Stephanie Spellers

In the vein of Michelle Goldberg’s Kingdom Coming, an investigative and research based visionary work on the future of faith. The religious landscape of America is changing. Religious ideas are in the zeitgeist, and at the same time there are reports of declining church attendance and an increase in the number of people who define themselves as unaffiliated with a particular religion--the 'nones' and 'dones.' Stephanie Spellers, a thought leader and spiritual scholar, explores the questions and contradictions that a generation is experiencing in regard to the role of faith in their lives. She travels the country, from Atlanta, Georgia to Santa Clara, California; from the Twin Cities of Minnesota to New York City to delve into the hearts and minds of those who feel a yearning for spirituality but don't know where to find it. In provocative and revealing conversations, Spellers listens to these disillusioned seekers as she engages with them to collect whatever wisdom they have to share. As she travels, she examines some pressing questions: Why are they passing on church? What spiritual pathways are they seeking and creating? And most importantly, how could their insights help to shape the future of Christian community? Praise for The Church Cracked Open "If you are looking at the landscape of the church and wondering, ‘How’d we get here?’ and what’s next, I invite you to board Rev. Spellers’s plane and take in the big picture with her. Take in the history, the theology, the pain, the beauty, and the hope that her view from thirty thousand feet offers. When she lands the plane, you’ll realize—there’s simply no better guide out there." --Nadia Bolz-Weber, author of Accidental Saints “Spellers courageously challenges American Christians to have tough conversations surrounding imperialism, racism, and self-centrism. Moreover, she offers solutions that bring us back to what Jesus intended the church to look like and function.” - Herman Baxter, Jr., The Christian Century “Congregations seeking to wrestle with their own past practices and future hopes will find this book a very helpful guide. Do not expect easy answers or simple solutions: this is a map to the land without roads, where only trust in the love of God and a community of loving pilgrims will find—not a city on a hill—but a family of faith.” -Tobias Stanislaus Haller, Anglican Theological Review

Una serie de ensayos que invitan a la reflexión y abordan los desafíos teológicos y prácticos que enfrenta la Iglesia Episcopal en la actualidad. “Este libro marcará una diferencia profunda para la iglesia en este momento de la historia.”-El Reverendísimo Michael B. Curry A veces, se necesitan trastornos y pérdidas para quebrarnos y abrirnos, y así llamarnos de vuelta a Dios. No es sorprendente que una pandemia mundial y un ajuste de cuentas generacional con la supremacía blanca—junto con décadas de decadencia sistémica—hayan impulsado a cristianos de todo el mundo a preguntarse quiénes somos, por qué Dios nos puso aquí y qué impacto tiene eso en el mundo. En este libro crítico pero pleno de afecto, la autora explora la historia de Estados Unidos y la historia de la Iglesia Episcopal para entender cómo comunidades impregnadas de racismo, poder y privilegio pueden, por fin, enamorarse de Jesús, caminar con humildad junto a los más vulnerables y encarnar la comunidad amada de una manera única, rota pero hermosa. La iglesia abierta en grietas nos invita a renunciar a los privilegios y a redefinir la Iglesia, no solo por el bien de los demás, sino también por nuestra propia salvación y liberación. A thought-provoking series of essays that address the specific theological and practical challenges of today’s Episcopal Church. "This book will make a profound difference for the church in this moment in history." — The Most Reverend Michael B. Curry Sometimes it takes disruption and loss to break us open and call us home to God. It’s not surprising that a global pandemic and once-in-a-generation reckoning with white supremacy—on top of decades of systemic decline—have spurred Christians everywhere to ask who we are, why God placed us here and what difference that makes to the world. In this critical yet loving book, the author explores the American story and the Episcopal story in order to find out how communities steeped in racism, establishment, and privilege can at last fall in love with Jesus, walk humbly with the most vulnerable and embody beloved community in our own broken but beautiful way.The Church Cracked Open invites us to surrender privilege and redefine church, not just for the sake of others, but for our own salvation and liberation.

