Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith

Barbara Taylor is an excellent writer and storyteller, and this autobiographical book is a compelling read. In this book, she writes about her own journey in faith and a life-changing decision: After twenty years of ordained ministry in a church position, Taylor resigned as rector of a relatively small Episcopal church in the North Georgia mountains to accept a position teaching religion at a small college nearby. The title "Leaving Church" is inaccurate, of course, because leaving ordained parish ministry is not the same as leaving church. Taylor is still an Episcopal priest, but even if she had resigned as a priest, she would still not necessarily have left church. The title stems from Taylor's resignation as a church rector, which surprised many people, and some apparently misunderstood her choice as really leaving church and/or losing her faith. In this book, Taylor explains the journey that led to her change in direction, providing an overview of her experience of ordained ministry and her transition out of church employment. Overall, she regards the decision to leave as spiritually liberating. Unfortunately, in my opinion, Taylor says too little about the actual decision to leave, other than emphasizing that she was tired and depressed. Although Taylor emphasized how hard she worked, so much so that it's almost exhausting to read about it, her decision to resign as rector of a church never seems adequately explained. From the viewpoint of many -- particularly those engaged in ordained ministry -- she has lived a charmed and even enviable life. First, after an apparently easy ordination process, she immediately received a position at a large and wealthy multi-staff church in central Atlanta, working with a popular rector. Then she was called as a rector of a charming church in exactly the area she and her husband wanted to live - the kind of location that people retire to because it's so beautiful. Taylor appears to have been financially comfortable throughout her ministry, and the couple were able to build a dream house on 100 beautiful acres in the mountains (with three streams on their property!) In the meantime, she was developing a widespread reputation as an outstanding preacher while authoring a number of popular books. What's not to like about this life? Sounds ideal, right? Apparently the author didn't like it, or at least the part about being rector of a parish, because she resigned. Exhaustion and symptoms of depression appear to have played a major role, as well as conflict in a church split over the issue of homosexuality. However, little time is spent discussing the decision to resign and even less on the reaction of the church members. Some of this may have been unavoidable, because of concerns about confidentiality and washing dirty linen in public. Taylor mentions that she had committed to stay 10 years when she accepted the position and left after 5 1/2, but other than that, says little about breaking that agreement. Additionally, she mentions only in passing that her recently hired assistant had to resign when she did (it's the rule). She hints that some in the church were unhappy with her (perhaps because she was spread too thin?) Certainly, one wonders about the wisdom of her initial commitment: 10 years is a long time to commit to. I wish she had felt free to tell more about that part of her story and spent less time describing finding God in the beauty of nature. I get it. Nature is lovely. The mountains are lovely - it's easier to find God there than in a church hall of angry people. Life in the church can be as messy as any barnyard, and that no doubt contributed to her decision, but she barely mentioned it. It was frustrating when she skipped quickly over her farewell party but spent pages on birds. It seems likely, also, that much of the author's exhaustion came from her own very high standards and successful outside endeavors. Taylor barely mentions her increasingly busy schedule filled with engagements outside her own church, as her reputation as preacher and author grew. She was no doubt traveling frequently while living in a remote area, accessible only by mountain roads. Additionally, Taylor's many publications during this period would by itself be sufficient work for most people! She says virtually nothing about these activities but instead describes the demands of providing pastoral care. It's amazing she managed to do all that she did for as long as she did without completely burning out. This book would be great for use by a book club, particularly those in a church setting, as it raises some provocative questions. I wonder if the author will find that even after "leaving church," she will continue to find herself over-scheduled, with more demands on her than most people could manage. I hope not, because she's definitely gifted as both an author and preacher.

Barbara Brown Taylor's Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith is a heartfelt and honest reflection on the ups and downs of pastoral ministry. As an Episcopal priest, Taylor takes us on her journey—from an eager and passionate minister to someone who becomes weary under the weight of church life and ultimately finds God in unexpected places beyond the institution's walls. Her writing is both uplifting and deeply thoughtful, making this book a powerful read for anyone who has struggled with faith, ministry, or the heavy expectations placed on spiritual leaders. Barbara Brown Taylor's memoir isn't about rejecting the church—it's about rethinking where and how we experience God. For anyone who has served in ministry, especially those who have felt the weight of leadership, her story will feel deeply relatable, like holding up a mirror to their own struggles and questions.

