Take My Hand: A Theological Memoir: Group Study Edition

by Andrew Taylor-Troutman, Paul Galbreath (Foreword by)

Overview

Take My Hand is an invitation to experience a year of preaching through the eyes of a first-year pastor. Andrew Taylor-Troutman reflects on his experience of ministry as a dynamic exchange between his theological education and the people in the pews. Each chapter consists of Taylor-Troutman's reflections about a particular aspect of living as a faith community and concludes with a sermon exploring similar themes and ideas. As this book journeys through the Christian liturgical year, Taylor-Troutman considers a wide range of contemporary church issues, including the role of children in worship and the communal practice of Sabbath. He discusses topics as diverse as the Rapture, the death penalty, and church league softball. Along the way, readers will laugh at Sunday morning bloopers, study biblical texts from new perspectives, wrestle with theological questions, and discover parallels between their own experience of faith and the life of this small rural congregation. More than just a retrospective summary of events, Take My Hand poignantly illustrates how a pastor's work on Sunday morning grows out of his or her engagement with the hopes and fears of daily life, and the inspiring faith of men, women, and children in a church. The Group Study Edition encourages people of different ages and experiences to discuss and enjoy the book, while applying insights to their own communities of faith.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781621896531
Publisher:	Resource Publications
Publication date:	02/13/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	196
File size:	971 KB

About the Author

Andrew Taylor-Troutman is a pastor and a preacher, a writer, a husband, and a father. His professional and personal lives are deeply involved with storytelling: stories that are silly, poignant, profound, and commonplace. Stories that are tearjerkers and belly-shakers. Stories about his son, Sam, and the congregation he serves--New Dublin Presbyterian Church. Each in their own way, these personal narratives shed light on the great story that God is writing with humankind and all of creation.
Andrew Taylor-Troutman has published seven books in creative nonfiction and poetry. He is a regular columnist for a variety of national publications and serves as the pastor of Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church. Taylor-Troutman lives in Chapel Hill and occasionally stumbles upon the wondrous while in search of his next cup of coffee.
Paul Galbreath is Professor of Theology at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Charlotte, NC. He is an ordained Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). His previous books include Leading from the Table (2008); Leading through the Water (2011); and Leading into the World (2014).

Table of Contents

Foreword ix

Acknowledgments xiii

Introduction: It Seems to Me xv

1 The New and the Unexpected 1

2 Open Eyes, Open Table 9

3 Take My Hand 18

4 Praying the Questions 26

5 Please Join Our Team 38

6 A Different Kind of Thunder 49

7 Named by Grace 60

8 Songs of Hope 71

9 O Pastor, What is Required of Thee? 79

10 With All Thy Might 88

11 Come, Lord Jesus! 99

12 Runaway Bulls 112

13 Re-Membering the Future 122

14 Any Last Words? 132

Epilogue: The End of Our Beginning 143

Expanded Edition and Group Study Guide 147

Bibliography 175

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Georgia O'Keefe said that 'no one really looks at a flower,' and then she invited us to see the beauty of those blossoms that we ordinarily take for granted. A true artist arrests us in our busyness and calls us to notice the mysterious in the mundane. Andrew Taylor-Troutman displays this gift in Take My Hand. As he leads us through his first year as a pastor, Taylor-Troutman gives us a glimpse of the depth."
—Carol Howard Merritt
Pastor, Western Presbyterian Church
Washington, DC

"Andrew Taylor-Troutman has written a delightful pastoral memoir, full of human insights and theological truths. It is in the best sense an encouraging book to any and all who aspire to the title 'Pastor.' I recommend it highly."
—Richard Lischer
Duke Divinity School

Editorial Reviews

"Georgia O'Keefe said that 'no one really looks at a flower,' and then she invited us to see the beauty of those blossoms that we ordinarily take for granted. A true artist arrests us in our busyness and calls us to notice the mysterious in the mundane. Andrew Taylor-Troutman displays this gift in Take My Hand. As he leads us through his first year as a pastor, Taylor-Troutman gives us a glimpse of the depth."
—Carol Howard Merritt
Pastor, Western Presbyterian Church
Washington, DC

"Andrew Taylor-Troutman has written a delightful pastoral memoir, full of human insights and theological truths. It is in the best sense an encouraging book to any and all who aspire to the title 'Pastor.' I recommend it highly."
—Richard Lischer
Duke Divinity School

From the Publisher