Brian D. McLaren

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About Brian D. McLaren
Hi, Friends -
When I was a boy, I dreamed of growing up to be an "arthur" (I hadn't mastered spelling yet).
I never dreamed I'd be writing books about spirituality, theology, ethics, and global crises. Instead, I wanted to write comic books. When I realized that my ability to draw had stopped developing at about age 6, I gave up on being an "arthur."
Years later, I became a college English teacher, then a pastor (for 24 years), and during that time, somewhat unexpectedly, I started writing books. Now in my 60's, I write, travel, speak, and help people get equipped and organized to make a positive difference in our world.
I hope you'll find in my books solutions to problems you experience, inspiration for challenges you face, and motivation to grow as an agent of needed change in our world.
I was born in New York, lived in Illinois, but spent most of my growing-up and child-raising years outside of Washington, DC, in Maryland. I'm married to Grace and we have four wonderful adult kids and five absolutely amazing grandkids (don't get me started). We've lived in SW Florida since 2009, where I enjoy a variety of outdoor pursuits, including birding, volunteering as a sea turtle monitor, and fly fishing from a kayak for tarpon.
You can learn more about me and my work at my website and blog - www.brianmclaren.net. You'll also find links to my domains on Facebook, Twitter, etc.
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Author Updates
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Blog postDo I Stay Christian? releases this week!
You may be interested in this excerpt from the book in the Daily Meditation from the Center for Action and Contemplation, of which I am honored to be a part: https://email.cac.org/t/ViewEmail/d/9F5DC36ACF0260072540EF23F30FEDED/7F2E00B06C3B153A14399806BE9B4083
You’ll also find a three-part video guide to the book and an invitation to be part of a four-week online class and community HERE:
https://homebrewedchristianity.lpages.co/2 months ago Read more -
Blog postA friend and colleague just finished reading the manuscript of Do I Stay Christian? He said he couldn’t stop reading and called it my “piece de resistance.” If you’d like to invite me to talk about the book on your podcast, you can contact John Karle at this email address: john.karle@stmartins.com. John can schedule our conversation and mail you an advanced reader copy. He’ll also invite you to participate in a fun zoom gathering with all the podcasters who invite me to join them. That gather6 months ago Read more
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Blog postI’m honored to be part of this post-Easter retreat — April 18-21 — at Montreat in North Carolina.
Discovering Renewal
Some retreats are more like conferences with lots of input. That’s good and needed sometimes. But other times, what you need as a quiet place in nature’s beauty … with time to unwind, rest, and simply enjoy being human. I’ll be leading one daily session focused on deep renewal, but other than that, you’ll have free time with options for some physical activity —6 months ago Read more -
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Blog postI think you’ll be glad you read this piece co-written with my friend Patrick Carolan. Be sure to notice the dynamic tension between the first and third paragraphs.
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/franciscan-spirit-blog/faithful-democracy-needs-you
6 months ago Read more -
Blog postYou’ll find a lot of resources for using We Make the Road by Walking here: https://www.facebook.com/wemaketheroadbywalking/
Here’s the schedule if you’re preaching/studying from the book each week in 2022 – 2023:
Chapter – Date 18. Jan 2, 2022 19. Jan 9 20. Jan 16 21. Jan 23 22. Jan 30 23. Feb 6 24. Feb 13 25. Feb 20 26. Feb 27 27. Mar 6 28. Mar 13 29,. Mar 20 30. Mar 27 31. Apr 3 32. Apr 20 (32, A, B, C) 33. Apr 17 Easter 34. Apr 24 35. May 1 36. May 87 months ago Read more -
Blog postHere’s the Q:
I am writing to thank you, for the book, ‘Faith after doubt’ , for helping me feel less alone and to understand the fear some of my [church members feel] by having me as their new minister. Also, I am writing to ask do you have any resources / recommendations for ministers / pastors who are experiencing burnout, being overstretched?
