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Do you really need church to have a relationship with God?
Church can produce all kinds of automatic reactions depending on your past experiences. Perhaps your family was actively involved in church, or maybe your experience was limited to attending on the occasional holiday. Is it a place you associate with feelings of shame or joy? Does it bring anxiety, or do you have fond memories? Few people are neutral on the subject of church.
Are you one of the 16 million American women who have left the church in the last decade? There are many reasons for this exodus. Many women who leave the church-especially those who still consider themselves to be Christians-desire a closer relationship with God and a deeper spiritual life. What they may not realize is that the imperfect churches of their pasts might be keeping them from meeting those deep spiritual longings today.
In Reason to Return, Ericka Andersen delves into the reasons why women are leaving church in droves. With gentle insight and thoughtful research, she invites Christian women who are hurt or disillusioned by the churches of their pasts to fulfill their unmet spiritual longings for God and community-and consider what the church might still have to offer them.
Church can produce all kinds of automatic reactions depending on your past experiences. Perhaps your family was actively involved in church, or maybe your experience was limited to attending on the occasional holiday. Is it a place you associate with feelings of shame or joy? Does it bring anxiety, or do you have fond memories? Few people are neutral on the subject of church.
Are you one of the 16 million American women who have left the church in the last decade? There are many reasons for this exodus. Many women who leave the church-especially those who still consider themselves to be Christians-desire a closer relationship with God and a deeper spiritual life. What they may not realize is that the imperfect churches of their pasts might be keeping them from meeting those deep spiritual longings today.
In Reason to Return, Ericka Andersen delves into the reasons why women are leaving church in droves. With gentle insight and thoughtful research, she invites Christian women who are hurt or disillusioned by the churches of their pasts to fulfill their unmet spiritual longings for God and community-and consider what the church might still have to offer them.
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Reviews
"How many women are seeking purpose, asking, "Is this all there is to life?" Reason to Return answers: "You were made for so much more!" Ericka invites women to be who God made us to be by living an abundant life in a church community. Her words are refreshing and inspiring because they encourage us to "rewrite our faith stories." Ericka sees women as vital to church life because it is in our DNA to be life givers. And she encourages us to realize we have so much to receive inside "God's holy home on earth."
Linda Znachko, author and founder of He Knows Your Name
"In Reason to Return, Ericka Andersen honestly and delicately uncovers the spiritual woundings many of us have experienced in the local church while beautifully restoring the dignity of the Church at large. I especially appreciate Ericka's advocacy for the underserved in our church communities, most notably single mothers, who often feel unseen, unheard, and unwanted. For any woman desiring to encounter God more fully, reengagement in the local church is essential, and Ericka compassionately offers both renewed hope and practical guidance for safely navigating the experience."
Michelle Donnelly, president and CEO of PlusONE Parents and author of Save Haven