"This book will make a profound difference for the church in this moment in history." — The Most Reverend Michael B. Curry Sometimes it takes disruption and loss to break us open and call us home to God. It’s not surprising that a global pandemic and once-in-a-generation reckoning with white supremacy—on top of decades of systemic decline—have spurred Christians everywhere to ask who we are, why God placed us here and what difference that makes to the world. In this critical yet loving book, the author explores the American story and the Episcopal story in order to find out how communities steeped in racism, establishment, and privilege can at last fall in love with Jesus, walk humbly with the most vulnerable and embody beloved community in our own broken but beautiful way. The Church Cracked Open invites us to surrender privilege and redefine church, not just for the sake of others, but for our own salvation and liberation.

A clarion call and evidence-based reparations plan for churches engaged in dismantling racism.Christian churches, schools, and organizations committed to a reparations plan can learn how to do it--including how to support local, Black-led organizations working on economic empowerment. This is a much needed resource as churches have acknowledged generations of participation in systemic and structural racism and are looking for specific ways to action responsibility. This engaging book show how these plans are being lived out in congregations across the country.Written by a white priest called to pastor an historically Black congregation in Washington DC, Reparations: A Plan for Churches provides spiritual resources and practical tools for dioceses, and other institutions, who are poised to seize this crucial moment. By drawing from examples of steps being taken by congregations and others, this guide also centers the counsel, voices, and teaching of Black scholars, activists, and many denominations of Christians. From this vantage, the book shows Christians how to make the work of restitution a reality by honest fact-finding and truth-telling, substantive and sustained engagement with those to whom reparations are owed, clear statements about what reparations are, and focused action to begin the work.All royalties go to Harriet's Wildest Dreams, a Black-led abolitionist community defense hub centering all Black lives most at risk for state-sanctioned violence in the Greater Washington area.

For the fifteenth anniversary of its publication, this revised edition features a new introduction from the author on the state of the church and its “radical welcome” today, along with new reflections on how it continues to reshape the church. This book is at once a theological, inspirational, and practical guide for congregations that want to move beyond diversity and inclusion to present a vision for the church of the future: one where the gifts, voices, and power of marginalized groups bring new life to the mainline church. Based on two years of work and over 200 interviews with people in congregations all around the United States—in urban, suburban, and rural settings—it asks the question: How do we face our fears and welcome transformation in order to become God’s radically welcoming people?Each chapter introduces a particular congregation and the challenges it faced, and lays out the theological underpinnings of tackling fears head-on to embrace change as a welcome part of community life. This new edition features essays from Michael B. Curry, Mark Bozzuti-Jones, Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows, and Mark Richardson.

"This book will make a profound difference for the church in this moment in history."— The Most Reverend Michael B. CurrySometimes it takes disruption and loss to break us open and call us home to God. It’s not surprising that a global pandemic and once-in-a-generation reckoning with white supremacy—on top of decades of systemic decline—have spurred Christians everywhere to ask who we are, why God placed us here and what difference that makes to the world. In this critical yet loving book, the author explores the American story and the Episcopal story in order to find out how communities steeped in racism, establishment, and privilege can at last fall in love with Jesus, walk humbly with the most vulnerable and embody beloved community in our own broken but beautiful way. The Church Cracked Open invites us to surrender privilege and redefine church, not just for the sake of others, but for our own salvation and liberation.

How do we develop the resilience that empowers us to be ourselves in the face of change?How do we learn to be courageous when days are difficult? How do we build our capacity for healing and growth when we can no longer do the things we once did that gave our lives satisfaction, meaning, and purpose?Building Resilience offers a path toward creativity in responding to change in your life, regaining some control over your circumstances, and overcoming feelings of helplessness. Whether you’re 17 or 75, if life has thrown you a curve ball, this book can help you get on track toward being yourself in your new normal. With a foreword by Stephanie Spellers.