Last week I popped into my local independent bookshop… Christmas [gift cards] in hand, I went to pick up books that caught my eye,7 months ago Read more -
Blog post
Here’s the beautiful new UK cover for my upcoming book, Do I Stay Christian? I’m impressed with both the US and UK versions! The book won’t be out until May – but it could be a good Christmas present that comes with a free gift of five months of anticipation. Of course, my January 2021 release Faith After Doubt is available now – in print, ebook, and audiobook formats.
7 months ago Read more -
Blog postA Christmas gift from my friend Andra Moran … a beautiful arrangement/version of Joy to the World called Joy Anyway. “Joy Anyway” is out on all streaming platforms now. Turn it up, share it, and feel loved in this gift of music from our hearts to yours! Apple Music https://music.apple.com/us/album/joy-anyway/1599505388 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/album/2VGnGCtMWkPlMYwQNlC2QQ Youtube https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_n1cCp70wjcwB0JkXP-_etOz_jXly6d8 months ago Read more
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Blog postThis beautiful piece by Steve Bell beautifully captures the spirit of Advent waiting — not as passive biding time, but as “keening for the dawn.”
Part of my annual advent ritual over the last decade or so is to listen to this amazing choral work by Morten Lauridsen:
If you haven’t discovered Matthew Myer Boulton’s SALT Project podcast, don’t miss his current series: Strange New World: Understanding Christmas. It is stellar. Here’s a link: https://www.saltproject.org/podcast-st8 months ago Read more -
Blog postFolks who listen to Faith After Doubt as an audiobook have been asking for the charts in the Appendix. Here are two:
Overview of the Four Stages
ap 1a
ap 1b
ap 1c
Integration of Stage Theories
ap 3a
ap 3b
8 months ago Read more
Titles By Brian D. McLaren
Dubbed "a heroic gate-crasher" by New York Times bestselling author Glennon Doyle, Brian D. McLaren explores reasons to leave or stay within the church and if so how...
"Brian's new book on remaining Christian knocks it out of the ballpark in terms of framing and naming the questions. I cannot stop reading it. Thank you, Brian!"
—Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation, author of The Universal Christ
"Any thoughtful Christian has been asking the questions McLaren tackles here, but many of us are afraid to voice them aloud. In Do I Stay Christian? we’re gifted a gentle guide who opens ideas and voices the questions we cannot, naming our frustration, fear, and hesitant hope."
—Rev. Dr. Amy Butler, former Senior Minister, The Riverside Church; Founder, Invested Faith
Do I Stay Christian? addresses in public the powerful question that surprising numbers of people—including pastors, priests, and other religious leaders—are asking in private. Picking up where Faith After Doubt leaves off, Do I Stay Christian? is not McLaren's attempt to persuade Christians to dig in their heels or run for the exit. Instead, he combines his own experience with that of thousands of people who have confided in him over the years to help readers make a responsible, honest, ethical decision about their religious identity.
There is a way to say both yes and no to the question of staying Christian, McLaren says, by shifting the focus from whether we stay Christian to how we stay human. If Do I Stay Christian? is the question you're asking—or if it's a question that someone you love is asking—this is the book you've been waiting for.
From the author of A New Kind of Christianity comes a bold proposal: only doubt can save the world and your faith.
ONE of the Best Spiritual Books of 2021—Spirituality & Practice
"Will help you live fuller and breathe easier..” —Glennon Doyle
Sixty-five million adults in the U.S. have dropped out of active church attendance and about 2.7 million more are leaving every year. Faith After Doubt is for the millions of people around the world who feel that their faith is falling apart.
Using his own story and the stories of a diverse group of struggling believers, Brian D. McLaren, a former pastor and now an author, speaker, and activist shows how old assumptions are being challenged in nearly every area of human life, not just theology and spirituality. He proposes a four-stage model of faith development in which questions and doubt are not the enemy of faith, but rather a portal to a more mature and fruitful kind of faith. The four stages—Simplicity, Complexity, Perplexity, and Harmony—offer a path forward that can help sincere and thoughtful people leave behind unnecessary baggage and intensify their commitment to what matters most.
