Dr. Conrad Kanagy taught Sociology at Elizabethtown College since 1993 and is an established scholar in the study of American and Global Christianity. He is also an ordained Mennonite minister. You can check out his podcast, YouTube channel, and the upcoming webinar – “Jesus in the Mainline: Why is Progressive Christianity Embracing A Church Dismantled?.”
\nWherever you look, the metrics of the institutional church spell doom. Amid this forecast, Conrad Kanagy\u2014long-time pastor and sociologist of religion\u2014offers a vision of hope in what he calls the \u201cSpirit\u2019s dismantling of the church.\u201d Five years ago, Kanagy learned that he had Parkinson\u2019s disease. This devastating experience of \u201cdismantling\u201d gave him the courage to strip off his masks and to say things that, according to one reader, \u201cPastors and professors are not supposed to say!\u201d When Covid-19 emerged two years ago, Kanagy produced a popular podcast that he has turned into a series of books receiving overwhelmingly positive reviews.
\nDonald Kraybill, author of The Upside Down Kingdom, writes: \u201cConrad\u2019s essays mingle the voice of a prophet, the eye of a sociologist, the heart of a pastor, the wisdom of an educator, and above all the candid confessions of a child of God. He may stir your ire or light your fire, annoy you or compel you to compassion. Prophetic voices do that. But you will keep on reading. I promise!\u201d
\nProfessor Walter Brueggemann notes: \u201cConrad is able to cross many boundaries…he is able to juxtapose odd partners, push the extremities of exposure, and do a broad sweep of scripture. The subtext of his writing is the scriptural account wherein the biblical community of faith, in its distortion and obduracy, was dismantled in order to make way for an authentic community of mission.\u201d Dr. Kanagy is currently writing an authorized biography of Professor Brueggemann.
\nThe author includes stories of his growing up in a strict Amish/Mennonite community, his life-long struggle with OCD and constant fear of God\u2019s wrath and damnation, his crises in ministry, battles with cancer, and his recent diagnosis of PD.
\nDon\u2019t forget to join Tripp & Diana this Lent for an open online class \u2013 Jesus De/constructed! Details here.
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