• Reflections follow the practices of The Way of Love—Turn, Learn, Pray, Worship, Bless, Go, Rest • Each devotion includes a passage of scripture, a story, and reflection questions • Perfect during Lent or any time of year "Living the Way of Love” offers forty brief reflections about the seven Jesus-centered practices identified by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry in “The Way of Love” initiative. Sullivan tells stories from her own and others’ experiences as a starting point for discussion about how to seek and find a deeper connection to God. Rotating through each practice so that each is covered once a week, going deeper into the practice throughout the forty days, each reflection ends with questions designed to spur further discussion and assist readers in making the practices their own. Perfect for using as a Lenten devotional or at any time of the year, the book includes a guide for creating a personal rule of life, and a downloadable Facilitator’s Guide.

The New Church’s Teaching series has been one of the most recognizable and useful sets of books in the Episcopal Church. With the launch of the Church’s Teachings for a Changing World series, visionary Episcopal thinkers and leaders have teamed up to write a new set of books, grounded and thoughtful enough for seminarians and leaders, concise and accessible enough for newcomers, with a host of discussion resources that help readers to dig deep. Eric Law and Stephanie Spellers conclude the series with a dynamic conversation about faith, dialogue, and the generous give-and-take that makes Episcopal life possible. They interview the series’ authors and provide summaries of each volume: history, theology, contemporary society, ethics, practice of ministry, Bible, and worship. Then they invite readers to expand the faith conversation: with self, with neighbor, with the “enemy,” and ultimately with God.

As congregations explore their emerging visions, they need support in “equipping the saints” for their day-to-day lives and ministries beyond the doors of the building. The Dismissal — “go in peace, to love and serve the Lord” — becomes as important as the Eucharist in feeding the people for the journey. But churches often fail to focus on this baptismal calling to “go” into the worlds of work, family, and community. This book fills that void, focusing on how the baptized become “go-ers,” providing practical and tested ways of fulfilling that calling.Go to Love and Serve builds on and complements the work of Stephanie Spellers’ Radical Welcome, which called congregations to move beyond diversity and inclusion to be places where the transforming gifts, voices, and power of marginalized cultures and groups bring new life to the mainline church. Each chapter is followed by discussion questions for use with small groups or for personal reflection.

The world is ever changing and so must the Episcopal Church to remain relevant to its followers. A grounded, necessary book on the Episcopalian faith in the 21st century.In the Church’s Teachings for a Changing World series, two visionary Episcopal thinkers and church leaders team up to revitalize the currency, integrity, and scholarship of this series with fresh new voices and style; concise and clear enough for newcomers, yet grounded and thoughtful enough for seminarians and leaders. In this foundational text for the Church’s Teachings for a Changing World, Law and Spellers explore seismic shifts in American life and the opportunities and challenges each presents to the church today. With a winning combination of passion, creativity, and wisdom, the authors call for a return to Episcopal basics and insist that faithfully engaging a changing world might be the most truly Anglican practice of all.“This is the book I’ve been waiting for. The Episcopal way of following Jesus and being Christian may be one of the best-kept secrets in the Western world. Finally, someone has taken the light out from under the bushel. Let it shine.”—The Rt. Rev. Michael B. Curry, Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church.

Radical Welcome: Embracing God, the Other, and the Spirit ofTransformation is a practical theological guide for congregations that want to move beyond mere inclusivity toward becoming a place where welcoming "the other" is taken seriously and engaging God's mission becomes more than just a catch-phrase. The book is based on two years of work and over 200 interviews with people in urban, suburban, and rural congregations around the United States. Each chapter introduces specific congregations and their challenges, and lays out the theological underpinnings of tackling fears head-on and embracing change as a welcome part of community life. Contents include: The Radical Welcome Journey; Mapping theWay; God of Welcome, God of Grace; With Hearts Wide Open; Getting Real; Facing Our Fears and Embracing the Dream; The Joy in the Struggle.