Sarah Bessey

New York Times bestselling author Rachel Held Evans inspired a generation of questioning and evolving believers. This book offers a collection of her most impactful essays--in print for the first time. For a generation finding their footing in life after evangelicalism, Rachel Held Evans was one of the most trusted and beloved voices of our time. Stubborn in her hope, courageous in her questions, and devoted to inclusivity, her online writing was a sanctuary to the millions who read her words daily. Her death to a sudden illness in 2019 invoked a global outpouring of stories of her legacy and influence. Today, her words still speak, and now for the first time, fans old and new can experience her most viral and enduring essays in print. Braving the Truth is an anthology and keepsake collection letting readers borrow the bravery Rachel was best known for. Edited by New York Times bestselling author and Rachel's dear friend Sarah Bessey, and interspersed with reflections from Matthew Paul Turner, Shauna Niequist, Lisa Sharon Harper, Glennon Doyle, and more, this special volume tackles topics such as: "An Evolving Faith: " On doubt, asking questions, and liberation from certainty"That Unholy American Trinity: " On patriarchy, white supremacy, and religious nationalism"Casseroles and Kingdom of the Hungry: " On the church"All right, then, I'll go to hell: " On gender and sexuality"Still a Bible Nerd: " On Scripture, biblical literalism, and a better wayand more"If you want to understand the Church today, you need to understand Rachel Held Evans," so writes Sarah Bessey. Thoughtful yet down-to-earth, immediate and timeless, this essay collection is a gift from the past to bring into the future--a treasury to revitalize, validate, embolden, and return to again and again.

Rediscover your love for the Bible"A wide-ranging and cogent guide to seeing scripture in a new light. Disenchanted Christians will be energized."--Publishers WeeklyAs a pastor for more than ten years, Zach Lambert has seen the Bible used countless times as something far from the "Good Book"--both in his own life and in the experiences of others. He has seen the Bible weaponized to subjugate women, justify racism, bash LGBTQ+ people, cover up abuse, and exclude people who speak out against these injustices. If you've been hurt by harmful interpretations or feel disconnected from Scripture, this book offers a path forward to reclaim the Bible's life-giving message. This accessible resource will help you· break free from harmful interpretations that distort Scripture's true message,· develop Christ-centered reading practices,· renew your relationship with Scripture,· apply new frameworks to challenging Bible passages that have historically been misused to cause harm, and· connect with Christians who embrace Scripture's call to abundant life for everyoneIn this compassionate guide, Lambert dismantles four common lenses for reading the Bible that lead to harm, then offers four new lenses that promote healing and wholeness. This book welcomes all Christians--regardless of background, doubts, or wounds--to reengage Scripture in life-giving ways.

National BestsellerWhen your faith as you know it has been commodified, nationalized, scandalized, and rebranded beyond recognition, is it even possible to recover the "good" of Jesus from this cluster of epic proportions? Writer and podcaster Erin Moon has questions, and this book is her open letter for anyone who feels iffy, conflicted, or just downright devastated by this disconnect. With empathy, insight, and the therapy of memes and a good laugh, Erin maps out not a rigid prescription but an open-hearted pathway for you to reclaim what you once loved about your faith home and light a match to the rest. As it turns out, God is not afraid of your questions. To the contrary, the fullness of the Christian story is found not in a certainty checklist but a vision of a people who wrestle with God. This is the story to which Erin turns and guides you through, as you· understand the good, bad, ugly, and just plain bizarre of your faith origins· find permission to lament, ask questions, and name pressure points· make peace as you set your own new boundaries and rebuild Consider this your open invitation to get gut-level honest about where it started, and heart-level hopeful about where it can go from here.

A nurturing collection of practices to help an emerging generation of Christians reconnect to their faith, find inner healing and build spiritual community - from Glennon Doyle's 'favourite faith writer' and the New York Times bestselling author of Jesus Feminist and editor of A Rhythm of Prayer. It's hard to leave a faith that has raised us. Maybe even harder to stay. But what can feel impossible is living in the tension. Living with a faith that evolves. Sarah Bessey is an expert at faithfully stumbling forward. As a bestselling author and co-founder of Evolving Faith, the foremost community for progressive Christians, she has been trusted by thousands of people to pursue a reconstruction of faith centred on compassion, truth and inclusion. Bessey has found a deeply underserved and underestimated remnant in the wilderness of Christianity, who are still devoted to Jesus, deeply rooted in the gospel, fascinated with Scripture and committed to reimagining their faith. Field Notes for the Wilderness guides the reader through multiple principles to live by for an evolving faith, including: - Practising wonder and curiosity as spiritual disciplines - Mothering ourselves with compassion and empathy - Making space for lament and righteous rage - Finding good spiritual teachers - Discovering what we are for in this life, and moving in that direction In this groundbreaking and hopeful book, Bessey has given us a table for our questions, a shepherd for our curiosity, tools to cultivate what we crave and a blessing for what was -even as we leave it behind.

