Brian McLaren, an influential author and former pastor, shares his poignant journey of moving away from traditional Evangelicalism. He dives into the complexities of faith transitions and the emotional challenges faced by those leaving established beliefs. The conversation touches on the evolving landscape of spirituality, particularly among younger generations, and the conflicts between science and faith. McLaren also reflects on the struggle for authenticity within spiritual communities, emphasizing the importance of personal narratives in navigating such transformations.
In this book, Brian McLaren examines ten critical questions facing the modern church, including the nature of the Bible's authority, the character of God, the significance of Jesus, the meaning of the gospel, and the role of the church. McLaren's work challenges traditional Christian beliefs and practices, advocating for a more inclusive, generous, and postmodern approach to faith. The book is structured around these key questions, aiming to spark a new quest for understanding and living out Christianity in a changing world.
A New Kind of Christianity
Ten Questions That Are Transforming the Faith
Brian McLaren
In this book, Brian McLaren examines ten critical questions facing the modern church, including the nature of the Bible's authority, the character of God, the significance of Jesus, the meaning of the gospel, and the role of the church. McLaren's work challenges traditional Christian beliefs and practices, advocating for a more inclusive, generous, and postmodern approach to faith. The book is structured around these key questions, aiming to spark a new quest for understanding and living out Christianity in a changing world.
Faith After Doubt
Faith After Doubt
Why Your Belief Stopped Working and What to Do About It
Brian McLaren
Brian McLaren's "Faith After Doubt" delves into the experiences of individuals whose faith has been shaken or challenged. It explores the reasons behind this disillusionment, often stemming from religious trauma or the rigid dogma of organized religion. The book offers a path toward a more nuanced and personal understanding of spirituality, emphasizing the importance of doubt in the journey of faith. It encourages readers to question traditional beliefs and find their own meaning and purpose. Ultimately, it promotes a more compassionate and inclusive approach to spirituality.
Life After Doom
Life After Doom
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Brian McLaren
In "Life After Doom," Brian McLaren confronts the most pressing challenges facing humanity, particularly climate change and its interconnected crises. He presents four potential scenarios for the future, ranging from collapse avoidance to extinction, urging readers to confront difficult realities and maintain agency. The book explores the psychological and spiritual dimensions of these crises, emphasizing the need for collective action and a deeper understanding of our relationship with the planet. It challenges readers to move beyond simplistic narratives and engage with the complexities of the situation.
Everything Must Change
Everything Must Change
BUFACCHI
We Make the Road by Walking
Conversations on Education and Social Change
Paulo Freire
A generous orthodoxy
Brian McLaren
The last voyage
The last voyage
Brassey, Annie (Allnutt) baroness
Brian McLaren's 'The Last Voyage' is a thought-provoking exploration of humanity's potential future as it grapples with environmental collapse and societal disintegration. Set in a time where Earth's sustainability is threatened, the novel follows a mission to establish a colony on Mars. This endeavor, however, faces not only technological hurdles but also profound human challenges, testing the colonists' resilience and ability to cooperate. McLaren delves into the ethical and philosophical dimensions of seeking a new beginning while confronting the consequences of past actions. The book ultimately questions what it truly means to be human and the importance of learning from history to build a better future.
Do I Stay Christian?
Do I Stay Christian?
Brian McLaren
The last word and the word after that
Brian McLaren
The Great Rift
The Great Rift
Anthony Smith
Ethnogenesis
Ethnogenesis
Abdul Halim bin Othan Wan
The great spiritual migration
Brian McLaren
The story we find ourselves in
Brian D. McLaren
Finding Faith
Finding Faith
Stephanie A. Pack
Moose's Grandma
Janice M. Boyd
Finding Our Way Again
Finding Our Way Again
Brian D. McLaren
Phyllis Tickle
The church on the other side
Brian D. McLaren
Time magazine’s pick for “most influential Evangelical in 2015” tells his own story of leaving behind traditional Evangelicalism.
Over the past five years, we’ve interviewed many people who are “Recovering Evangelicals” … people who were handed an Evangelical/Fundamentalist faith that they eventually found they had to reject. As they explored their faith from different angles, they found it just didn’t work anymore: they had to keep giving up one belief after another until they thought they had nothing left. We have a web-page that collects over a dozen such stories.
But recently, we thought it was important to show that these “slippery slope” experiences are had not only by “average” lay-people: Christian leaders, pastors, and theologians are also prone. So a few weeks ago we heard from John James Kirkwood, who was a pastor of an Evangelical church during the years that he was giving up on traditional Evangelicalism (#180). And then we heard from Peter Enns, who was a professor and theologian at an Evangelical College when he walked the same path (#181). Both had to contend with the tension of helping other Evangelicals build up their Evangelical faith while tearing apart his own.
In this episode, we hear from Brian McLaren: also a pastor at a large and flourishing Evangelical church during the years that he was giving up the traditional Evangelicalism he grew up with. But he was not “just another pastor”: he assisted in the development of several new churches, was a guest lecturer for denominational and ecumenical leadership gatherings around the world, and a prolific Evangelical author with a couple dozen book titles to his credit. In 2015, Time magazine named him as one of the 25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America!
He, too, became a Recovering Evangelical.
This is his story.
We’ll hear about how he grew up in a Plymouth Brethren environment, steeped in Biblical literalism and Young Earth Creationism, and at the ripe old age of 12 defiantly declared he’d renounced that form of Fundamentalism because it couldn’t handle evolution and was too obsessed with sex. About a transcendent spiritual experience on a hill-top in his teen years that crystalized his faith in a God of love. About his slippery slope experiences while he began to pursue a career as a college professor of English literature, then stumbled into a career as a pastor, an author, a seeker, a culture warrior, and a Jesus freak.
And about where he’s at now in his Christian worldview …. faith expressing itself in love.
And the cherry on top in this interview was a sneak peak at his next book to be released: the first in a trilogy of sci-fi novels that will add a new dimension to his message of pursuing meaning and fulfillment.
Find more about Brian McLaren and his many books at his website.
Recovering Evangelicals 
