The Deconstructed Church: Understanding Emerging Christianity - Oxford University Press - due May 2014

Advance Praise for The Deconstructed Church

“As growing numbers of Americans say they are ‘nonreligious,’ observers note a comparable shift among those who are religious toward looser, more individualistic, anti-institutional, experimental expressions of faith. Marti and Ganiel have done a superb job of examining these emerging expressions, illuminating both the practices and beliefs of individuals and the innovative congregations they are forming.”

• Robert Wuthnow, Gerhard R. Andlinger ‘52 Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for the Study of Religion, Princeton University

“In the midst of a polarized landscape, where ‘religion’ and ‘church’ signal a lack of vitality and authenticity, Emerging Churches are putting together something new out of the debris. Marti and Ganiel show us why we should pay attention. They describe the faith found here as neither shopping nor seeking, but a conversation carried on in congregations that are determinedly open and inclusive. This book provides a careful analysis of this much-discussed movement and shows why it is so well-suited to our times.”

• Nancy T. Ammerman, author of Sacred Stories, Spiritual Tribes: Finding Religion in Everyday Life

 

‘The Last Stop: Understanding the Emerging Church Movement’ Interview with Gladys Ganiel and Gerardo Marti Published in Bearings

‘The Last Stop: Understanding the Emerging Church Movement’ Interview with Gladys Ganiel and Gerardo Marti Published in Bearings

Thanks to my fantastic co-author, Gladys Ganiel, who posted our interview on her own blogsite. 

Gladys writes --

An interview with Gerardo Marti and me, ‘The Last Stop: Understanding the Emerging Church Movement,’ has been published in the Collegeville Institute’s Bearings magazine.

The interview begins on page nine and is based in large part on our forthcoming book, The Deconstructed Church: Understanding Emerging Christianity, and includes questions such as:

• How do you introduce the Emerging Church to those who are unfamiliar with the movement?
• What does the Emerging Church Movement tell us about the contemporary religious landscape? What is its significance as a modern religious movement?
• Do you think the Emerging Church Movement will play a role in Christianity’s historical development?

CLICK HERE TO READ THE INTERVIEW

The Deconstructed Church: A Quick Update

My co-author Gladys Ganiel and I have been working diligently to craft the final contours of our forthcoming book The Deconstructed Church — a book oriented toward describing the identity and practices of "Emerging Christians." While the draft is not complete, it looks like we're on target to turn in the manuscript this summer.

A lot of writing exists (and much more since we received the contract with Oxford University Press) about the Emerging Church Movement—mostly a mixture of suppositions, speculations, and various spokespeople representing their visions for the movement. But sociologists of religion have been reluctant to pay much attention to this group of network-dependent, loosely-affiliated, and largely marginalized "Christians." There are insiders and critics who are sick to death of hearing about emerging/emergent Christians, while there are plenty of outsiders who are still discovering it, intrigued by the orientation, and struggling to figure it out.

And there are a few scholars of religion who have found enough permanence among these groups (existing since the late 1990s, with and without the label) that one esteemed colleague said to me that she's heard of several people who are trying to stake some kind of scholarly "claim" to understanding the movement.

Like a lot of researchers, I follow my nose: meaning, I have a set of questions that intrigue me, a set of observations that coalesce at various times, and moments of opportunity to investigate things that serve to highlight important aspects about identity, social change, and the often surprising dynamics that govern our lives.

I have zero interest in staking any exclusive claim to understanding the Emerging Church Movement. I've spoken about it at academic conferences and written about it. Occasionally, I've been interviewed by a reporter. But there are others. Gladys certainly has her expertise. Other social scientists have recently published some insightful analyses (James Bielo's Emerging Evangelicals and Josh Packard's The Emerging Church come to mind). What I am interested in doing is taking a fairly extensive data set that combines my interviews/observations with Gladys', and supplementing those with data gathered originally by Tony Jones for his dissertation in Practical Theology at Princeton (you can find it on Amazon).  Although Tony has published his thoughts, I have avoided reading this work closely as Gladys and my goal has been to systematically analyze the whole of the data and inductively assess the patterns that (ahem) "emerge."

