sidenotes
**Check out Sarah’s interview with Christianity Today’s Leadership Journal and references to her book in God’s Politics.
“First-time author Cunningham is a 20-something who feels ambivalent about and alienated from the church. In 14 letters, she vents her frustrations, telling the church why she is dissatisfied and letting other disgruntled Gen-X and Gen-Y readers know they are not alone. …The book is not wholly devoted to complaining; Cunningham also highlights the aspects of church life that give her hope. She loves the resiliency and flexibility of the church. And she loves Jesus, who was simultaneously anti-institutional and deeply committed to the church.” ~Publisher’s Weekly
“She encourages 20-somethings to have a little more grace and patience with the failures of the church and ends her book with a love letter to the church.” ~Katie Galli, Christianity Today
“What I like most about this book is this: it works through real problems — and she doesn’t sugar coat this stuff — into disillusionment and then, beyond disillusionment, into a genuinely realistic and robust embrace.”~Scot McKnight, author of Jesus Creed
“Sarah is one of those authors where you forget you’re reading. It’s more like she’s sitting there across from you, sipping her skinny cappucino, eyeing your almond croissant and you’re listening to her but knowing she’s wondering whether she should’ve gotten one of those too. When you tell someone about one story or another (and you will because they’re irresistable) you’re really going to tempted to start it with “You know what Sarah told me yesterday?” I’m telling you, she’s in the room with you; it’s weird.” ~Conrad Gempf, author of Jesus Asked and Mealtime Habits of the Messiah
“Sarah Cunningham is the conscience of her generation. Her wrestling match with organized Christianity is representative of so many 18-30 year olds. In fact believers well past the age of thirty are likely to resonate with the pains and joys that Sarah recounts in this collection of metaphorical letters. Other books in the disgruntled twenty-something genre (and there are many) are thinly veiled cheap shots at an older generation and their systems and rituals. While Sarah pulls no punches, she weighs each criticism carefully before diagnosing a problem and offering helpful and nuanced solutions. …Throughout there is an undercurrent of love which gives this book a nice aftertaste.”
~Tim Worsham, Refuge
An exploration of not just what is wrong with church, but the unrealistic expectations of people of the church. That is not just about the church changing, but us changing too, and seeing what we do that contributes to the problem.”
~Jason Clark, Coordinator for Emergent in the UK
“Her book, ‘Dear Church: Letters From A Disillusioned Generation’, recently hit the shelves and will likely do well — especially among younger and younger-minded readers who have become disenchanted with the institutional church and yet desire to be people of passionate faith and devoted followers of Jesus.”
~Chris Monroe, creator of Paradoxology
“Unlike Spencer Burke’s recent sophomoric tirade against the church, Sarah shows great wisdom and maturity. Even more, she offers hope. I get the sense that Sarah has a deep love for the church – a love that is willing to bear with disappointment in order to love the reality.”
~Richard J. Vincent, creator of Theocentric
**If you like authors like Anne Lamott, Elizabeth Gilbert, Donald Miller or Rob Bell, you may like the authentic and messy voice of Christian author, Sarah Cunningham**