Do I Stay Christian? : A Guide for the Doubters, the Disappointed, and the Disillusioned

Dubbed "a heroic gate-crasher" by New York Times bestselling author Glennon Doyle, Brian McLaren explores reasons to leave or stay within the church and if so how...

"Any thoughtful Christian has been asking the questions McLaren tackles here, but many of us are afraid to voice them aloud. In Do I Stay Christian? we’re gifted a gentle guide who opens ideas and voices the questions we cannot, naming our frustration, fear, and hesitant hope."
—Rev. Dr. Amy Butler, former Senior Minister, The Riverside Church; Founder, Invested Faith

Do I Stay Christian? addresses in public the powerful question that surprising numbers of people—including pastors, priests, and other religious leaders—are asking in private. Picking up where Faith After Doubt leaves off, Do I Stay Christian? is not McLaren's attempt to persuade Christians to dig in their heels or run for the exit. Instead, he combines his own experience with that of thousands of people who have confided in him over the years to help readers make a responsible, honest, ethical decision about their religious identity.

There is a way to say both yes and no to the question of staying Christian, McLaren says, by shifting the focus from whether we stay Christian to how we stay human. If Do I Stay Christian? is the question you're asking—or if it's a question that someone you love is asking—this is the book you've been waiting for.

"In his usual thoughtful provocative style McClaren provides a thoughtful examination of the Christian tradition, its faults and failures and, its gifts and graces. He takes seriously the harm Christians and Christianity have done across the ages while considering its promise, realized and unrealized. He also casts a vision of a Christianity beyond its infancy which would be worth working and praying for. I recommend this book for individuals wrestling with their faith, pastors, book clubs and those seeking honest conversation about the very complex realities of Christianity." —The Rev. Wil Gafney, Ph.D.+, The Right Rev. Sam B. Hulsey Professor of Hebrew Bible, Brite Divinity School, Ft. Worth, Texas

"In Do I Stay Christian?, McLaren wrestles the scandalous theological questions and conscientiousness objections that keep so many of us awake at night—and he does so with the courage and grace that have become his trademark. If you're wondering whether it's time to shake off your sandals and walk away from Christianity, I beg you to read this book before making up your mind." —Jonathan Merritt, Contributing writer for The Atlantic and author of Learning to Speak God from Scratch