I'm very pleased with our work so far. I think our book holds some surprises—even for those who are long time observers and insiders. We bring our own conceptual lenses to bear to what has become an impossibly ambitious task: How do we frame the workings of a diffuse religious orientation against the backdrop of the changed society that makes it possible? The Emerging Church Movement would not have existed 100 years ago, even 50 years ago.  It is a manifestation of shifting ground for what it means to be religious today, and what the possibilities for congregational life are in the near future.

As a book-length analysis, it strains a blog post to summarize our findings. You'll forgive me that I won't even try. But I am excited enough to say "Stay Tuned," this book will be worth the wait. Expected sometime Fall 2014.

How to Index Your Book Manuscript

Although I paid about $750 to have my first book A Mosaic of Believers indexed, I didn't end up liking the job. Although not every reader uses a book's index, I came to see it as an opportunity to promote ideas and concepts and to show how my book speaks to those. So I indexed my next two books. 

Here's a quick how-to: 

Get a stack of index cards. Go through proof sheets of your book marking names, places, organizations (those are easy), and also ideas, concepts, theoretical items (which may not be addressed directly by actual name or label). Put the names/labels on the header line of an index card, a separate card per header. List page numbers relevant for each header. As your stack of cards grow, place headers in alphabetical order using a little card filing box. 

As you go through the proof sheets, you'll see your index cards grow, and you'll also have more ideas. You might create new index cards and re-think how to group together other pages that correspond to these new ideas.

When you finish going through the proofs, sort your index cards. Perhaps some (most?) can become sub-ideas, or sub-themes, and those will be placed under cards you now assign as main headings. You can create cross-reference headings if you have related ideas (see xyz…) .  

It took me about 4-5 days (not full time, amidst all else) to work through proofs, creating cards, and getting it done. 

Then I had a student type up my headings followed by page numbers, and put sub-headings underneath also with page numbers. All headings are in alphabetical order.

Proof read your final sheet of indexed terms and page numbers. Send to publisher! 

"Highly Recommended" - CHOICE Reviews - Worship across the Racial Divide

More feedback continues to come from Worship across the Racial Divide. This one comes from CHOICE Reviews:

49-5448	ML3921	2011-18782 CIP
Humanities \ General
Marti, Gerardo.  Worship across the racial divide: religious music and the multiracial congregation.  Oxford, 2012.  266p bibl index afp ISBN 0-19-539297-3, $29.95; ISBN9780195392975, $29.95. Reviewed in 2012jun CHOICE.
This book is more scientifically grounded in research and study than the title suggests. Marti (sociology, Davidson College) spent more than two years studying the hypothesis that music and worship play an essential role in stimulating diversity in congregations. He found that the hypothesis is incorrect, and that though music and worship are important in multiethnic/multiracial congregations, what is important is not the performance of the service but rather the practices that surround the congregation in the absorption and production of the music. The author devotes a great deal of space to examining the sociological perspective of worship from a practice-based application. He tears down preconceived notions in contemporary worship scholarship about achieving racial diversity and a universal worship experience and about how churches need to focus on their structural practices if they wish to achieve diversity and ethnicity in their congregations. A scholarly, thought-provoking examination of this topic. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals. -- B. L. Eden, Valparaiso University

5 Stars for "Worship across the Racial Divide" from Christianity Today

Christianity Today has chosen to review my newest book Worship across the Racial Divide: Religious Music and the Multiracial Congregation.  In addition to the enthusiastic review from Michael Emerson, a leading scholar of race and religion, the CT editors gave the book a full 5 stars. 


The review (and comments from readers) can be found here. 

Research on Multiracial Congregations that Does Not Yet Exist

I recently revisited an article I wrote published in 2010.  It struck me that the title of this brief article does not anticipate that nearly one-third describes the type of research we need on multiracial congregations that does not yet exist. 

Research on Multiracial Congregations that Does Not Yet Exist

First, we should expand more widely the scope of “diversity” examined in diverse congregations to more actively incorporate a broader scope of cultural experiences and ancestral backgrounds.

