Losing Church: The Decline, the Pandemic, and Social and Political Storms - Hardcover

by Michael J. Gehring (Author)

From Ft. Smith, Arkansas, to Princeton, New Jersey, to Kernersville, North Carolina, with a stop along the way in Asbury Park, New Jersey, to pay homage to "The Boss," Michael Gehring takes us on his journeys as a pastor at a pivot point in history for the church and the world. Along the way, we meet up with a fascinating array of characters: Barbara Brown Taylor, Albert Einstein, Ernest Hemingway, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Jesus's forerunner, John the Baptist, to name just a few. But it's the questions Gehring raises that make this book not only entertaining, but compelling reading for individuals and small groups: How might the decline of the church lead us into rediscovering the gospel? Did clergy, and all of us for that matter, make a good choice investing in institutional Christianity? How would you describe the emotional price of love? What does living a soulful life look like? With the humility and genuineness of someone who doesn't pretend to have it all figured out, Gehring is the perfect travel companion. Come along.

Author Biography

Michael J. Gehring, a United Methodist Elder, serves in the Western North Carolina Conference. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Pastoral Theology at Hood Theological Seminary. His publications include The Oxbridge Evangelist: Motivations, Practices, and Legacy of C. S. Lewis (2017), As the Broken White Lines Become One: A Spiritual Travelogue (2018), and coeditor of The Logic of Evangelism Revisited (2019).