Twenty five years ago, when she was just twenty two, Maria Garriott and her husband moved to the inner city. Settling in a poverty-stricken area of Baltimore, the Garriotts set about beginning a church that would reach out to the multiracial neighborhoods around them. A Thousand Resurrections tells this story. The book’s subtitle, “An Urban Spiritual Journey,” is instructive. While it would be easy to see this book as the story of the building of a church, I think it is more accurate to see this as a book describing the spiritual journey of the author. Of course she does tell the story of the church and also tells the story of her husband and children, but the core of the book seems to be the author’s journey. And it is a fascinating journey.
This is an honest and heartfelt book. Maria deals frankly and transparently with the many mistakes they made. She deals honestly with the heartbreak they experienced time and again when people who seemed to embrace the faith walked away or took their own lives. She describes living in an area of the city that was, in so many ways, inhospitable. She deals with raising her children in a neighborhood where the family always seemed to be at risk. And throughout, she shares stories of the grace and the faith that sustained them.
There was one aspect of the book that I found a little bit disappointing. The Presbyterian Church of America is not a denomination known for reaching into the inner city, and certainly not a denomination that has seemed to embrace the type of “incarnational” mission work begun by the Garriotts. In my experience, though limited, it seems that PCA churches tend to be predominantly white and middle class. Because of this I was interested to learn what Presbyterianism might look like in an urban context. What I found was that there didn’t seem to be anything obviously and distinctly Presbyterian about this story, or at least the part of the story that was recounted in this book. I know that Maria’s husband Craig is working on a more scholarly book on the same subject, so perhaps his efforts will address this in greater detail. But A Thousand Resurrections did not offer much about Presbyterianism and how things may have been different had the Garriotts been part of a different Christian tradition.
A Thousand Resurrections details a fascinating journey. Or more accurately, several journeys. While the author’s journey is central to the book, travelling alongside it are the interwoven stories of her husband, church and family. This is a book that is well worth reading and one that will no doubt prove interesting and edifying.
Comments (7) »
1. Sheena
July 8, 2006
2:34 PM
Tim,
Thanks for that helpful review. I have read and dipped into several books on urban mission, but have never come across one written from the wife’s perspective, until today !
2. JoAnne
July 9, 2006
7:56 AM
I’ve been reading your site for a while now, and I was pleasantly surprised to find my pastor’s wife’s book being reviewed. For a little more information on the nature of our church’s mission, you can check out the web site www.fcfchurch.org, which has a few resources to that effect. It is not the scholarly book you anticipate, but it might help.
3. Bob West
July 9, 2006
8:50 PM
Tim:
Amazing! Here you are re-building John Hendryx’s website for him and you don’t know about Intown Presbyterian Church in Portland…nor obviously about Redeemer Presbyterian in NYC with all the churches it has planted around the city…and actually say, “The Presbyterian Church of America is not a denomination known for reaching into the inner city, and certainly not a denomination that has seemed to embrace the type of “incarnational” mission work begun by the Garriotts.”
Perhaps you need to catch up on some of the work of Tim Keller (http://www.redeemer2.com/themovement/) and or his sermons posted on Monergism. Love your emails,
Bob
4. seeker
July 9, 2006
9:25 PM
Tim,
I have even less exposure to the PCA than you do, but it seems kind of funny to “play the race card” the way you did - I’m surprised that PCA members aren’t taking you to task about that comment, but perhaps the lack of response confirms your suspicions.
But if the PCA is just another flavor of evangelical, how would you expect them to differ from, say, a Baptist outreach? I would not expect much at all - do you expect different methods or doctrines to be emphasized? If they were charismatic, you might expect a different emphasis, but I’m not sure there is anything distinctive about Presbyterianism or reformed theology that would make them differ from other evangelicos.
But keep it up. I was a book reader before I had two children (2.5 yrs and 2 months old). But I hope to pick it up again one day…
5. pilgrim
July 10, 2006
12:29 AM
Hmm, right away I thought of Tim Keller, as Bob West mentioned.
And thanks to Bob I was reminded of Intown—I’ve heard of them as well—(They used to be in the same presbytery until the Western Canadian Churches created our own with their blessing. The move was official at the start of this year.)
There’s also Grace Vancouver and Grace Vancouver West.
Faith Presbyterian in Vancouver as well has done some inner city work I’ve heard about.
But then I’m in a PCA church so I hear about htese churches and others that are involved in inner city missions to varying degrees.
6. Tim Challies
July 10, 2006
9:17 AM
I stand by my comment that this type of ministry is not what the PCA is known for. I know there are a small number of churches breaking the mold, but this is still not the denomination’s area of emphasis.
7. Jim
July 10, 2006
4:10 PM
Although not traditionally know for this type of ministry, there is growing interest in helping the church to reflect the entire body of Christ. Two this end there has been more and more emphasis on outreach in “African-American” and “Hispanic Communities” and more openess to break the traditional forms of worship.
As a reflection of this effort, Wy Plummer who is a wonderful individual is supervising the effort in the African-American Community and others have been investing in the “Hispanic” community.
I would agree that traditionally this has not been the initial area of emphasis, but there is growing urgency in the denomination, a growing visibility of leaders from these communities, and much more openess to discussion of issues of cultural perspective and racism than when I first became involved.
As a note I am a member of the “Hispanic” community and continue to pray for wholeness and healing in the church.
God Bless You in your continued efforts on this website