Misfit Faith

April 1, 2017

While the subtitle teases that this is a confessional of sorts, in truth, social media personality Stellman's (cohost of Drunk Ex-Pastors podcast) book is hardly memoir-as-confessional, since readers learn little about the author. For that information, it seems one should become familiar with his podcast. What Stellman does confess is his conversion from rigid, Bible-thumping evangelical to an incarnationally informed lay Catholic who better tolerates the ambiguities and paradoxes of faith. His misfit faith--loosely characterized in cheeky vernacular as "sucking at something awesome rather than being awesome at something that sucks"--is his artless defining apologia against unyielding Protestant dogmatism in light of his fresh Catholic perspective. The author transfers his considerable missionary fervor to defending a liturgically and sacramentally informed faith, which encodes his self-definition as a "crash and burn misfit." However, he turns Evangelical Protestantism into a straw man in a manner that communicates much more about his faith journey than Protestantism in general. VERDICT This honest account will find resonance among consumers of popular faith narratives.--SC

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 9, 2017
Stellman, cohost of the Drunk Ex-Pastor podcast, advocates moving beyond mainstream Christian ideas in this encouraging work of popular theology. Drawing on his personal journey from evangelicalism to Catholicism to a more complicated relationship to faith, he argues that most Christians misunderstand the nature of God. In place of a stern, sadistic stickler for law, he urges an understanding of God as father. This orientation opens Christians to a stronger sense of grace, a more universal idea of salvation, and a less hostile approach to the world. His wit and popular culture references disguise and cushion the seriousness of his claims. He carefully draws from the doctrine of the Trinity, the incarnation, and New Testament texts, explaining their still relevant and originally shocking claims. Stellman manages to find a middle ground between liberal Christianity’s broad toleration and conservatives’ push for boundaries and textual adherence. The work ends somewhat abruptly but provides a vision for a broader, more hospitable Christianity that has room for all our failed attempts and plenty of hope.