My publisher, Baker Books, was a'twitter today when they saw the most recent issue of Publisher's Weekly, a bible for those in the publishing world, give a very decent review of my upcoming book. PW always writes short little synopses like this:
Quitting Church: Why the Faithful Are Fleeing and What to Do About It
Julia Duin. Baker, $17.99 (192p) ISBN 978-0-8010-6823-2
Duin brings two kinds of experiences to bear in this engaging little jeremiad: as religion editor for the Washington Times, she is in her element marshaling statistics, interviewing authors and clergy, and commenting on the trend of faithful evangelicals who increasingly vote with their feet by leaving their churches. But she's also a self-described born-again evangelical herself, coping with the personal pain of not having a viable and permanent church home. Drawing heavily on research by pollster George Barna, Duin diagnoses a widespread dissatisfaction among evangelicals, who feel their churches do a decent job with new Christians but fall far short with mature believers. In particular, Duin shows, women and singles are leaving churches in ever-greater numbers. (As a single woman herself, she discusses her own experiences with being marginalized while successfully evoking a larger context through research and polls.) Duin has some prescriptions to help with these problems, including meatier sermons that address real issues; house churches and micro-churches that foster more genuine community; and even in-church matchmaking services to help singles who want to find a mate. (Sept.)
So, if you want to pre-order or anything, just click here.
Wish I could say I had lots of speaking engagements lined up, but books on why churches are doing such a rotten job aren't inspirational enough for a lot of Christian meetings. I will appear on a panel in September with other journalists at a large gathering of religion writers in Washington, which is gold, PR-wise.
Other news: both contracts for the condo (to sell) and the house (to buy) are signed and I just lined up my mover and settlement company today.
The photo of Miss Veeka shows her on a hot summer night setting a dinner place for Miss Kitty.
1 comment:
Julia, congratulations on the Publisher's Weekly review. I am very pleased for you.
We are in the midst of preparing for MT and looking forward to it, tho with some trepidation regarding 16+ hours in the car with Marcus. See you soon!
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