Barbara Brown Taylor never claims that her approach to the ministry was typical, nor does she advocate that other people follow her footsteps in leaving the church (although she does have some interesting suggestions for empowering churchgoers and the faithful in general). Her story of "finding, losing, and keeping," is merely one personal narrative that successfully avoids the pretense that everyone shares the same dramas and should therefore listen to her wisdom. She is not selling anything. Her book is rather an intimate, articulate self-revelation about her path in the world. I am a non-religious person, and I am often wearied, threatened, or offended by religious perspectives and narratives that don't honor the humanity in all of us. Taylor's book did not put me off: I read it voraciously, I frequently found myself crying, and the book left me emotionally drained but satisfied. It was cathartic. I learned a lot about her particular experience as a priest, which satisfied my curiosity, but better yet, I easily followed her into deeply incisive but poetic analyses of her own behavior, reactions, expectations, needs, desires, and hopes. One of the final lessons, that some people thrive "in the wildnerness" and others thrive in the central church, and that all are needed and wanted by God, was a refreshing and reassuring view of faith. I can see why Taylor's desires for solitude and nature, and her fortune in living on a beautiful rural ranch, might not be representative of a good priest. In fact, she herself states that she might have been better qualified as a religious hermit. I won't go away thinking that all priests think as she does; it's clear even from her book that they don't. But I was grateful to Taylor for sharing her vision of faith with me. In a sense, with this book, I think she has again achieved her priestly mission of "finding holiness and holding it up to God."

When I saw the author, Barbara Brown Taylor, interviewed on TV, I was so impressed by her clarity, beauty, and honesty, and her essential love of Christ, that I had to buy the book and find out why she left the church. Turns out that she left only a part of the Episcopal Church, in which she had been ordained. After serving as associate pastor in a large Atlanta church, she and her husband decided to leave the city for a small rural church. Here she experienced, and describes with compassion and wit life in a small town and the rewards and tribulations of a small church parish priest. As a former resident for many years of a small town (under 700 population) I can attest that this part rings true. I also now know well two Episcopal parish priests, one in a small church and one in a large one, and they are now going through the same stress and dissention as well as rewards of being a parish priest. As Ms. Taylor says, and as I see in the priests I know, ministering to others bewcomes so all consuming that the priest has no time for him or her self or family. This fiinally led Ms. Taylor to resign as a parish priest, but luckily she was able to continue her service to the Lord as a teacher, as Jesus was. This book is very well worth a read by anyone interested in church or religion.

"Leaving Church" is somewhat a misleading title in that it could be construed as a guide for leaving church. Granted that is what the author did, but that's certainly not the entire story. In this book Taylor tells the story of her faith journey from a young girl always interested in matters of religion to her ordination as an Episcopal priest and then her decision to leave the clergy and become a teacher. It is a journey for her and the book is personal, but it is so much more than that. "Leaving Church" is a guide for believers of all faiths. The ups and downs, the questions, the challenges, the everyday struggle to put faith in action--all these must be handled not just by clergy, but by all persons of faith. Taylor does not provide answers, but she provides an example for others. Her faith is not one of dogma, but one of trust. This is a book to be read and re-read. Her writing is sincere, but not preachy; thoughtful, but not difficult.

The author was an Episcopalian Priest who walked away from a very strong identity to her church and it rattled her to the foundations of her faith. Anyone who has left a church, regardless of the religion, can relate to the universal truth about feeling betrayed and dislocated without something so pivotal as to how we connect with God. Like so many of us who bring our idealistic notions into church with high expectations of both serving God and experiencing God, a popped church balloon can send us plummeting to the ground. The ground is very hard and for many of us we end up splattered everywhere and it takes a long time to put Humpty Dumpty back together again--and then we're not the same--what with those cracks all over! When I left my church, I had no idea that others had left. I had know idea that Christians had similar "exit" experiences of betrayal, hurt and grief when leaving their churches. The damages done when leaving a church does not seem to be about religion, but more about leaving a conviction in God. We feel betrayed by God. We question how it was even possible to be led down this path? Is it God's fault? Is it our fault? For the author, she literally had to decide what to do the day "after" she left her clergy position with her church, whereas for some the realization they've left might take a long time. Barbara Brown Taylor went through actual physical withdrawals, finding herself on the floor with horrible headaches. It seemed she started pulling herself together by remembering the Sabbath and making time for a personal relationship with God, rather than all the doing for everyone else. Her healing came through nature and by opening her mind to other religions, weighing them against her own, and finding peace somewhere in the middle. The author found it hard to go to other churches, and her the transition from leader to follower was unsettling. For me, just attending a Christian church felt like betrayal on the highest order! I'd jumped off the jet and onto the bullcart! Oh what we can do to our spiritual lives. Like the author, I couldn't find spiritual or emotional support. Local Christian Pastors had no experience to counsel me, and for Barbara she'd been the counselor! Our differences part here, as Barbara went off looking for the meaning behind other religions and embraced them, while I had been down those "many roads," and had settled onto the Road to Damascus. She wrote a moving story of her father's decline and death from cancer, another subject that I'm very familiar with, and she made this astute observation while watching him die and wondering about his relationship with God: "All I found out was how helpless love can be, with nothing left to do but suffer alongside with the beloved." I highly recommend this book to affirm that the loss of a church can be devastating but the return to spiritual health entirely possible.

