Churches That Abuse by Ronald Enroth is a great book that I’ve referenced here before. It gives a rundown of abusive practices and characteristics to help you understand what you have experienced. He has also written Recovering From Churches That Abuse.
Both of these titles are out of print but you can buy used copies or email me and I will send you a FREE digital pdf of the books. My address is recoveringalumni at recoveringalumni dot blog. 2021 Update: The pdf file has since been lost.
So You Don’t Wanna Go to Church Anymore by Wayne Jacobsen, follows the journey of a man who slowly discovers that Christianity is not about ethics, but about love. Though he is in full time ministry at a thriving church, his efforts to control both his behavior and other’s leads only to emptiness and futility. A great read that will refresh your spirit and help you think about things in a new way.
Also by Wayne Jacobsen, He Loves Me is a radical reorientation of the Christian life from effort and performance to resting in God’s love. Each page is dripping with grace and mercy. You can download the first edition for free if you follow the link. (Note: click the title not the book image)
5 comments:
A book that was really freeing for me was The End of Religion by Bruxy Cavey. (http://www.theendofreligion.org/) It deals with how Jesus didn’t come to start a new religion (a set of laws on how to relate to God), but to start relationship (since, as God, there he was for us to relate to).
After a strong dose of performance mentality, this was so refreshing and life-giving to hear.
I would suggest Pagan Christianity? by George Barna and Frank Viola
Recovering from Churches that Abuse is an excellent resource. I found out that the head of the ministry I was at (His Mansion) was a sexual abuser, from reading that book. Scary stuff.
John Weaver
I would recommend Prodigal God, by Tim Keller. Great book – totally different take on the prodigal son story – and emphasizes the Father’s love for all of us – including the religious older brother.
Also highly recommend Broken Hearts,Shattered Trust by Dr. John Setser.
Shatteredtrust.com