Make the breakthrough you need to gently and creatively transform your faith, with this practical companion journal to Field Notes for the Wilderness, Sarah Bessey's meditation on finding God in the mystery. Field Notes for the Wilderness is a nurturing and hopeful collection of practices for the emerging generation of faith followers--the wounded, the curious, the lost, and the miraculously hopeful. This guided journal companion to Sarah Bessey's transformative spiritual guide walks you through practical activities, questions, and challenges following the principles for an evolving faith, including - practicing wonder and curiosity as spiritual disciplines- learning to mother yourself with empathy- making space for lament and righteous rage- finding good spiritual teachers Take the groundbreaking concepts from Field Notes for the Wilderness and encounter additional shepherding and viable wisdom to apply them intentionally and impactfully to your life.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER - A nurturing and hopeful collection of practices to help an emerging generation of Christians reconnect to their faith, find inner healing, and build spiritual community--from Glennon Doyle's "favorite faith writer" and the author of Jesus Feminist and editor of A Rhythm of Prayer "This is the perfect guide for all those of who need to be reintroduced to a faith full of grace, mercy, and love."--Kate Bowler, author of Good Enough It's hard to leave a faith that has raised us. Maybe it's even harder to stay. But what can feel impossible is living in the tension. Living with a faith that evolves. Sarah Bessey is an expert at faithfully stumbling forward. As a New York Times bestselling author and co-founder of Evolving Faith, the foremost community for progressive Christians, she has been trusted by thousands of people to pursue a reconstruction of faith centered on compassion, truth, and inclusion. Bessey has found a deeply underserved and underestimated remnant in the wilderness of Christianity who are still devoted to Jesus, deeply rooted in the Gospel, fascinated with Scripture, and committed to reimagining their faith. Field Notes for the Wilderness guides us through multiple principles to live by for an evolving faith, including - practicing wonder and curiosity as spiritual disciplines- mothering ourselves with compassion and empathy- making space for lament and righteous rage- finding good spiritual teachers- discovering what we are for in this life, and moving in that direction In this groundbreaking and nurturing book, Bessey becomes a shepherd for our curiosity, giving us a table for our questions, tools to cultivate what we crave, and a blessing for what was--even as we leave it behind.

"This book--the fullness, depth, and beauty of Sarah Bessey's faith and artistic genius--is a miracle" (Glennon Doyle, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Love Warrior) and an unforgettable and life-affirming exploration of how trauma can strengthen your faith and miracles can be found in unexpected places. In the brief instant Sarah Bessey realized that her minivan was, inevitably, going to hit the car on the highway on the bright, clear day of the crash, she knew intuitively that it would have life-changing consequences. But as she navigated the winding path from her life before the accident--as a popular author, preacher, and loving wife and mother--to her new life after, inhabiting a body that no longer felt like her own, she found that the most unexpected result was how it shook her deeply rooted faith, upending everything she thought she knew and held so dearly. Weaving together theology and memoir, Sarah delivers "a well-written reminder of seeing the miracles in life's highs and lows" (Library Journal). The road of healing leads to Rome where she met the Pope (it's complicated) and encountered the Holy Spirit in the last place she expected. She writes about her miraculous healing, learning to live with chronic pain, and the ways God makes us whole in the midst of suffering. She invites us to a path of knowing God that is filled with ordinary miracles, hope in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, and other completely reasonable things. Insightful, profound, and unexpected, "Sarah's writing is so breathtaking, sometimes you think you are reading poetry. The story is so thrilling, sometimes you think you are devouring a novel. And the Spirit she describes is so compelling, you'll swear you experienced a revival. You won't put it down once until you close the last page" (Jen Hatmaker, New York Times bestselling author).

UNA CANCI N DE LIBERTAD PARA LA IGLESIASarah Bessey no le pidi a Jes s que viniera y desordenara todas sus ideas sobre el lugar de la mujer en el mundo y en la iglesia. Pero lleg a entender que el patriarcado no era el sue o de Dios para la humanidad. Bessey se compromete cr ticamente con la Escritura en esta carta de amor gentil y provocativa para la Iglesia. Escrito con ritmo po tico, voz prof tica y una base profundamente b blica, este libro amoroso pero intr pido urge a la Iglesia para que se mueva m s all de las restricciones hechas por el hombre y d plena bienvenida a las diversas voces y experiencias de las mujeres. Es, a la vez, un llamado a encontrar la libertad en la plenitud, esperanza, gloria y obra de Cristo, y una muy personal y conmovedora historia de c mo Jes s hizo de ella una feminista.

