Where does God meet us in this life? Rooting Christian faith in joy, freedom, and trust that God interacts with us in this life, The Deepest Belonging: A Story of Discovering Where God Meets Us invites readers to walk through surprising doorways--weakness, vulnerability, smallness, rest, and honesty--into a new perspective of the Christian life and the role of the pastor. Kara Root draws wisdom from three compelling stories, all about finding freedom on the other side of fear. In one thread, Marty, a member of the small congregation Root serves, learns that he is dying. In the second, Root finds that her once-invincible faith of assurance and answers collapses. These stories come together in a third, when the congregation does a unique and counterintuitive thing: it commissions Marty to a "ministry of dying." By embracing instead of fleeing death, Marty, this community, and Root herself are infused with life through shared experiences of God. They learn to be vulnerable and brave. They discover--again and profoundly--an unguarded faith of wondering and watching for God's presence. This is a book for all pastors and church leaders, as well as for those disillusioned with Christianity and the church and longing for something more real and honest. It explores questions such as: How does God meet us? What is church for? What is a pastor? What does it mean to be truly human? The Deepest Belonging is a call not to resist but to embrace our vulnerability. As a move away from religion seeking security, protection, and influence, this story invites individuals and congregations to return bravely to the core of our humanity: our belonging to God and one another.
Kara K. Root has served the church in various leadership capacities for over twenty-five years. As the pastor of Lake Nokomis Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis for more than a decade, she has led a community shaped around noticing together what God is doing and then helping one another participate in that activity. She speaks, writes, and leads workshops on sabbath, creative worship practices, church transformation, and leadership.
Preface Introduction Chapter One: When We Come Together, God Meets Us Chapter Two: When We Lose Guarantees . . . Chapter Three: When We Pay Attention and Join in . . . Chapter Four: In Godforsakenness . . . Chapter Five: In the In-Between . . . Chapter Six: When We Stop . . . Chapter Seven: To Move Us from Fear to Trust . . . Chapter Eight: That We Might Have Joy. . . Chapter Nine: When We Face Death . . . Chapter Ten: When We Surrender to Our Nothingness . . . Chapter Eleven: When Grace Tells Our Story . . . Chapter Twelve: When We Live Now What Will Be . . . Chapter Thirteen: When We Live With and For Each Other, God Meets Us