Second, we should pursue a more inclusive range of diverse congregations and avoid treating “multiracial churches” as a homogenous category; clearly, they are not.

Third, we should focus more attention on non-Christian congregations. 

St. Martin's Episcopal Church (Photo credit: joseph a)

Fourth, we should isolate significant arenas of diversification and investigate contemporary initiatives for diversification (and rigorous research will likely identify intriguing ironies and contradictions).

Fifth, we should exercise greater caution in our use of racial and ethnic categories as well as become better prepared for working through new and changing “multiracial identities.”

Finally, we should expand the use of multiracial churches as strategic arenas for data collection to address other interesting and important social dynamics.   

These suggestions--with expanded discussion and a number of relevant citations from research research--can be found here.

The Diverse Church as Musical Production

Reviews are beginning to come in for my new book Worship across the Racial Divide. The latest one is right here.

Review of Worship across the Racial Divide by Franklin Golden

A very special thanks to Franklin Golden, co-pastor of Durham Presbyterian Church who posted a very nice, very concise summary and response to my new book at the Faith and Leadership Blog at Duke Divinity.

Author Reading: Worship across the Racial Divide ~ Ch 3

Continuing a series of readings from my new book "Worship across the Racial Divide: Religious Music and the Multiracial Congregation" published with Oxford University Press. These feature short previews of each chapter and introduce you to some of the insights from the book.

From Part 1 "Confronting Popular Notions of Race and Worship", here's the beginning of Chapter 3 on African Americans as the Icon of "True Worship" in diverse churches.

listen to ‘Worship across the Racial Divide ~ excerpt Ch 3’ on Audioboo

The reading from the beginning of the book, Chapter 1, is here. Chapter 2 is here.

Hunger Games & Worship across the Racial Divide

Thanks to Sojourner's Magazine, I'm cool again. My book Worship across the Racial Divide is featured as "New and Noteworthy" on the same page as an article on the blockbuster Hunger Games.

New & Noteworthy

Author Reading: Worship across the Racial Divide ~ Ch 2

I'm continuing a series of readings from my new book "Worship across the Racial Divide: Religious Music and the Multiracial Congregation." These feature short previews of each chapter and introduce you to some of the insights from the book.

From Part 1 "Confronting Popular Notions of Race and Worship", here's the beginning of Chapter 2.

listen to ‘Worship across the Racial Divide ~ excerpt Ch 2’ on Audioboo

The reading from the beginning of the book, Chapter 1, is here.

Enjoy!

Worship across the Racial Divide: An Interview with Gerardo Marti

Historian and friend Paul Harvey posted at the Religion and American History blog a nice little interview with me about my book Worship across the Racial Divide.

Between Tuesday and Wednesday, it will be divided into a set of two posts.

The exchange includes a brief reflection on the relationship between the disciplines of history and sociology. Even more, these brief exchanges provide a glimpse into the core arguments of the book.

Author Reading: Worship across the Racial Divide

Starting today, I'm going to do a series of readings from my new book "Worship across the Racial Divide: Religious Music and the Multiracial Congregation." These will feature short previews of each chapter and introduce you to some of the insights from the book.

So, here's the beginning of the book, from Chapter 1.

listen to ‘Worship across the Racial Divide ~ excerpt Ch 1’ on Audioboo

Enjoy!

Kony 2012 Tells Us What We Care About

By now, most of you know about Kony 2012, the 30 minute video gone viral. So many people have seen it, and the commentaries are multiplying.

But what does this massive sharing of links tell us about Americans?

Over at the Patheos blog Black, White, and Gray, I wrote a brief post -- Here’s my conclusion:

The campaign to “Stop Kony” is less about removing a brutal military overlord and more about what Americans showcase as their sacred values.

Read more here.

Worship across the Racial Divide: A Response from Three Practitioners

My new book on the dynamics of worship and music in diverse congregations has been out for just a few short weeks, but thanks to Art Lucero the first reviews are now in.

