John seized the opportunity and started blogging at our new site, Talk to Action. Each week, for the past year and a half, he has tried to describe some aspect of what is going on, to to distill what he--and his colleague Sheldon Culver--have learned through their research and experiences as regional staff of the United Church of Christ. Along the way, John has named names, dates and places, and described the efforts to divide congregations and denominations that he and Sheldon--as well as church leaders across the country--have witnessed and documented.

Eventually, John's posts caught the notice of the publisher of this book. I'm delighted that the hard work, and the dedication that he and Sheldon have shown for the churches they love is being recognized in this way. But more than that, I am delighted that you now hold in your hands the opportunity to benefit from their knowledge and experience.

Steeplejacking is a primer on how to engage in the battles that are already underway, as well as the ones that are yet to come. Indeed, this book may be most valuable to those who want to head off problems before they begin. You can find herein, information on how to recognize signs that an attack may be underway, and learn what kinds of steps to take to fight it off. John and Sheldon have drawn on an extensive body of scholarship and investigative journalism to help make sense of their own research and experiences -- to offer a book of immediate practical use to members and leaders of mainline churches.

I think it is important to stress that differences and disagreements are normal in any democratic polity. The reason we have democratic institutions is not only to avoid tyranny, but to draw on the wisdom gleaned, and the consensus gained, from the fair airing of differing points of view. This is the hallmark of the governance of mainline protestant churches in America. But what we are seeing, and what this book seeks to address, is that there are people aligned with outside political and financial interests who have learned to abuse the openness of democratic polities; undermining and dividing the very institutions that democratic polities seek to mediate and govern. There are two main consequences of all of this. First, individual churches are being divided, and many are leaving their denominations altogether. (And as we have seen in the Episcopal and Methodist Churches, national scale schisms are also being attempted.) Second, the church in general is becoming less able to support the peace and social justice mission that they have so ably led for well over a century.

Wherever you may stand on the theological or political spectrum, may you find the courage to listen, and to learn from the experiences of John Dorhauer and Sheldon Culver. I say courage because what they report in this book may be hard for many to hear. It can be difficult to believe that such a cynical campaign is underway. It can be even harder if you happen to know any of the people involved. But as we all know, sometimes people have bad intentions. To consider the possibility is not to make an accusation; it is merely being open to the world as it is. Where courage comes in, is when we consider being open to things that could change the way we think, and change our relationships with our communities. Faced with just such a situation, we are fortunate to have wise and knowledgeable guides like John and Sheldon to show us the things we might rather not see, to help us cope with what we have learned, and help us become wiser and stronger for having been through it. I commend this book to you in that spirit.

To help kick off the publication of the book, there will be a panel discussion in New York City:  Wednesday, June 6th at 6:30 PM at the Tank, 279 Church Street (between Franklin and White), and is sponsored by Ig Publishing. Joining John and me for the discussion will be Chris Hedges, author of American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America; Michelle Goldberg, author of Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism

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