are our conventional views of Christian religion and history in America wrong or irrelevant?
For example, the accepted wisdom has been that America’s mainline Protestant churches have been in decline for decades, eclipsed by evangelical mega-churches. It was a perception that church historian and religion expert Butler Bass wondered if it were true. The results of her extensive three-year study of centrist and progressive churches across the country revealed surprising findings. Not only was the opposite true, but such churches were flourishing in ways that didn’t resort to copying the prevalent evangelical mega-church style. In her book Christianity for the Rest of Us, which was listed as one of the best books of the year by Publishers Weekly, Butler Bass describes the phenomena happening in these churches. She also provides a how-to approach for Protestant churches eager to remain faithful to their traditions while become vibrant, relevant faith communities. As she delved into the rich spiritual life of various mainline Protestant churches, certain consistent practices–hospi
