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The Light Is Winning: Why Religion Just Might Bring Us Back to Life
Product Description
▼▲The trending sentiment of "spiritual but not religious" suggests religion is going out of style. Yet in his own desert of deconstruction, Zach Hoag couldn't shake the desire for a spiritual home. His search led him to a new realm of questions. What if we've gotten religion all wrong? What if the rooted faithful practice of religion is just what we need to revive us?
As Zach dug behind the statistics and into his soul, he discovered an unexpected, unshakeable hope: The downtrend of Christianity in America doesn't have to be the end. It can be the first step back toward the flourishing faith God intends for us. After all, isn't this the essence of the Christian story: death paves the way for resurrection?
Product Information
▼▲| Title: The Light Is Winning: Why Religion Just Might Bring Us Back to Life By: Zach Hoag Format: Paperback Number of Pages: 224 Vendor: Zondervan Publication Date: 2017 | Dimensions: 8.4 X 5.5 (inches) Weight: 7 ounces ISBN: 0310347866 ISBN-13: 9780310347866 Stock No: WW347866 |
Publisher's Description
▼▲If anyone had good reason to join the league of the "Nones," the "Dones," and the deconstructionists, it would be Zach Hoag. After growing up and out of the compound walls of a Texas cult, and becoming a failed church planter in one of the most post-Christian cities in America, Zach was faced with both a crisis and a choice. He loved Jesus, yet questioned: If the church is such a broken system, is it really worth belonging to anymore?
The viral upswing of the "spiritual but not religious" trend has cast religion as going rapidly out of style. Yet even in his own desert of deconstruction, Zach couldnt shake his desire for a spiritual home. His search ultimately led him to look behind the statistics, where Zach found an astonishing undercurrent subversively at work.
The truth, as Zach discovered, is that we are in a cultural moment of apocalypse. Not an end-of-the-world apocalypse, but in the very literal sense of the word which translates simply, "a revealing." Perhaps the downtrend of Christian faith in America is just the kind of Great Revealing we need to show us who we really are as American Christians, who Jesus really is in our midst, and how we can step into the flourishing faith he has always intended for us.
For anyone who is anxious about the future of the church and their place in it, The Light Is Winning rallies to an unexpected, unshakeable hope: Could it be that weve made religion out to be the culprit when in fact, religion is just what we need to revive us? Could it be that our struggle for relevance must come to a necessary end, so that we can get to the real? After all, isnt this the essence of the story of God: death paves the way for a resurrected, deeply rooted, flourishing faith. Such faith can be yours. The Light Is Winning will show you how.
Author Bio
▼▲Zach Hoag is an author, preacher, and creator from New England. Planting a church in one of the least churched cities in the U.S. (Burlington, Vermont), and pursuing ministry beyond that in a variety of spaces, Zach has learned a few things about the power of a deeply rooted life in Christ. Zach has found belonging in Westford, Vermont where he lives with his wife, Kalen, and their three girls. Find him writing at zhoag.com and follow him on Twitter @zhoag.
Editorial Reviews
▼▲In his hopeful new book, The Light is Winning, Zach reminds us that while deconstructing our religious faith might be a necessary part of our spiritual journey, its not enough. Zach encourages us to rebuild a proper religious practice, one that demonstrates the power and mystery of Christianity: The Resurrection. -- Elizabeth Esther, author of Girl at The End of the World
Only Zach Hoag could bring out the hope in an apocalypse. Leading us towards the light of authentic religion at the end of the post-modern tunnel we call being 'spiritual', The Light is Winning is the kind of book that you will want to keep on your nightstand for months, maybe years. You will want to reach for it each and every time you begin to lose your way and your faith. -- Jerusalem Jackson Greer, author of At Home in this Life and Beautiful Surprises
So often authors write about their successes. What I love about Zach is hes given us a rare and precious opportunity to witness his apparent defeat, allowing us to watch as he wrestles with his upbringing in an authoritarian cult and his subsequent journey through denominations and church planting. Zach uses his stories to invite us into some deeper truths about the Church today, offering hope during a tumultuous time in American Christianity. And maybe the best part of all of this? He draws inspiration from TV shows, like Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead. When someone tells me we dont want an undead zombie faith, I find myself nodding along. -- Melanie Dale, author of Its Not Fair and Women Are Scary
We live in a world that often seems overcome with darkness and pessimism. Between toxic news cycles, Christian in-fighting, and what feels like a non-stop dose of negativity on all sides, people are left longing for a message of hope--- I am left longing for a message of hope. I am grateful for this book, because while I dont pretend to have answers for the darkened world around us, I do know this: the world needs to know that the Light is Winning. -- Benjamin L. Corey, author of Unafraid: Moving Beyond Fear-Based Faith
When I survey 21st century America, I fight to avoid depression and despair. But in such a moment, Zach Hoag has swept in with a prophetic message bursting with optimism. The darkness is real, he admits, but it is also receding. Hoag refocuses our collective gaze and argues convincingly that America is entering a time of 'Great Revealing.' So sit back and read slowly. The Light is Winning pulls back the cultural curtain to reveal, not a wizard, but a blinding light of hope. -- Jonathan Merritt, contributing writer for The Atlantic and author of Learning to Speak God from Scratch
Zach Hoags personal and ecclesiastic apocalypse will draw you into his story and perhaps your own moment of revealing. You will cheer when you realize, like him, that the light is indeed winning! -- Kelley Nikondeha, Co-Director, Communities of Hope and Author, Adopted: The Sacrament of Belonging in a Fractured World
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