Bradley Jersak, “Out of the Embers: Faith After the Great Deconstruction” (pre-orders)

91MF6Wcg7cLNow available for pre-order!

OUT OF THE EMBERS: 
FAITH AFTER THE GREAT DECONSTRUCTION

by Bradley Jersak foreword by Brian Zahnd

CLICK HERE to order now

Description:

Deconstruction: Trendy brand name for falling away from belief in God? Or a process essential to authentic faith? Liberation or trauma? Prison break or exile? It’s complicated. Just like you. Christian history records a Great Reformation and a Great Awakening. But today’s “Great Deconstruction” will surely leave an equally profound impact.

In Out of the Embers, Bradley Jersak explores the necessity, perils, and possibilities of the Great Deconstruction—how it has the potential to either sabotage our communion with God or infuse it with the breath of life, the light and life of Christ himself.

In this collection of vulnerable memoirs, philosophical memos, and candid provocations, Jersak resists both the hand-wringing urge to corral stray sheep and the exultant desire to play the happy-clappy Ex-vangelical cheerleader. He employs the wisdom and expertise of the great deconstructionists—Christianity’s ancient influences (Moses, Plato, Paul, and the Patristics), “beloved frenemies” (from Voltaire to Nietzsche), and the masters of deconstruction (Dostoevsky, Kierkegaard, and Weil)—to double down and deconstruct deconstruction itself. Where is faith after deconstruction?

The author’s heart is to engage and empathize with the bereft and disoriented, stoking the brittle ashes for live embers. In this quest for the resilient gospel of the martyrs, the marginal, and those outside the threshold…inexplicably, in this liminal space, life stirs.

A Light shines through the ashes. We find, often for the first time, that living connection Jersak calls “presence in communion.” There is a sea change occurring across the Western church and civilization. Whether we’re watching a radical course correction or a complete collapse remains to be seen, and how it pans out will likely depend on how we see what’s happening, who we are becoming, how we live in response—and, most important, where we find Christ situated in this storm.

CLICK HERE to order now

read more…

Kicking the Can of Celibacy by Tony Bartlett

Kicking The Can Of Celibacy With the Richter-scale crack in Roman Catholicism caused by Benedict XVI's dramatic resignation it seems an apt moment to take another look at priestly celibacy. If the retiring pope seeks to make way for a more energetic successor, one...

Narrative Arcs and Jumping SharksA Lenten Meditationby Brian Zahnd What I am doing you do not understand now. -Jesus ... We all wear the same thorny crown. -Dylan The call of Christ is simple, primal even: “Follow me.” Either we do or we don’t. Either we...

Blessed Bewilderment – by Corrie Block

Blessed Bewilderment Thereforever I bewildered of the answer unfulfillered To the question never nearer near to me than to my dearer Answer there presented me the clever never foolery The key to meaning's door betrayed me never near to thee it bade me   Yet...

Lenten Scripture Reading Guide – Brian Zahnd

Lent is a time for us to revisit, recall, retell, relive Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem and especially his suffering and death. I would like to share with you the scripture reading guide I’ll be following during Lent. Read it slow and in a contemplative manner; try to...

Praise for the Master – Laura Merzig Fabrycky

TUESDAY, MAY 4, 2010Amman, Jordan© Laura Merzig FabryckyPraise for the MasterYou, the Storyteller!You, the Poet!Great crafter of beauty and intrigue   and the framing of images   before the mind's eye of the   awake and the...