In November, my book [scg_html_fc] will be published by Civitas Press. It contains the stories of 36 people and how they have followed Jesus in seeking to live and function within His church. The stories fall into three categories: Leaving Church, Switching Church, and Reforming Church.

Leading up to publication, I am writing several posts which give credit to the authors who made this book possible. Each post will include a short description of three authors and provide a preview summary of their chapters. Below are the descriptions and summaries of one author in the “Leaving Church” category and two from the “Switching Church” category.

Finding Church Chapter 13 – Leaving Church in the Age of Social Media

Genevieve Thul is the author of Turquoise Gates (TurquoiseGates.com), a blog about her battle with cancer and the faith transformation it’s birthed in the past four years. She is a contributing author at Dayspring’s faith blog, Incourage.me. Genevieve is in her mid-30s and lives in rural Wisconsin with her husband and four kids. She is currently in the final stages of Ph.D. dissertation work online, and she and her family are searching for a healthy church to call home.

A painful church experience is magnified in a digital age where gossip and slander can spread through social networks faster than ever before. Genevieve learned this through personal experience. In her chapter, the pain is present, but is overcome by hope and love. She concludes with several suggestions for people who find themselves attacked and slandered by church people.

Finding Church Chapter 14 – Church Change

Shannon Brisco is the Program Officer for a non-profit integral mission organization. She has her bachelor of administration from Tyndale University and her masters of arts in international development from Eastern University. She speaks Spanish and loves to travel, cook, and spend time with her family.

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In November, my book [scg_html_fc] will be published by Civitas Press. It contains the stories of 36 people and how they have followed Jesus in seeking to live and function within His church. The stories fall into three categories: Leaving Church, Switching Church, and Reforming Church.

Leading up to publication, I am writing several posts which give credit to the authors who made this book possible. Each post will include a short description of three authors and provide a preview summary of their chapters. Below are the descriptions and summaries of three authors in the “Leaving Church” category.

Finding Church Chapter 10 – Following the Gypsy King

Tara Pohlkotte currently tells her stories of life, as she discovers it, at her personal blog: www.pohlkottepress.com. She is also a contributing author for another current Civitas Press title: Soul Bare: Reflections on Becoming Human. Holding a BA in Psychology and pursuing her Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy, Tara lives and works in Appleton, Wisconsin with her husband and two children. She loves to read, play cards, dance wildly, people watch, scribble poetry on the back of coloring pages, and spend the weekends in sweatpants with her family.

Tara brings tears to your eyes as she writes about growing up in a judgmental and critical church and the pain this caused herself and her family. She wants her own children to see Jesus, and her chapter includes a letter she wrote to her children about the Jesus she knows, loves, follows, and serves.

Finding Church Chapter 11 – Leaving for Love

Will Rochow currently works in a Catholic healthcare facility, where, besides his regular duties, he also has many pastoral care opportunities that he enjoys. Will is also a licensed semi-trailer driver and occasionally is still asked to do some relief trucking. Some of Will’s many hobbies include motorcycling, wine making, reading, blogging, and cooking. Will lives with his wife Ginny in Lethbridge, Alberta. They have two adult children.

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In November, my book [scg_html_fc] will be published by Civitas Press. It contains the stories of 36 people and how they have followed Jesus in seeking to live and function within His church. The stories fall into three categories: Leaving Church, Switching Church, and Reforming Church.

Leading up to publication, I am writing several posts which give credit to the authors who made this book possible. Each post will include a short description of three authors and provide a preview summary of their chapters. Below are the descriptions and summaries of three authors in the “Leaving Church” category.

Finding Church Chapter 7 – A Heretic Among Us

Mike Keffer works full-time in the financial services industry. He lives in southern West Virginia with his wife of 25 years who is a homemaker. Together they raise two sons, one of them autistic and the other gifted. All four of them love Jesus.

Mike Keffer writes about the pain of being condemned as a heretic by the leaders of his church, and how this experience freed him from religion so he could better follow Jesus. This chapter is a great encouragement to all who have been cast out or condemned by church members and church leaders of former churches.

Finding Church Chapter 8 – Leaving Church to Find Church

A former worship pastor who grew up in the church, Travis Klassen has seen a lot from “the inside,” and is currently writing a book about his experiences. Travis’s blog can be found at www.churchburned.com. Travis lives life with his soul mate, Brandee, and their two daughters in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

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In November, my book [scg_html_fc] will be published by Civitas Press. It contains the stories of 36 people and how they have followed Jesus in seeking to live and function within His church. The stories fall into three categories: Leaving Church, Switching Church, and Reforming Church.

Leading up to publication, I am writing several posts which give credit to the authors who made this book possible. Each post will include a short description of three authors and provide a preview summary of their chapters. Below are the descriptions and summaries of three authors in the “Leaving Church” category.

Finding Church Chapter 4 – Epic Ecclesiastical Adventures

Glenn Hager is a freelance writer, living with his wife, Patty in the Chicago area. He has two adult children, three grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Glenn loves bike riding, wailing on his guitar, traveling, hanging out with friends and family, reading, and writing. He is fond of encouraging people to change the system by making it irrelevant through new, creative options.

Glenn served in numerous capacities in several types of churches. But after leaving it all behind, he writes about the loneliness and difficulties of trying to follow Jesus into uncharted waters. Here is a story from a former pastor with lots of experiences and knowledge about church, but who has followed Jesus away from traditional church.

Finding Church Chapter 5 – Janette’s Church Crisis

Wayne Hobson is the author of the ebook, Suffer the Little Children: Understanding and Overcoming Spiritual Abuse and has been in ministry for over 25 years. He studied theology at Wilberforce and Lincoln Universities. He holds a B.A. in Business from La Salle University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he also minored in psychology (including counseling techniques). Wayne is a husband and a father of three children—one son and two daughters. Wayne and his wife Dorothy currently reside in North Carolina and he has been a writer for Examiner.com since 2009.

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In November, my book [scg_html_fc] will be published by Civitas Press. It contains the stories of 36 people and how they have followed Jesus in seeking to live and function within His church. The stories fall into three categories: Leaving Church, Switching Church, and Reforming Church.

For some people, following Jesus has led them to leave the institutional church and seek relationships with others outside the four walls of the traditional church building. For others, Jesus has led them to leave their current church fellowship and make the transition to another. A third group has felt called by Jesus to remain within their church fellowship even though there are problems, and try to reform their church from within.

Leading up to publication, I will write several posts which give credit to the authors who made this book possible. Each post will include a short description of three authors and provide a preview summary of their chapters. Below are the first three authors in the “Leaving Church” category.

Finding Church Chapter 1 – How Seminary Helped Me Leave the Church

Lew Ayotte is the author of the blog The Life of Lew Ayotte, a collection of stories about philosophy, religion, technology, and everyday life. Lew lives in Athens, GA with his beautiful wife Kati, two children, eight cats, and two dogs.

In this chapter, he writes about how he left the church in order to find the church—not in a building with clergy and a congregation, but in life lived together with other people. Though he went to seminary, he discovered the most dangerous question of asking “Why?” and how this leads to questioning the purpose and mission of the church.

Finding Church Chapter 2 – My Journey out of Church

Carey Crawford is an adjunct instructor at Dallas Christian College and leads the reGenesis Network, which seeks to begin Missional Communities and train others in the incarnational lifestyle. Carey Crawford holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary. He writes a blog called Leaving Church, Inc., and his website is YouCanBeginAgain.com.

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