Reviews
Intelligent, inviting and nurturing, these essays...offer a rich banquet for pastors, lifelong congregants, disaffected Christians, and confused seekers alike., "Lillian Daniel is the funniest writer I know in the church, and therefore one of the wisest. She challenges the "spiritual but not religious" to do something genuinely bold and innovative-join the ordinary batch of believers trying to live out faith in the company of others.", Marvelously gritty wit...an impassioned and winning case for why church, community, and formal religious traditions are so integral to creating a fulfilling life....her ideas are thought provoking and infectious., Lillian Daniel has a unique voice, a singularly charming mix of sweet and acerbic. She is often hilarious and always wise. This is one of those rare books that, when you finish the last page, you immediately want to start again at the beginning., Daniel sees herself and all the rest of us as everyday saints, halos slightly askew, stumbling our way across the holy ground of our ordinary lives toward a God of overwhelming love. This is a book to be savored and celebrated., Here is why I love Lillian Daniel's writing: it is honest; it is funny; and it teaches me about Mary and Martha via a yoga class. Also, Lillian Daniel describes the church I know and am known by-she describes a church that is ordinary and extraordinary, full of people who are broken, gifted, blessed, strange, and wonderful. The church she describes is the place that has sustained my spiritual life when my own interior sense of God's presence has faltered; and it is the place that, as often as not, is where I am sitting when my sense of God's presence reignites., With sly wit and insight, Lillian Daniels provides powerful post modern observations of spirituality, faith and religiosity in America with wonderful ironic prose and a preacher's ear for language. Any person interested in the future of faith communities would do well to purchase this publication., Jews affirm that God is everywhere and in all of us, and Lillian Daniel makes that real in this delightful manifestation of the God within her that enables her to open our eyes more deeply to the wonder and miracles that are present in every day life situations., Daniel offers us a new look at an old tradition that many mainline congregations have abandoned. She shows how testimony breathes new life into people and the congregations they love., This marvelous book is itself a testimony to the powerful ways God works when people are invited to tell others what they have seen and heard and touched of God's presence in their lives., Lillian is as fed up with bad religion as anyone else, but she's also careful to celebrate good religion and good spirituality that brings people to life and makes the world a better place. May her book invite us to stop complaining about the Church we've experienced and work on becoming the Church we dream of., There are plenty of books that critique religion. But here's a good critique of the critics. Lillian is as fed up with bad religion as anyone else, but she's also careful to celebrate good religion and good spirituality that bring people to life and make the world a better place. She reminds us that God is always doing a new thing, but that doesn't negate the old things God has done over the centuries. Lillian reminds me of the old adage: 'The Church is a whore, but she's my mother.' May her book invite us to stop complaining about the Church we've experienced and work on becoming the Church we dream of., "In short, zingy anecdotes, Daniel strikes out at what she sees at the spiritual laziness of those who opt for "personal faith" outside of a church community. Controversial but powerfully argued.", This is the wonderful, essential Lillian Daniel at her best-earthy, perceptive, devout, tough-minded, angry and laugh-out-loud funny, all in one. Daniel's easygoing style is just right for revealing her great gift of finding God in the everyday. Sometimes she is biting. Sometimes she is tender and often what she says is stunningly beautiful., This is a joyous and essential book about that much maligned place: church. Lillian Daniel brings us inside her faith community and her preacher's heart and offers a tour that will make you want to volunteer for the early service next Sunday morning., Praise for WHEN "SPIRITUAL BUT NOT RELIGIOUS" IS NOT ENOUGH: "This is the wonderful, essential Lillian Daniel at her best-earthy, perceptive, devout, tough-minded, angry and laugh-out-loud funny, all in one. Daniel's easygoing style is just right for revealing her great gift of finding God in the everyday. Sometimes she is biting. Sometimes she is tender and often what she says is stunningly beautiful.", Here is why I love Lillian Daniel's writing: it is honest; it is funny; and it teaches me about Mary and Martha via a yoga class. The church she describes is the place that has sustained my spiritual life when my own interior sense of God's presence has faltered; and it is the place that, as often as not, is where I am sitting when my sense of God's presence reignites., With candor, theological insight, and pastoral wisdom, Daniel describes how testimony can deeply affect, and finally transform, the life of a congregation. Prepare to learn here about the practice of testimony, but prepare also to be touched by the courage and honesty of people speaking aloud their experiences of faith., "You read some things because you have to or need to or ought to. You'll read Lillian Daniel for the pure pleasure of pitch-perfect writing-she has the rare talent of a "natural." Along the way, you'll discover enrichment and insight that you needed and wanted ... Lillian cooks up a delicious and nourishing feast for readers. Don't miss it!"
