Testimony - by Jon Ward (Hardcover)

About the Book

A journalist recounts his upbringing and eventual break from an influential evangelical church to diagnose broader political and cultural issues.

Book Synopsis

"Ward is consistently clear-sighted and perceptive as he charts a genuinely fascinating personal and spiritual evolution."--Publishers Weekly

Jon Ward's life is divided in half: two decades inside the evangelical Christian bubble and two decades outside of it.

In Testimony, Ward tells the engaging story of his upbringing in, and eventual break from, an influential evangelical church in the 1980s and 1990s. Ward sheds light on the evangelical movement's troubling political and cultural dimensions, tracing the ways in which the Jesus People movement was seduced by materialism and other factors to become politically captive rather than prophetic.

A respected journalist, Ward asks uncomfortable but necessary questions, calling those inside and outside conservative Christian circles to embrace truth, complexity, and nuance. He recounts his growing alarm and grief over the last several years as evangelical conservatives attacked truth, rejected personal character, and embraced authoritarianism and conspiracism. He shares his search for a faith that embodies the values he was taught as a child.

Ward's experience and reflections will resonate with many readers who grew up in the evangelical movement as well as all those who have an interest in the health of the church and its impact on American life.

From the Back Cover

"A must-read for anyone seeking to navigate the fault lines of our polarized moment"

In Testimony, Jon Ward recounts his upbringing and eventual break from an influential evangelical church to diagnose broader political and cultural issues.

Ward spent two decades of his life inside evangelical Christian circles and two decades outside as a journalist covering politics, government, culture, and the nature of power. Through his story, Ward explores how the evangelical church lost its witness--and how it can regain it by laying aside grasps at power to serve with Christlike love.

"With raw honesty, deep insight, and a self-deprecating sense of humor, Jon Ward offers an insider's view into the White evangelical world in which he was raised. Testimony will be illuminating for those who have walked this path and for those struggling to understand the world of conservative evangelicalism from the outside."
--Kristin Kobes Du Mez, New York Times bestselling author of Jesus and John Wayne

"Testimony demonstrates the power of truth--no matter who it comes from or where it leads. This book will make you ponder, discuss, and testify about your own journey and beliefs."
--Jemar Tisby, New York Times bestselling author of The Color of Compromise and How to Fight Racism; professor, Simmons College of Kentucky

"An illuminating work that shines light into the fissures of spiritual abuses in the church and that documents Ward's journey as a Christian to move forward and find a better way."
--Makoto Fujimura, artist and author of Art and Faith: A Theology of Making

"Jon's meticulous reporting has always brought nuance and life to his writing about politics; his thoughtfulness about faith is the secret weapon he's now sharing with the world. This book is honest, vulnerable, scrupulous, and surprising; a must-read for anyone seeking to navigate the fault lines of our polarized moment."
--Ana Marie Cox, New York Magazine columnist

"Testimony will be for this generation and moment what Don Miller's Blue Like Jazz was for that moment. This is a work that will connect."
--Michael Wear, author of Reclaiming Hope: Lessons Learned in the Obama White House about the Future of Faith in America

About the Author

Jon Ward is the chief national correspondent at Yahoo! News. He has covered American politics and culture for two decades, including as a White House correspondent traveling aboard Air Force One and as a national affairs correspondent writing about two presidential campaigns. He is the author of Camelot's End: Kennedy vs. Carter and the Fight That Broke the Democratic Party and hosts The Long Game podcast. Ward has written for the Washington Post, the New Republic, Politico, Vanity Fair, HuffPost, and the Washington Times and lives in Washington, DC.