I want to remind the Jesus Creed blog community of an offer I made to read a book and engage in a conversation here about it. We will begin on August 11th. The offer is for these kinds of people: people who have struggled with their faith, people who are spiritual directors who know the struggles of others, people who are pastors who attend to the struggles, and emerging Christians who are struggling.
Here’s the deal. Write a 500 word response to me about the book — no summaries of the book — and we’ll start posting responses on the blog when we get enough to start the series, but not until August 11. One good question is this: How does Jamieson’s “chrysalis” theory help you understand or minister to others in the journey of faith? Another one is this: How does his “chrysalis” theory help you to understand your own journey?
Chrysalis: The Hidden Transformation in the Journey of Faith. The book is by Alan Jamieson, from New Zealand.
Alan Jamieson is known for the research he has done on leaving church (A Churchless Faith and Church Leavers). This book gently “maps” the journey of faith traveled by those who leave church. The book maps the shifting of faith from pre-critical to hyper-critical to post-critical.
This is a good book; it is one of the more important books I’ve seen that speaks to the journey of faith for many in the emerging movement. But I would think pastors and spiritual directors would also have lots to say about this book.