This book offers everything you need to explore what a difference an honest, living, growing faith can make in our world today. It also puts tools in your hands to create a life-changing learning community in any home, restaurant, or other welcoming space.
The fifty-two (plus a few) weekly readings can each be read aloud in 10 to 12 minutes and offer a simple curriculum of insightful reflections and transformative practices. Organized around the traditional church year, these readings give an overview of the whole Bible and guide an individual or a group of friends through a year of rich study, interactive learning, and personal growth.
Perfect for home churches, congregations, classes, or individual study, each reading invites you to
- Cultivate an honest, intelligent understanding of the Bible and of Christian faith in 21st century
- Engage with discussion questions designed to challenge, stimulate, and encourage
- Reimagine what it means to live joyfully and responsibly in today's world as agents of God's justice, creativity, and peace
If you're seeking a fresh way to experience and practice your faith, if you're a long-term Christian seeking new vitality, or if you feel out of place in traditional church circles, this book will inspire and activate you in your spiritual journey.
“Some books provide us with information about the world, but every once in a while a book appears that enables us to imagine new, more wonderful worlds. [A New Kind of Christianity] is one of these.” —Peter Rollins, Ikon
A New Kind of Christianity is Brian D. McLaren’s much anticipated follow-up to his breakthrough work of the emergent-church movement, A New Kind of Christian. Named by Time magazine as one of America’s top 25 evangelicals, McLaren, along with such contemporaries as N.T. Wright, Jim Wallis, and Rob Bell, is one of the acknowledged leaders of a new generation of Christians who want to update their faith for current times while remaining true to the core message of Jesus. In this controversial and thought-provoking book, McLaren explores the questions that will determine the shape of Christianity for the next 500 years.
It’s time to move again.
Brian McLaren, a leading voice in contemporary religion, argues that— notwithstanding the dire headlines about the demise of faith and drop in church attendance—Christian faith is not dying. Rather, it is embarking on a once-in-an-era spiritual shift. For millions, the journey has already begun.
Drawing from his work as global activist, pastor, and public theologian, McLaren challenges readers to stop worrying, waiting, and indulging in nostalgia, and instead, to embrace the powerful new understandings that are reshaping the church. In The Great Spiritual Migration, he explores three profound shifts that define the change:
∙ Spiritually, growing numbers of Christians are moving away from defining themselves by lists of beliefs and toward a way of life defined by love
∙ Theologically, believers are increasingly rejecting the image of God as a violent Supreme Being and embracing the image of God as the renewing Spirit at work in our world for the common good
∙ Missionally, the faithful are identifying less with organized religion and more with organizing religion—spiritual activists dedicated to healing the planet, building peace, overcoming poverty and injustice, and collaborating with other faiths to ensure a better future for all of us
With his trademark brilliance and compassion, McLaren invites readers to seize the moment and set out on the most significant spiritual pilgrimage of our time: to help Christianity become more Christian.
The first installment of Brian D. McLaren's trilogy recounts a lively and intimate conversation between fictional characters Pastor Dan Poole and his daughter's high-school science teacher, Neil Oliver. They reflect together about faith, doubt, reason, mission, leadership, and spiritual practice in the emerging postmodern world. A New Kind of Christian offers a tale of hope and spiritual renewal for those who thought they had to give up on faith, God, and church.
Can you be a committed Christian without having to condemn or convert people of other faiths? Is it possible to affirm other religious traditions without watering down your own?
In his most important book yet, widely acclaimed author and speaker Brian McLaren proposes a new faith alternative, one built on "benevolence and solidarity rather than rivalry and hostility." This way of being Christian is strong but doesn't strong-arm anyone, going beyond mere tolerance to vigorous hospitality toward, interest in, and collaboration with the other.
