The Liturgy of Politics - by Kaitlyn Schiess (Paperback)

About the Book

A generation of young Christians are weary of the political legacy they've inherited. Could it be that the church's politics are shaped by its habits and practices? Contending that we must recognize the formative power of the political forces around us, Kaitlyn Schiess urges the church to recover historic Christian practices that shape us according to the truth of the gospel.

Book Synopsis

A generation of young Christians are weary of the political legacy they've inherited and hungry for a better approach.

They're tired of seeing their faith tied to political battles they didn't start, and they're frustrated by the failures of leaders they thought they could trust. Kaitlyn Schiess grew up in this landscape, and understands it from the inside.

Spiritual formation, and particularly a focus on formative practices, are experiencing a renaissance in Christian thinking--but these ideas are not often applied to the political sphere. In The Liturgy of Politics, Schiess shows that the church's politics are shaped by its habits and practices even when it's unaware of them. Schiess insists that the way out of our political morass is first to recognize the formative power of the political forces all around us, and then to recover historic Christian practices that shape us according to the truth of the gospel.

Review Quotes

"The Liturgy of Politics is a much-needed discourse on effective leadership in politics and caring for our culture. I have been following Kaitlyn's important voice for some time now, and I am delighted to have her contribution for our journey toward the New."

--Makoto Fujimura, artist, author of Culture Care and Silence and Beauty

"If all of us are formed by our practices, and politics is a kind of practice, how then are we as disciples of Jesus Christ being ordered through our political participation to the love of neighbor? That is the important question Kaitlyn Schiess has posed in The Liturgy of Politics. I won't spoil the book by giving you the answers here, but let's just say they're likely to catch you off guard a time or two. And if you take her cross-shaped account to heart, you might even find yourself confronted with a need both for repentance and a vision of hope. I think Schiess's book will be widely read and just as widely appreciated."

--Matthew Arbo, associate professor of theological studies and director of the Center for Faith and Public Life, Oklahoma Baptist University

"Is the church today forming our political landscape or being formed by it? There is world of difference between the two. The Liturgy of Politics shows us how the modern church has come to get this relationship backward--and how we might set it right again. Well-founded, big-hearted, and wise, this is a book that could make a world of difference."

--Karen Swallow Prior, author of On Reading Well and Fierce Convictions

"What hath the upper room to do with the Oval Office? What does the Spirit have to do with the Senate? In The Liturgy of Politics, Kaitlyn Schiess offers an insightful framework for thinking about these two at-first-glance antagonists. Many evangelicals nowadays seem to be suffering from worldview dissonance--shunning political engagement altogether because it's 'dirty work' or shirking genuine and careful participation because dogmatism and bumper-sticker responses roll off the tongue more easily. Schiess offers a careful and sustained via media that emphasizes the movement, timing, and practices of the church, which instill a vision for gathering community and reforming political participation. With fluent brilliance, Schiess does this by looking to ancient and contemporary voices such as Augustine, Karl Barth, and Jamie Smith. She reminds us that every time we enter that dusty, smelly building with well-worn pews, we throw ourselves at the right way to move and live and have our being--in shared spaces with our neighbor in the world!"

--Kyle David Bennett, associate professor of philosophy and chair of the theology and philosophy department at Caldwell University

About the Author

Kaitlyn Schiess is a staff writer at Christ and Pop Culture. Her writing has also appeared at Christianity Today, Relevant, and Fathom Magazine. She lives in Dallas.

Michael Wear is a member of the executive leadership team for the AND Campaign and the founder of Public Square Strategies LLC. He is the author of Reclaiming Hope: Lessons Learned in the Obama White House About the Future of Faith in America. He lives in Northern Virginia.