About the Book
Fans of popular authors Brian McLaren and Rob Bell will welcome this eye-opening exploration of God's unavoidable presence. Insistently biblical in his writing, pastor/author Doug Pagitt uses the words and thinking of St. Paul, Jesus, and other major biblical figures to help readers live more intentionally and faithfully as they learn to experience God's immediate presence.
Respected author and religion commentator Phyllis Tickle has observed that every five hundred years, an unforeseen upheaval transforms Christianity. We are experiencing such a wholesale realignment today, and it is seen in the work and influence of emergence Christianity. Doug Pagitt has helped steer this shift as a teacher, writer, and chief architect of new Christian understandings for the Hubble generation (in contrast to the previous, Galileo-era rationalism). How does the biblical claim that God fills the universe with his presence influence our understanding of God's greatness, his power, and his wisdom for living? Pagitt quotes St. Paul, who in turn quoted Epimenides of Crete, to help readers grasp this revolutionary truth: we live and move in God; our very being is found "in God."
About the Author :
Doug Pagitt (M.A. Bethel Seminary) is pastor of Solomon's Porch in Minneapolis. He is part of the leadership of Emergent: a generative friendship among missional Christian leaders. Doug is married to Shelley and they are parents of four children, and is author of Preaching Re-Imagined, Church Re-Imagined, and BodyPrayer. His forthcoming book is A Christianity Worth Believing, it approaches theological questions in personal and engaging ways, addressing topics such as God, Jesus, sin, the Bible, humanity, church, and the Kingdom of God. Rather than rehashing old debates and categories, it offers new insights, provocative possibilities, and hopeful alternatives.
Review :
“Instead of taking sides in contentious us-them debates, Doug Pagitt points a way through the tensions to a wider, better place. He uncovers hidden treasures from the Bible and flips conventional understandings. A wise, insightful, and stimulating book!”
—Brian D. McLaren, speaker, author of We Make the Road by Walking
“Bravery with kindness can transform—invitingus into new ways of living and thinking. Doug has been doing that in my life for years. Flipped is an invitation that so many of us need, offered with bravery and kindness.”
—Shauna Niequist, speaker, author of Bread and Wine (www.shaunaniequist.com)
“I know of no one more skilled at rigorous and flexible inquiry than Doug Pagitt, who is a masterful and down-to-earth guide to flipped living. Flipped presents a vision of faithful Christianity that is hopeful, love-affirming, serious about Scripture, and passionately committed to the way of Jesus.”
—Mark Scandrette, founding director at ReImagine, speaker, author of Practicing the Way of Jesus
“This is Pagitt at the top of his game . . . and his game is as deadly serious as his title for it is flip. Never has a low-key, conversational tone been more seductively—or effectively—employed in the business of exegetical brilliance than here. This one really is a thought expander as well as a faith enhancer.”
—Phyllis Tickle, author of The Great Emergence
“Several years ago, I was having another fascinating conversation with Doug. He spoke of his desire that everyone he comes in contact with would know they’re loved, they belong, they matter. Doug is obviously extremely intelligent and passionate and articulate but above all else he has a giant heart of love. That’s a rare and much-needed combination, and I’m thrilled to know he’s out there doing his thing. The world needs more people like Doug.”
—Rob Bell , speaker, author of The Zimzum of Love and What We Talk About When We Talk About God
“Flipped lets you see that God wants to trespass over the fences we have put on grace and unlock the chains we’ve put on love. This book is Doug Pagitt’s invitation to start afresh with God and not let religious folks hold the Spirit hostage.”
—Shane Claiborne, activist, author of The Irresistible Revolution, coauthor of Red Letter Revolution (www.redletterchristians.org)
“Doug Pagitt is a fully engaged questioning theologian whose thoughtful teaching and writing illuminate what it means to live in faith.”
—Sara Miles, author of Take This Bread and City of God
“Doug reminds us of just how upside down and powerful the revolutionary call of Jesus can be. Flipped will challenge many of your Scriptural paradigms, breathing a fresh freedom and wholeness into your faith as you seek to follow Jesus, the all-time Master of the Flip.”
—Mike Slaughter, activist, speaker, pastor, author of Dare to Dream and Renegade Gospel(www.mikeslaughter.com)
“Doug Pagitt is a lighthearted soul on a serious mission: to help us see the world and ourselves through Jesus’s eyes. Reading Flipped, I felt a weight I didn’t realize I was carrying fall off my shoulders. Read it for yourself. It will change your life.”
—The Rt. Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington
