When God Disappeared: ...and Where God Turned Up

by Wayland Bryant Jackson, Holly A Thompson

Overview

If your religion isn't as lively as you would like, with fixed ideas and little breathing room, you might have something in common with Jackson, who questioned the party line when he began to doubt some of his long-held beliefs. Learning the value of asking questions, Jackson awakened to a new understanding of faith, chronicling discoveries that offer hope to fellow sojourners.

 

In a walk down memory lane, Jackson grows up in the South and settles into a Baptist church which steers him toward a dogma-filled, no-questions-required Baptist university. Moving to California, he starts a mission church, graduates from Golden Gate Seminary in Berkeley, and ministers in, not one but, three Baptist churches.

 

His career in full swing, Jackson becomes depressed without understanding why. He resigns from the professional ministry and joins a small study group where he faces questions Christians rarely ask, like "Who was the historical Jesus?" He forsakes his Baptist air of superiority, drops his sinner label in favor of simply being human, and expands his world, having fun teaching English in middle school and helping refugees assimilate into our country.

 

His life is turned inside out on a shopping trip to FoodMaxx when Jackson experiences what he calls GodPresent. God disappears-not by leaving, but by coming so close the space between them was gone. Now, he has more questions than ever . . . and he's loving it.

 

With humor and as much honesty as you can stand, WHEN GOD DISAPPEARED explains how a fundamentalist evolved into a religious adventurer. In its pages, Jackson invites us to come along and explore our own questions of faith.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781649704917
Publisher:	Wayland Jackson
Publication date:	11/19/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	NOOK Book
Pages:	232
Sales rank:	579,801
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Wayland Bryant Jackson is a family historian, an essayist, a storyteller, and a poet. With degrees from Oklahoma Baptist University and Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in California, he worked as an ordained minister in Southern Baptist churches in CA for eleven years. Changing careers, he completed a teacher credential program at California State University, Fresno, and taught public school in Fresno for 21 years. His letters to the Editor are often featured in the Fresno Bee, and his memoir, WHEN GOD DISAPPEARED...and Where God Turned Up, is his fourth book. He can be reached at: www.waylandjackson.com

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

Part One

Chapter 1 The Opening Salvo

Chapter 2 No-Man's Land

Chapter 3 The Battle Heats Up

Chapter 4 Defenses are Breached

Chapter 5 The Scars to Prove It

Chapter 6 War, Real War

Chapter 7 Fitted for a Suit of Armor

Chapter 8 Boot Camp

Chapter 9 Maneuvers

Chapter 10 Back to Basic Training

Chapter 11 Maintaining Discipline

Chapter 12 Quiet Before the Storm

Chapter 13 Basic Training Ends

Part Two

Chapter 14 Officer Candidate School

Chapter 15 Recruitment

Chapter 16 God Comes Through

Chapter 17 I Taste Divinity

Chapter 18 Wedding Bells

Chapter 19 Back to Training Camp

Chapter 20 With Officer's Stripes in View

Chapter 21 Battle Stations!

Chapter 22 Running in Place is Still Running

Chapter 23 The Great White Way

Chapter 24 The Tide of Battle Turns

Chapter 25 Incoming!

Part Three

Chapter 26 Gettysburg

Chapter 27 Discipline in the Ranks

Chapter 28 New Tactics

Part Four

Chapter 29 On Foreign Soil

Chapter 30 A Two-Way Street

Chapter 31 Enlarging the Field

Chapter 32 Inspecting the Troops

Chapter 33 A Serious Business

Chapter 34 Helping the Wounded

Chapter 35 The Spoils of Victory

Part Five

Chapter 36 Conditions of Peace

Chapter 37 The End Game

Chapter 38 Mopping Up

Chapter 39 Before I Go

Chapter 40 The Sea of Uncertainty