Last week, three Christian music leaders, Josh Davis, Nikki Lerner, and Jeff McCourt, took time to write their own reactions to the book. I am so pleased with how carefully they read the book and the responses they gave:

Josh Davis wrote, "Marti clearly states that no one knows 'what manner of worship is best for stimulating and accelerating racial and ethnic diversity in churches.' Absolutely. There is no one-size-fits-all method or approach to multicultural worship."

Nikki Lerner wrote, "I could not agree more with his conclusions at the end of this book: As I continued to pursue my research, I came to understand that it is not the acoustics of musical style but rather the visible presence of diversity—a racialized ritual inclusion—that stimulates integration of different racial and ethnic groups into their churches [pg. 198]."

Jeff McCourt wrote, "Honestly, I argued with Dr. Marti most of the way through the book but was beginning to feel an openness to his perspective due to the thoroughness of his research..."

Each of them wrote much more, and they're worth reading for yourself. I also provided a brief response that you can see at the bottom of the page.

Lilly Endowment ~ Congregational Studies Fellowship ~ Deadline Extended to February 1st

As a member of the Congregational Studies Team, I'm happy to pass along this opportunity for research and mentoring in the study of congregations (church, temple, mosque, etc.) -- 

Engaged Scholars Studying Congregations is a program of mentoring, networking, and study support funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. The Congregational Studies Team is pleased to announce the availability of Fellowships* to support scholars who are interested in disciplined inquiry into the life of local communities of faith. These 18-month fellowships include $18,000 in research support, plus $2000 for related travel. In addition, Fellowships include a program of mentoring by a senior-scholar coach and participation in two summer consultations that bring together the Fellows and coaches with the Team.

Applications are encouraged from scholars in a variety of disciplines — from practical theology to the social sciences, from history to biblical studies and contextual education — for projects that involve learning from and about living communities of faith. Fellows will explore avenues for making that knowledge available for the sake of those communities’ wellbeing, as well as developing strong academic contributions appropriate to their disciplines. Applicants should have completed their graduate work and be placed in a professional position at the time of application. We especially encourage early-career scholars to apply, but will consider applications from persons who have recently been tenured.

Engaged Scholar 2012 Fellowship Instructions

Note that the application deadline has been extended to 1 February 2012. For application information and instructions, visit www.hirr.hartsem.edu or contact the Engaged Scholars project office at Hartford Seminary (engagedscholars@hartsem.edu).

*This program is supported by a major grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc. and is administered by the Congregational Studies Team: Nancy Ammerman, Anthea Butler, Bill McKinney, Omar McRoberts, Larry Mamiya, Gerardo Marti, Joyce Mercer, James Nieman (project director), Bob Schreiter, Steve Warner, and Jack Wertheimer.

Book Launch: Worship across the Racial Divide

Last year was great -- this year looks to be even better! The new year begins with the launch of my newest book, Worship across the Racial Divide (Oxford University Press).


A few highlights in January:

1. For now, the Kindle version of Worship across the Racial Divide is on sale, reduced to just $9.99. Download your copy here!
    
2. I'll be doing a video interview with Eric Bryant on January 11th. To sign up, you can either email Eric directly at eric.bryant@gatewaychurch.com with "Gerardo Interview" in the subject or simply visit us here at 4pm Wed., 1/11.
    
3. On Tuesday January 17th, I will be a guest on NPR's Charlotte Talks radio show with Mike Collins. Joining me will be Naeem Fazal of Mosaic Church and Howard Brown of  Christ Central Church. You can listen online, or catch the show later.
    
4. Thanks to a kind invitation from the Department of Sociology at Baylor University, on Thursday January 26th, I will be giving a public lecture with a presentation on some key findings from my research. Come say hello!
    
5. Planning for Spring and Summer 2012 will continue including visits to Indiana University and University of California, Los Angeles. Hope to meet up with more people this coming year. 

Is Steve Jobs a Saint?

The passing of Steve Jobs has created a sensation. Sympathy and adulation alongside a wonder whether he deserves so much attention.  Even more, the question of "sainthood" is providing a whole lot of additional reflection.

