview of integral spirituality.
The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See
by Richard Rohr
A call to the world's religions to foster mysticism, nonduality, and the contemplative mind.
A New Christianity for a New World: Why Traditional Faith is Dying and How a New Faith Is Being Born
by John Shelby Spong
A vision of a twenty-first century faith and an inclusive, open-minded church.
A New Kind of Christianity: Ten Questions That Are Transforming the Faith
by Brian McLaren
An imaginative set of questions that show the way into a hopeful and holy future for seekers of all stripes.
A New Reformation: Creation Spirituality and the Transformation of Christianity
by Matthew Fox
The ideas and ideals of Creation Spirituality presented as a call to Catholic and Protestant churches to have a New Reformation.
Reimagining Christianity: Resurrect Your Spirit Without Disconnecting Your Mind
by Alan Jones
A visionary work that presents the Christian faith as open, inclusive, justice-seeking, and practice-oriented.
Religion Gone Astray: What We Found at the Heart of Interfaith
by Don, MacKenzie, Ted Falcon, and Jamal Rahman
Common core teachings of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam that support the healing of the grievous problems of exclusivity, violence, sexual inequality, and homophobia.
Saving Jesus from the Church: How to Stop Worshipping Christ and Start Following Jesus
by Robin R. Meyers
A call for a radical change in churches putting the faithful on the path of Jesus and seeing Christianity as compassion, not condemnation.
The Search for Spirituality: Our Global Quest for a Spiritual Life
by Ursula King
An expansive and cutting edge survey of global spirituality and the uncharted territories it is opening up for people.
Setting the Gospel Free: Experiential Faith and Contemplative Practice
by Brian C. Taylor
A vibrant and mature view of Christianity emphasizing the value of practices.
The Soul's Religion: Cultivating a Profoundly Spiritual Way of Life
by Thomas Moore
A soulful approach to our beliefs that emphasizes mystery as an essential ingredient.
Speaking Christian: Why Christian Words Have Lost Their Meaning and Power and How They Can Be Restored
by Marcus J. Borg
A wake-up call for churches to redeem the Christian language from its imprisonment within literalism, dogmatism, and a heaven-and-hell framework.
Why Christianity Must Change or Die: A Bishop Speaks to Believers in Exile
by John Shelby Spong
A challenge to those who thirst for a church that is not fearful of inquiry, freedom, and knowledge.
