Stephanie Spellers – författare

The world is ever changing and so must the Episcopal Church to remain relevant to its followers. A grounded, necessary book on the Episcopalian faith in the 21st century.

In the Church’s Teachings for a Changing World series, two visionary Episcopal thinkers and church leaders team up to revitalize the currency, integrity, and scholarship of this series with fresh new voices and style; concise and clear enough for newcomers, yet grounded and thoughtful enough for seminarians and leaders. In this foundational text for the Church’s Teachings for a Changing World, Law and Spellers explore seismic shifts in American life and the opportunities and challenges each presents to the church today. With a winning combination of passion, creativity, and wisdom, the authors call for a return to Episcopal basics and insist that faithfully engaging a changing world might be the most truly Anglican practice of all.

“This is the book I’ve been waiting for. The Episcopal way of following Jesus and being Christian may be one of the best-kept secrets in the Western world. Finally, someone has taken the light out from under the bushel. Let it shine.”—The Rt. Rev. Michael B. Curry, Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church.

The New Church’s Teaching series has been one of the most recognizable and useful sets of books in the Episcopal Church. With the launch of the Church’s Teachings for a Changing World series, visionary Episcopal thinkers and leaders have teamed up to write a new set of books, grounded and thoughtful enough for seminarians and leaders, concise and accessible enough for newcomers, with a host of discussion resources that help readers to dig deep. Eric Law and Stephanie Spellers conclude the series with a dynamic conversation about faith, dialogue, and the generous give-and-take that makes Episcopal life possible. They interview the series’ authors and provide summaries of each volume: history, theology, contemporary society, ethics, practice of ministry, Bible, and worship. Then they invite readers to expand the faith conversation: with self, with neighbor, with the “enemy,” and ultimately with God.

"This book will make a profound difference for the church in this moment in history."— The Most Reverend Michael B. Curry

Sometimes it takes disruption and loss to break us open and call us home to God. It’s not surprising that a global pandemic and once-in-a-generation reckoning with white supremacy—on top of decades of systemic decline—have spurred Christians everywhere to ask who we are, why God placed us here and what difference that makes to the world.

In this critical yet loving book, the author explores the American story and the Episcopal story in order to find out how communities steeped in racism, establishment, and privilege can at last fall in love with Jesus, walk humbly with the most vulnerable and embody beloved community in our own broken but beautiful way.

The Church Cracked Open invites us to surrender privilege and redefine church, not just for the sake of others, but for our own salvation and liberation.

For the fifteenth anniversary of its publication, this revised edition features a new introduction from the author on the state of the church and its “radical welcome” today, along with new reflections on how it continues to reshape the church.

This book is at once a theological, inspirational, and practical guide for congregations that want to move beyond diversity and inclusion to present a vision for the church of the future: one where the gifts, voices, and power of marginalized groups bring new life to the mainline church. Based on two years of work and over 200 interviews with people in congregations all around the United States—in urban, suburban, and rural settings—it asks the question: How do we face our fears and welcome transformation in order to become God’s radically welcoming people?

Each chapter introduces a particular congregation and the challenges it faced, and lays out the theological underpinnings of tackling fears head-on to embrace change as a welcome part of community life. This new edition features essays from Michael B. Curry, Mark Bozzuti-Jones, Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows, and Mark Richardson.