My book is out!

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What You Sow Is a Bare Seed: A Countercultural Christian Community during Five Decades of Change is out in the world. It is a group biography of ordinary but extraordinary people from the ecumenical Community of Christ in Washington, DC, who were engaged in movements for renewal and justice in the church and society.

To purchase my new book at 40% off—the paperback costs $18.60 plus shipping—please visit the publisher’s website and click “Buy.” Proceed to the page “Your Cart” and enter the coupon code RENEWAL in the Discounts field. Offer good through September 30, 2023.

Read what people are saying about the book:

The Rev. Carol Howard, pastor and author of Healing Spiritual Wounds

In What you Sow Is a Bare Seed, Celeste Kennel-Shank tells this story with such hope and grace that in the process of reading, I could feel that hope and grace extend to us. As people worry about what the future of the church might be, Kennel-Shank reminds us why we must be.

Brian McLaren, author of Do I Stay Christian?

Why should you read about a small church you’ve probably never heard of? One reason: because a small, informal, experimental faith community, like one tiny seed, can have a great impact, both on its members and on the people and communities the members impact. I know, because I am one of the latter. My life has been enriched with the overflow of the community you will meet in Celeste Kennel-Shank’s new book.

The Rev. Teresa Hord Owens, General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the US and Canada

The Rev. Celeste Kennel-Shank has given great insights into the power of an understanding of Christian community that is tied to the followership of Jesus rather than loyalty to specific institutional expressions of Christianity. The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has long struggled to live into the vitality of the Christian witness in community rather than the preservation of institutions as priority. Celeste reminds us that there are those who share this view, and that we must continue to work to ensure that it is the witness of the gospel of Christ in community that will be the hallmark of the Christian movement.

The Rev. Jennifer M. McBride, Ph.D., author of You Shall Not Condemn and Radical Discipleship and president of the International Bonhoeffer Society – English Language Section

In the midst of a rapidly shifting religious landscape, we would do well to remember the insight grounding Celeste Kennel-Shank’s work: the lessons others have learned before about how to be a church faithful to the radical demands of the gospel apply to us today. Kennel-Shank has offered us a compelling and concrete model in the Community of Christ—a church that intentionally connected worship with social justice in a sustained way for over half a century. As a pastor attentive to practical wisdom, a journalist skilled at story-telling, and a former member of this remarkable Community, Kennel-Shank reminds us that what they experienced, we may experience too.

Here’s the full link again just in case you have any trouble with the one above:

https://wipfandstock.com/9781666771077/what-you-sow-is-a-bare-seed/