About the Book
As the church reckons with the abuse, racism, patriarchy, and unchecked power that have marked evangelicalism for too long, Nancy, a boomer and key player in the megachurch movement, and Samantha, a millennial wondering if the church's foundations still hold, have a vulnerable conversation about what the church has been--and what it can be.
Book Synopsis
Will future generations find a church worth fighting for?
A great reckoning is underway in the church today: a naming and exposing of the exclusivity, abuse, racism, patriarchy, and unchecked power that have marked evangelical Christianity for far too long. What kind of church will emerge on the other side?
Like many families, the Beaches have been wrestling with this question. Together, Nancy and Samantha represent two generations: Nancy, a boomer, was a key player in the megachurch movement that revolutionized global ministry during the '80s and '90s, while Samantha, a millennial, is willing to abandon those massive buildings and celebrity cultures and find out whether the foundation holds. Each chapter offers their individual experiences and perspectives on a challenge facing the church and considers the way forward.
Filled with deep introspection and keen insight, Next Sunday is a vulnerable conversation about what the church has been--and what it can be.
Review Quotes
"Lots of people are walking away from church, and years of pain give them good reasons for doing so. But others are processing their pain in ways that help them imagine a better tomorrow for Christian congregations. That's what Nancy Beach and Samantha Beach Kiley do in Next Sunday. Each page rings with honesty, humility, and hard-won hope. The book feels like a generational passing of a baton, and that's something that older and younger readers will benefit from. Thanks to this mother-daughter writing team!"
Brian D. McLaren, author of Faith After Doubt
"I love everything about this book-the honesty, the truth, the stories, the insights, the cross-generational conversation, and even the tension! Especially the tension. Because here's the thing: we can't fix what we refuse to face. This work helps us face the hard stuff about the church while honoring the good stuff, and it does so in a most winsome way that points to a future with hope."
Ruth Haley Barton, founder of the Transforming Center and author of Life Together in Christ