Unfettered: Imagining a Childlike Faith beyond the Baggage of Western Culture

by Mandy Smith, Walter Brueggemann (Foreword by)

Overview

"Smith's sage advice will aid Christians in recognizing the simple joys of practicing their faith."—Publishers Weekly

Western culture is in a tailspin, and Christian faith is entangled in it: we do kingdom things in empire ways. Western approaches to faith leave us feeling depressed, doubting, anxious, and burned out. We know something is wrong with the way we do faith and church in the West, but we're so steeped in it that we don't know where to begin to break old habits.

Popular pastor and speaker Mandy Smith invites us to be unfettered from the deeply ingrained habits of Western culture so we can do kingdom things in kingdom ways again. She explores how we can be transformed by new postures and habits that help us see God already at work in and around us. The way forward isn't more ideas, programs, and problem-solving but in Jesus's surprising invitation to the kingdom through childlikeness. Ultimately, rediscovering childlike habits is a way for us to remember how to be human.

Unfettered helps us reimagine how to follow God with our whole selves again and join with God's mission in the world. Foreword by Walter Brueggemann.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781587435058
Publisher:	Baker Publishing Group
Publication date:	05/18/2021
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	1,122,193
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Mandy Smith is a speaker and the pastor of St. Lucia Uniting Church in Brisbane, Australia. Her book The Vulnerable Pastor was named a best book of the year by Missio Alliance, Leadership Journal, Englewood Review of Books, and Hearts and Minds Bookstore. Smith directed Missio Alliance's SheLeads Summit for two years, has been the keynote speaker at many national gatherings, and teaches at Fuller Theological Seminary and Western Seminary's Eugene Peterson Center for Christian Imagination. She is also a regular contributor to Missio Alliance and Christianity Today.

Table of Contents

Foreword Walter Brueggemann vii

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction 1

1 Rest 17

2 What Gets in the Way of Rest 45

3 Receive 77

4 What Doesn't Get in the Way of Receiving 93

5 Respond 97

6 What Keeps Us from Responding 119

7 A Theology of Childlikeness 153

8 Rest, Receive, Respond 185

Appendix: Resources for Engaging Scripture 199

Notes 203

Editorial Reviews

03/29/2021

In this contemplative guide, pastor Smith (The Vulnerable Pastor) contrasts Western culture’s perspective of Christianity with the approach characterized by “awe, wonder, innocence, and trust” as described in the Bible. Arguing against faulty absolutes Christians are prone to believe (such as that “miracles are no more and that God reveals himself only through the printed text of the Bible”), Smith offers what she describes as “a life of daily partnership with the God of the universe.” She explains that something as simple as taking the time to lie in the grass and listen to the sounds of nature contributes to a habit of practicing “restful dependence” on God. For Smith, quieting her inner voice allowed her to open up to new possibilities: “As I approached the Scripture with this childlike posture of resting, receiving, and responding, I began to see the kingdom in a new way.” Smith differentiates between childlikeness (which renews one’s wonder) and being childish (which results in passivity), and quotes theologians, as well as such authors as C.S. Lewis, Brennan Manning, Thomas Merton, and John Wesley to bolster her points. She also refers to Jesus’s teaching in John 15 on abiding in the vine as the ultimate example of resting. Smith’s sage advice will aid Christians in recognizing the simple joys of practicing their faith. (May)

Publishers Weekly