Subterranean

Publisher Marketing: The landscape of Christian spirituality in the West is no longer lush with green grass and wild flowers blooming. Instead, across the country we find dry terrain where churches no longer can expect interested seekers--yet most of our solutions for addressing this predicament link to anxiety around our performance and personality. Rather than going back to the boardroom to cook up new techniques for a trendier church, let's ask more meaningfully rooted questions. Do we know how to be present in our neighborhoods? Do we know how to be present in community? Do we know how to be present to the in-breaking kingdom of God? There is a growing groundswell discovering that we have become uprooted and detached from each other in the way we express being the church. We need a subterranean movement that plunges below the surface into a way of being the people of God that carries an unwavering incarnational creed. Dan White Jr. uses crisp criticism, narrative theology, and tangible practices to uncover a hopeful pathway for being radically rooted in God's world. ""Dan White has penned a well-written, distinctly prophetic book on incarnational mission. In it he calls us to a life beyond the standard cultural obsessions and to a faithfulness that is rendered through rootedness, abiding, witness, and service. A welcome addition to the books on prophetic missionality."" --Alan Hirsch, author and activist ""For too long the church has caved in to the desires of a world addicted to self-destructive speed and geographic displacement. But no longer, says White. God is seeking to re-place his people, to invite us into the radical act of stopping in a restless world, to be deeply rooted, to be witnesses to the life our world could experience if it truly surrendered to Christ. This inspiring and practical guide will help you in that monumental endeavor."" --Michael Frost, author, Incarnate: The Body of Christ in an Age of Disengagement ""Want a sneak peak into the future of the church in North America? Read this book. Better yet, want to join in this bold new future? Join with others and create local practices as inspired by this incredible resource. Rooted in courageous practice, White has written a pioneering guide that pinpoints the cancerous defaults of the contemporary church, while also casting a practical vision for how we can all join in God's abundant future."" --Tim Soerens, coauthor of The New Parish: How Neighborhood Churches Are Transforming Mission, Discipleship, and Community ""The bias toward up is powerful in church culture. As leaders, we want to be up-and-comers and eventually at the top. If our grand vision isn't realized, we pull up stakes and move on. In this fine book, White makes an impassioned case for down. 'Up-rootedness' abstracts us, but 'rootedness'--in community, place, and the unfolding work of God--is the truly radical trajectory of the church. It's difficult to imagine a more important message."" --John Pattison, coauthor of Slow Church Dan White, Jr. co-planted Axiom Church when five families dove into the city of Syracuse, New York, to cultivate communities in diverse neighborhoods. He is also a church strategist with the V3 Movement, coaching cohorts from around the country through an eighteen-month missional training system. Finally, he is also cofounder of the Praxis Gathering. Dan finds deep delight in dwelling around the table with good coffee and a good conversation. He blogs at danwhitejr.com. Contributor Bio:  White, Dan Dan White is the author of "The Cactus Eaters: How I Lost My Mind and Almost Found Myself" "on the Pacific Crest Trail", a NCIBA bestseller and "Los Angeles Times" "Discovery" selection. He has taught composition at Columbia University and San Jose State. He is the contributing editor of "Catamaran Literary Reader" and received his MFA from Columbia University. He lives in Santa Cruz, California with his wife and daughter. Contributor Bio:  Fitch, David E David E. Fitch is B. R. Lindner Professor of Evangelical Theology at Northern Seminary, Lombard IL. He is also a pastor at Life on the Vine Christian Community in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago. He is the author of The Great Giveaway (2005). Contributor Bio:  Woodward, Jr JR Woodward is a church planter, activist, consultant, missiologist, speaker and writer. Graduating with a master of arts in global leadership from Fuller Theological Seminary, Woodward went on to co-found Kairos Los Angeles, a network of neighborhood churches in the Los Angeles area. He also cofounded and is now director of the Solis Foundation, a faith-based foundation that partners with churches in third-world countries to equip new entrepreneurs through small business, micro-loan programs and venture grants. Woodward previously publishedViralHope with Ecclesia Press in 2010. Follow his blog at www.jrwoodward.net.