I recently finished writing my second book for Intervarsity Press. I think it is going to be called Giving Church Another Chance: Finding New Meaning in Old Practices—but that could change by the time it hits book stores early next year.

While I’m on publishing updates…

• This week, Jim Henderson, Craig Spinks and I are finishing the first draft of a book we are writing for Baker Books called The Outsiders Interviews. It is essentially a book on evangelism but with some very fun and accessible twists. I’m not sure when it will be out, but probably early next spring.

• I am also working on a proposal now for a third book that IVP has asked me to write. It will tell the story of my journey into Anglicanism and describe how I think the spiritual practices of Anglicanism are a great fit for the postmodern, post-Christendom reality in which we live. I hope to have it written in the next six months.

• So…Christianity Beyond Belief was released in February 2009; Giving Church Another Chance should be out in February of 2010; and The Anglican Book (I don’t have a title yet) should be out in February of 2011…God willing and the creek don’t rise!

Funny, I never thought of myself as an author… I always thought writing books was what smart people like Dallas Willard, or gifted people like Brian McLaren did. But, by spring of 2011—a year and a half from now, I will have four books out! It seems as if a tap has been opened and there is now more to write on than I can possibly do! We’ll see where this all goes…

Orange County Beach

In my next book, Giving Church Another Chance, I walk readers through the basic elements of a worship service and show how a follower of Jesus, or someone who is “spiritual, but not religious” can interact with the traditional—even ancient—components of church.

For instance, I have a vision of young seekers who have genuine concern about truth, especially religious truth, and how it works with competing religious truth claims, coming to church and week by week, in a community of faith simply reading the creed…letting it wash over their minds…creating a new world view, and giving a fresh story into which they can live their lives. I also foresee people struggling with various caught-in-the-grip sins, desperate to get out and find freedom and love, praying the prayer of confession and finding deeper levels of repentance coming to them until they find themselves truly free in the love and forgiveness of God.

We’re just getting started with all of this in our new church plant in Costa Mesa, so if you live in Orange County or know people who are longing to give church another chance as they try to find a way for church to empower the spirituality they dream of, you can check us out at: http://www.myholytrinitychurch.com.

6 Responses to “Giving Church Another Chance”

1. Greg Says:
   June 15th, 2009 at 7:27 am

   Todd,
   Very glad to see that you are continuing to write. I gave a copy of Christianity Beyond Belief to a friend who said, “I really like the way this guy writes.” (I do too, of course. That’s why I gave him the book.)

   Also, as a recent Anglican convert myself, I look forward to the story of your journey to Anglicanism. For me, it was a way to put myself in a place where the riches of both biblical Christianity and orthodox/traditional Christianity can be found and respected but with a forward focus, seeking to be faithfully responsive to the present movement of the Holy Spirit. I look forward to hearing your story.

2. Todd Says:
   June 15th, 2009 at 10:04 am

   Thanks Greg–I appreciate your kind remarks!

3. Greg Says:
   June 15th, 2009 at 9:53 pm

   Todd,

   I happened to listen tonight to an online interview from April 10th of your fellow keynote speaker this weekend, Metropolitan Jonah. If you haven’t heard the interview, I thought you might like to know that it sounds like you and he could have a very interesting conversation about Christianity Beyond Belief: Following Jesus for the Sake of Others.

   Here are some quotes from the last five minutes or so,”It’s about coming to a common vision … for the sake of obedience to the will of God and for the sake of the greater good.” “[T]he Lord said, “If you would follow me, you must deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me.” In order to be followers of Jesus Christ, in order to be Christians, we have to take up that daily cross of self-denial … to look and see what is the greater good of the other, how can I serve the other? How can I love the other … in a living relationship of communion and love with the other?… First and foremost the will of God and then the other whom God has set before me.’

   The words Christ and Christian are each mentioned once. Follow is in there twice, follower once, Jesus once, sake twice, other four times. You can almost put together your title from the words that were repeated. And not only the title, but also an echo of the triangle of presence is in his words. It sounds to me like the Lord is leading you both in similar ways. That has to be good news for the ACNA.

   The interview was titled “Diversity and Unity in North America” at Ancient Faith Radio. The context of these remarks was the need for consensus and conciliarity. The interview is at:
   http://ancientfaith.com/podcasts/podup/conversations/diversity_and_unity_in_north_america

   (Sorry, not sure how to link directly to this.)

   Just thought you might want to know, if you hadn’t heard.

4. Todd Says:
   June 18th, 2009 at 9:52 am

   Thanks Greg–I hope I get to meet him, but I am only there for less than 24 hours to give my talk. I am in San Antonio at the Renovare Conference before hand.

5. Rob Hartley Says:
   August 28th, 2009 at 7:16 am

   Todd, I also look forward to this book. I am part of an Anglican church plant in the greater Augusta area [Ga. and SC]. The topic speaks to what I’m seeing as the growing edge for our new church family, de-churched people discovering and interacting positively with liturical worship.

6. Todd Says:
   August 29th, 2009 at 5:53 am

   Thanks Rob–it hope it delivers what I had in mind!

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