Blending history, narrative, and brilliant insight, McLaren shows readers step-by-step how to reclaim this strong-benevolent faith, challenging us to stop creating barriers in the name of God and learn how affirming other religions can strengthen our commitment to our own. And in doing so, he invites Christians to become more Christ-like than ever before.
Based on his book We Make The Road By Walking, Brian D. McLaren presents a 52-week devotional to inspire and activate you in your spiritual journey. If you're a seeker exploring Christianity, if you're a long-term believer feeling downtrodden, if your faith seems to be a lot of talk without much practice, here you'll find a reorientation from a fresh and healthy perspective.
Brian D. McLaren shows everything you need to explore what a difference an honest, living, growing faith can make in your life and in our world today. Through 52 weeks of thoughtful readings, Seeking Aliveness gives an overview of the message of the whole Bible and guides you through a rich study of interactive learning and personal growth.
McLaren writes in the spirit of Aldo Leopold and Wendell Berry, weaving together the spiritual and the material. Even though most readers will never visit the Galapagos Islands, they can travel with McLaren and experience the beauty and fragility of this extraordinary place.
When Brian McLaren began offering an alternative vision of Christian faith and life in books such as A New Kind of Christian and A Generous Orthodoxy, he ignited a firestorm of praise and condemnation that continues to spread across the religious landscape. To some religious conservatives, McLaren is a dangerous rebel without a doctrinally-correct cause. Some fundamentalist websites have even claimed he's in league with the devil and have consigned him to flames.
To others though, Brian is a fresh voice, a welcome antidote to the staleness, superficiality, and negativity of the religious status quo. A wide array of people from Evangelical, Catholic, and Mainline Protestant backgrounds claim that through his books they have begun to rediscover the faith they'd lost or rejected. And around the world, many readers say that he has helped them find-for the first time in their lives-a faith that makes sense and rings true. For many, he articulates the promise of what is being called "emerging Christianity."
In The Secret Message of Jesus you'll find what's at the center of Brian's critique of conventional Christianity, and what's at the heart of his expanding vision. In the process, you'll meet a Jesus who may be altogether new to you, a Jesus who is…
- Not the crusading conqueror of religious broadcasting;
- Not the religious mascot of partisan religion;
- Not heaven's ticket-checker, whose words have been commandeered by the church to include and exclude, judge and stigmatize, pacify and domesticate.
McLaren invites you to discover afresh the transforming message of Jesus-an open invitation to radical change, an enlightening revelation that exposes sham and ignites hope, an epic story that is good news for everyone, whatever their gender, race, class, politics, or religion.
"Pastor and best-selling author McLaren revisits the gospel material from a fresh-and at times radical-perspective . . . He does an excellent job of capturing Jesus' quiet, revolutionary style."
--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Here McLaren shares his own ferocious journey in pondering the teachings and actions of Jesus. It is McLaren's lack of salesmanship or agenda that creates a refreshing picture of the man from Galilee who changed history."
--Donald Miller, Author of Blue Like Jazz
"In this critical book, Brian challenges us to ask what it would mean to truly live the message of Jesus today, and thus to risk turning everything upside down."
--Jim Wallis, Author of God's Politics and editor of Sojourners
"Compelling, crucial and liberating: a book for those who seek to experience the blessed heat of Christianity at its source."
--Anne Rice, Author of Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt
The Story We Find Ourselves In is the sequel to Brian D. McLaren's award-winning book A New Kind of Christian. His witty and wise characters take on difficult, faith-busting themes--from evolution and evangelism to death and the meaning of life--and reveal that the answers to life's pressing spiritual questions often come from the most unlikely sources. Dan and Neo (and some new characters as well) invite reflection on the story we find ourselves in--that is, the narrative of God's presence and meaning in the world now and in the future.
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