In her most personal book yet, popular speaker and bestselling author Sarah Bessey invites us into her long-and sometimes miraculous-road to recovery after a terrible accident and shares how it changed everything she believed about God.

Like a lot of women, blogger Osheta Moore loved the idea of shalom: God's dream for a world that is whole, vibrant, and flourishing. But honestly: who's got the time? So one night she whispered a dangerous prayer: God, show me the things that make for peace... In Shalom Sistas, Moore shares what she learned when she challenged herself to study peace in the Bible for forty days. Taking readers through the twelve points of the Shalom Sistas' Manifesto, Moore experiments with practices of everyday peacemaking and invites readers to do the same. From dropping "love bombs" on a family vacation, to talking to the coach who called her son the n-word, to spreading shalom with a Swiffer, Moore offers bold steps for crossing lines between black and white, suburban and urban, rich and poor. What if a bunch of Jesus-following women catch a vision of a vibrant, whole, flourishing world? What happens when Shalom Sistas unite? Free downloadable study guide available here.

SHə·lōm' / sis‧ta: A woman who loves people, follows the Prince of Peace, and never gives up her sass. Shalom, the Hebrew word often translated as "peace," was a far cry from blogger and podcaster Osheta Moore's crazy life. Like a lot of women, she loved God's dream for a world that is whole, vibrant, and flourishing. But honestly: who's got the time? So one night she whispered a dangerous prayer: God, show me the things that make for peace. In Shalom Sistas, Moore shares what she learned when she challenged herself to study peace in the Bible for forty days. Taking readers through the twelve points of the Shalom Sistas' Manifesto, Moore experiments with practices of everyday peacemaking and invites readers to do the same. From dropping "love bombs" on a family vacation, to talking to the coach who called her son the n-word, to spreading shalom with a Swiffer, Moore offers bold steps for crossing lines between black and white, suburban and urban, rich and poor. What if a bunch of Jesus-following women catch a vision of a vibrant, whole, flourishing world? What happens when Shalom Sistas unite?

In Out of Sorts, Sarah Bessey-award-winning blogger and author of Jesus Feminist, which was hailed as "lucid, compelling, and beautifully written" (Frank Viola, author of God's Favourite Place on Earth)-helps us grapple with core Christian issues using a mixture of beautiful storytelling and biblical teaching, a style well described as "narrative theology." As she candidly shares her wrestlings with core issues-such as who Jesus is, what place the Church has in our lives, how to disagree yet remain within a community, and how to love the Bible for what it is rather than what we want it to be-she teaches us how to walk courageously through our own tough questions. In the process of gently helping us sort things out, Bessey teaches us how to be as comfortable with uncertainty as we are with solid answers. And as we learn to hold questions in one hand and answers in the other, we discover new depths of faith that will remain secure even through the storms of life.

In Out of Sorts, Sarah Bessey helps us grapple with core Christian issues - such as who Jesus is, what place the Church has in our lives, how to disagree yet remain within a community, and how to love the Bible for what it is rather than what we want it to be.

From New York Times bestselling author Rachel Held Evans: a must-read for anyone on the journey of doubt, deconstruction, and ultimately faith reborn. Eighty years after the Scopes Monkey Trial made a spectacle of Christian fundamentalism and brought national attention to her hometown, Rachel Held Evans faced a trial of her own when she began to have doubts about her faith. In Faith Unraveled, Rachel recounts growing up in a culture obsessed with apologetics, struggling as her own faith unraveled one unexpected question at a time. In order for her faith to survive, Rachel realizes, it must adapt to change and evolve. Using as an illustration her own spiritual journey from certainty to doubt to faith, Evans challenges you to disentangle your faith from false fundamentals and to trust in a God who is big enough to handle your tough questions. In a changing cultural environment where new ideas seem to threaten the safety and security of the faith, Faith Unraveled is a profoundly moving, fearlessly honest, and relentlessly hopeful story of survival. This book was previously titled Evolving in Monkey Town.

Written with poetic rhythm, a prophetic voice, and a deeply biblical foundation, this loving yet fearless book urges today's church to move beyond man-made restrictions and fully welcome women's diverse voices and experiences. A freedom song for the church. Sarah Bessey didn't ask for Jesus to come in and mess up all her ideas about a woman's place in the world and in the church. But patriarchy, she came to learn, was not God's dream for humanity. Bessey engages critically with Scripture in this gentle and provocative love letter to the Church. Written with poetic rhythm, a prophetic voice, and a deeply biblical foundation, this loving yet fearless book urges today's church to move beyond man-made restrictions and fully welcome women's diverse voices and experiences. It's at once a call to find freedom in the fullness, hope, glory, and work of Christ, and a very personal and moving story of how Jesus made a feminist out of her.