Leaving Church h by Barbara Brown Taylor was different for me. I have never read a book where they wanted something so bad, To be a priest at a time where women were not to be one! She studied, passed whatever boards were required She even got the exact church she wanted (thinking God was pleased with her and worked things out for her). Then to be that church's priest for 5 years she wanted out! She got a call from a college to come teach religion and she saw her way out! She saw a lot of difference between being the one choosing the songs, Scripture and sermon theme even how people treat you in public. She worked hard and always wore the priests clothing. When she went to teach, she didn't wear priestly clothes and the public treated her differently! Interesting read!

In this abundantly accessible account of what I would describe as a life well lived, Barbara Brown Taylor gives the reader a glimpse into that life as she has sought to find the truth, both inside and outside the organized church. She has always tried to listen to the beat of her own drummer that sometimes was literally that of Native Americans. No longer a rector in the Episcopal Church but a college religion teacher, she has, as she so aptly puts it, now left the altar and pitched her tent in the yard. She says she has now learned to "prize holy ignorance" over "religious certainty." Like that great poet Emily Dickinson, she now often keeps the Sabbath staying at home. Almost 20 years ago at All Saints Episcopal Church in Atlanta I heard Barbara Brown Taylor speak at a memorial service for persons who had died of AIDS. I had no idea who she was at the time. I only knew that her remarks both seared and comforted my heart. To this day I remember them. This priest, as she still sees herself although she is no longer a rector, is nothing if not good with words. She is less into "fireworks in the sky" than "the electricity that sparks the human heart." Taylor compares the position of a priest to that of the chief engineer in a nuclear plant. "In both cases, one needed to know how to approach great power without loosing great danger and getting fried in the process." She describes her new position at Grace-Calvary Episcopal Church after the death of the former, much loved rector: "Like the second wife of a widower, I wanted to make up for what they had lost. . .without trying to take his place." In her first day of teaching a religion class at Piedmont College, she encounters a student, a Hindu from Sri Lanka, who has "had lots of practice with pronouns snapping shut on him." The list goes on and on. How very fortunate were both those parishioners and now her students who have taken advantage of her wisdom. One of Taylor's favorite quotations is by the poet Wallace Stevens: "Perhaps the truth depends on a walk around the lake." Those of us who have read this really wondrous memoir can be thankful of our brief but enlightening walk around the lake with her.

This is a fabulous book by one of my new favourite voices. It is full of honest insight, humour, and deep, profound faith. The book that made me a BBT fan. Worth rereading. Highly recommended.

An interesting personal account of a minister's journey of faith. As she grows in her walk with God, she discovers that religious life is not to be confused with a walk of faith.

Barbara Taylor describes her journey as an episcopal priest in moving, honest and encouraging words. Well worth a read, especially for all those who find themselves with more questions than answers, overworked, or alienated from church.

Great writer who tells wonderful true stories linked to her faith. It helped me with my views on Christianity and Church life. I will be buying her books.

Excellent book. I love her transparency as she recalls her joirney. The only thing I want to mention is that it isn’t quite as generic as the subtitle suggests. The faith joirney is all through the lense of her becoming a priest and then working for and leaving the episcopal church. There are certainly many points of connection for someone who has or is going through a wilderness experience in their faith, or for those in major unexpected life transitions. The one who will receive the most from this book, however, are those who are in vocational ministry.