Reporting from the Thin Line

In the fall of 2010, I set off to tour the United States talking up Jesus Died for

This? and conducting research for Ancient Future Disciples. These recent pilgrimages allowed me to witness an explosion of global grassroots communities who are moving away from the attractional model of “cool” church that showcases the next big thing in order to go deeper, much deeper.

Come join me for an online webinar sponsored by the Center for Progressive Renewal, where I will explore the diversity present in these communities. Unlike more traditional mainline and progressive evangelical/emergent communities, I found that half of these communities were led by women, with a number of them led by women of color. Also, LGBT people could be found in all levels of leadership. In addition, some of these communities attracted a range of seekers ranging from dissatisfied evangelicals to spiritual atheists.

Becky Garrison is a satirist/storyteller whose most recent book is Roger Williams’s Little Book of Virtues (Wipf & Stock, March 2020). Also, she edited Love, Always: Partners of Trans People on Intimacy, Challenge and Resilience (Transgress Press, 2015). Her six books include 2006’s Red and Blue God, Black and Blue Church (PW, starred review).