An "Evolving Faith" Reading List // 2019 Edition
Last year, I attended a conference that forever altered the future of my life and faith: Evolving Faith. I originally signed up purely because I loved the two creators (Sarah Bessey and Rachel Held Evans), not knowing just how much it would blow me away and meet me where I was to call me forward in such a beautiful and meaningful way. The two days I spent at Montreat last year were incredibly impactful — the diversity of speakers (in all ways!) was stunning, their messages encouraging and illuminating, the whole experience rich and deep and just unlike any other faith experience I had been part before.
Long story short: I am a BIG FAN of Evolving Faith!
Note: I’m still deeply grieved that Rachel Held Evans passed away this year after a sudden illness. The conference won’t be the same without her, just like our world is not the same without her. Her wisdom, warmth, strength, and stories are deeply missed. I’m grateful for the chance to have been with her last year and to have learned from her in person and through her books.
I’m so thrilled to be returning again this fall (this time in Denver!) for even more goodness and growth.
Last year, I rounded up a list of books written by the speakers for my own sake (find it here!), but got such an encouraging response that I wanted to pull one together for this year as well!
Here’s a reading list of works written by the speakers of Evolving Faith 2019:
(ps— I’ve linked my personal reviews for the books I’ve read, and included affiliate links in this post at no extra cost to you!)
Sarah Bessey
Jesus Feminist: An Invitation to Revisit the Bible’s View of Women (review) • Out of Sorts: Making Peace with an Evolving Faith (review) • Miracles and Other Reasonable Things: A Story of Unlearning and Relearning God (coming Oct. 8!)
Jeff Chu
Does Jesus Really Love Me?: A Gay Christian's Pilgrimage in Search of God in America
Rachel Held Evans
Searching for Sunday: Loving, Leaving, and Finding the Church (review) • Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again (review) • A Year of Biblical Womanhood: How a Liberated Woman Found Herself Sitting on Her Roof, Covering Her Head, and Calling Her Husband 'Master' • Faith Unraveled • Evolving in Monkey Town: How a Girl Who Knew All the Answers Learned to Ask the Questions
Amena Brown
How to Fix a Broken Record: Thoughts on Vinyl Records, Awkward Relationships, and Learning to Be Myself (review)
Barbara Brown Taylor
Learning to Walk in the Dark (review) • Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith (review) • An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith (review) • Home by Another Way (review) • Gospel Medicine (review) • Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others
Dr. Chanequa Walker-Barnes
Too Heavy a Yoke: Black Women and the Burden of Strength
Danielle Shroyer
Original Blessing: Putting Sin in Its Rightful Place • The Boundary-Breaking God: An Unfolding Story of Hope and Promise
Jen Hatmaker
For the Love: Fighting for Grace in a World of Impossible Standards (review) • Of Mess and Moxie: Wrangling Delight Out of This Wild and Glorious Life (review) • 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess • Interrupted: When Jesus Wrecks Your Comfortable Christianity
Kaitlin Curtice
Glory Happening: Finding the Divine in Everyday Places (review)
Lisa Sharon Harper
The Very Good Gospel: How Everything Wrong Can Be Made Right (review)
Dr. Pete Enns
The Sin of Certainty: Why God Desires Our Trust More Than Our "Correct" Beliefs • The Bible Tells Me So: Why Defending Scripture Has Made Us Unable to Read It • Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament • How the Bible Actually Works: In Which I Explain How An Ancient, Ambiguous, and Diverse Book Leads Us to Wisdom Rather Than Answers—and Why That’s Great News
Dr. Renita J. Weems
Listening For God: A Ministers Journey Through Silence And Doubt • What Matters Most: Ten Lessons in Living Passionately from the Song of Solomon
Nadia Bolz-Weber
Shameless: A Sexual Reformation • Pastrix: The Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner & Saint • Accidental Saints: Finding God in All the Wrong People (review)
Tanya Marlow
Those Who Wait: Finding God in disappointment, doubt and delay • Coming Back to God When You Feel Empty: Whispers of Restoration From the Book of Ruth
Austen Hartke
Transforming: The Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians
Beth Silvers + Sarah Stewart Holland
I Think You're Wrong (But I'm Listening): A Guide to Grace-Filled Political Conversations (review)
Micky ScottBey Jones
Becoming Like Creoles: Living and Leading at the Intersections of Injustice, Culture, and Religion
Eric Barreto
Exploring the Bible • Writing Theologically • Reading Theologically • Thinking Theologically