CNN's belief blog asked me to contribute a piece that posted today:

Short Takes: Are we turning Steve Jobs into a saint?

CNN asked four experts on religion and technology to weigh in on whether former Apple chief Steve Jobs is achieving a kind of secular sainthood. 


Excerpt from my brief take...

Let's be honest. Steve Jobs was no saint, that much is clear. Every day we know more about his character, most recently through the startling revelations in the best-selling biography published by Walter Isaacson.

Jobs could be callous and cold. He rejected paternity of his first daughter. He refused many co-workers the riches of company stock options. He thought of himself as smarter than just about anyone else he
ever met.

If "saintliness" is measured by the virtues of extraordinary kindness, generosity or humility, Jobs fails the test.

However, "saintliness" in religious practice is less measured by a person's moral perfection than his or her ability to serve as a mediator between the ordinary and the transcendent.

In lived religious experience, a saint is not always admired as a righteous person to be imitated. But a saint is always trusted as a negotiator, a bridge-builder, an esoteric "middleman," who removes obstacles, facilitates progress and promotes blessing.

Fundamentally, a saint is an intermediary who makes the intangible accessible and more readily available.

You can read the rest as well as others' responses to the question on the CNN Belief Blog.

Cover - Worship across the Racial Divide (Jan 2012) Oxford University Press

Oxford just shared with me the image for the cover of my forthcoming book, due out January 2012. 

Oxford University Press (January 2012)

Falling Back to My Stack of Books

With the start of the school year, I re-gain a few hours in the quiet of my office to sift through my ever-growing stack of books.

Visitors to my office have a common experience. They say hello to me, but soon their eyes drift around to the walls, desks, and floors of my office to absorb the umpteen volumes of books I have in all manner of organization and disarray.  Polite guests try to ignore the stuffed shelves and precarious towers, but the less inhibited quickly ask, "Have you READ all these books?"

Image by See-ming Lee 李思明 SML via Flickr

Well, yes and no.  I love to learn, and I find reading to be an efficient avenue for learning. My curiosity ranges within the social sciences, and then add history, philosophy, theology, and literature and my interests leave me constantly sorting through books old and new. Classic sources are valued alongside the most recently published monographs.

The local thrift store is just as important as our closest Barnes and Noble. You wouldn't believe the fantastic sources I've lugged home for a handful of quarters.

As I look through different sources I find surprises all the time. Serendipity is my best companion. "Why didn't I know about this?" is one of my own frequent questions. The must-read lists of other scholars I respect quickly become absorbed into my own must-read list. NYT book reviews is a great source, but so is twitter and conference book tables and tv interviews. My own amazon wish list has multiplied many times -- I've encountered a limit of some sort along the way.

Sometimes books show up in my mailbox unannounced. Really good things. I'm grateful for those.

So, I'm making another attempt to move quickly through the books I've accumulated. Some stacks have grown stale (so sad), and my current list is a fairly large bag with nine different volumes that must weigh around 30 pounds. On my hot list?

• Leon Trotsky: A Revolutionary's Life by Joshua Rubenstein
• The Mormon Rebellion: America's First Civil War 1857-1858 by Bigler and Bagley
• Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World's Most Wanted Hacker by Kevin Mitnick
• The Explanation of Social Action by John Levi Martin
• The Making of American Liberal Theology: Imagining Progressive Religion, 1805-1900 by Gary Dorrien
• Religion in Human Evolution: From the Paleolithic to the Axial Age by Robert Bellah
• Emile Durkheim: His Life and Work by Steven Lukes
• Moral Ambition: Mobilization and Social Outreach in Evangelical Megachurches by Omri Elisha
• Lost in Transition: The Dark Side of Emerging Adulthood by Christian Smith

And there's more. Believe me, a LOT more. I have several new literary novels sitting on our dining room table (sorry, honey), a few recent philosophy texts, and a range of biographies and ethnographies that are calling for my attention.

So, as I wait for the proof sheets for my latest book coming this January, I'm falling back to my stack of books this month. Hope you find a quiet corner to get through your own stack as well.