Stumbling Toward Faith
A Book By Blogger Renee Altson
Renee Altson and I traded some emails a year or so ago. I only knew her as “Iphy” from her blog at that time. When I stopped by I was impressed by both her honesty and her fresh writing style.
Now Renee has written a book. “Stumbling Toward Faith” is her own story, told in a gritty and painfully honest way. Many Christians will be very uncomfortable reading this, which is one of the reasons why I loved it. The book is published by Youth Specialties, which doesn't surprise me. But Youth Specialties books are published under the umbrella of Zondervan. I'm surprised the Big Z would take on a project this edgy. Good for them!
Renee is doing the kind of writing that Christianity needs. American Christianity has become a marketed religion. And some marketing is nothing more than hype and verbiage instead of truth and real living. Of course, marketing is all about being upbeat and desirable. Many Christians will not admit to their own struggles and failures for fear of spoiling the big campaign.
But we live in a market-savvy world, and people can smell contrived sound bites and committee-written slogans from a mile away. The people of our world are tired of fake smiles and bullshit. Much that passes for relevancy in modern Christianity strikes me as being spectacularly irrelevant. Much that passes for depth is, in reality, very shallow.
Renee Altson doesn’t care if she is relevant or if she makes you feel good. She cares about telling the truth of her journey. She is willing to speak boldly and let the chips fall where they may. God bless her.
I got my copy a few days ago and found myself alternating between being very engaged and wanting to flinch and look away. The book begins with a horrific shock, moves through unthinkable pain, and ends with the kind of beauty that perhaps can only be found after one has suffered. I was deeply touched by the account of a Lesbian couple who showed Renee real love. Forget WWJD. Let's talk about WWJC - Who Would Jesus Claim as his own people. If I read the gospels correctly, that couple may be at the top of the list.
I wish to God that a book like “Stumbling Toward Faith” didn’t need to be written, but it did. The Church must listen to stories like this and truly hear them, if the Church is to discover what real relevance is for our culture .
Some of Renee’s friends have organized what they are calling a “Virtual Book Tour.” My blog is the first stop, so to speak. Other blogs will interview Renee or even allow her to be a guest blogger.
Fellow bloggers, this is what we do. We network outside of all the traditional markets and media. We link to each other, and there is great power in our decentralized network. If you don't believe me, just ask Google. The traditional world of books and media are beginning to hear us roar.
Why don’t you drop by Renee’s site and nose around a bit? I think you’ll be intrigued and impressed.
rlp
7:51:31 AM 
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