Scary Christianity

Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith

By Barbara Brown Taylor / Harpercollins Publishing

I've heard over and over again, in Christian circles, that Christianity is not about religion, it's about relationship. It is easy to say that, to nod in approval, but it is seldom actually lived out. What starts out as a relationship, often becomes religion and we're not even aware of it. We absorb the dogma, learn to talk a certain way, participate in the "life of the Church" and that leaves precious little time to cultivate the relationship with God that we were hungry for in the first place. What are we to do if we want to return to the primary relationship with our Creator? Leave Church?

Maybe. One thing's for sure, there are no easy answers. Taylor, a gifted preacher and writer, with a keen desire to help others, tells us, in this personal memoir, of her own struggles with these questions. We all have to take our own journey through this life. There is no pattern or map. I know some will say, "Jesus is the pattern and the Bible is the map." I don't disagree with that, but making the application to our own lives is not as simple as that statement sounds.

As we move along the path we have to make choices, not always between good and evil. As Taylor points out, the choices are usually between good, better, and best. Knowing which is which, isn't even possible most of the time with our finite knowledge. But that's what faith is for. We trust in God, who is bigger than we are, and nourish the hope that he will lead us. Where he leads us may not be where we thought we wanted to go, but his presence there with us gives life and joy to the journey.

Reading Taylor's story of her own journey gives me hope and faith to continue on mine.