Lost, Hidden, Small

"I loved this book for its wisdom, message, and welcome, its depth and its many charms, especially the clear and deeply human voice of the author, Pastor Kate." --ANNE LAMOTT

In this stirring book of spiritual formation, a pastor asks: What if the abundant life lies in finding what's been lost, uncovering what is hidden, and learning to hope in what is small?

The Christian industrial complex teaches us that whatever is centered, celebrated, and large is a movement of God, and that Jesus is at work in existing structures. So why are we surprised that many churches are obsessed with power, size, and reputation--and that people are leaving them in droves?

Jesus warned us not to expect his reign to resemble the empire. He knew it would be hard for us to recognize true faithfulness, so he gave us sacred stories. In parables we learn of lost coins and sheep and people being found, of hidden treasure being uncovered, and of small and weak things that heal and transform. In the tradition of clergy writers like Barbara Brown Taylor and Gregory Boyle, pastor Kate Murphy excavates the wisdom of Jesus's parables. She tells stories of failures in the dominant church, of broken places within herself, and of an exploding watermelon that sends her over the edge. Through practices like shalom, kinship, surrender, failure, and humility, we find our lost selves in Christ, seek a God who hides, and see the glory of infinitesimal things.

Living faithfully in a culture of violence, hierarchy, and supremacy, Murphy maintains, means following Jesus into weakness, loss, and even despair. But this is not some bitter prescription for a dying church. It's the story of how sometimes what seems undesirable actually satisfies. Sometimes what looks as if it will diminish you ends up being what saves. Sometimes following the way of Jesus means letting yourself be astounded by the authentic grace of what is lost, hidden, and small.

Kate Haynes Murphy is the pastor of The Grove Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. She grew up in Kentucky and holds undergraduate degrees in music and biology from DePauw University and a master of divinity and masters of sacred theology from the School of Theology at Boston University. Murphy and her husband have three daughters, and she is an avid runner and reader who writes regularly about the intersection of faith and politics for the Charlotte Observer and the Raleigh News & Observer. Her podcast about life in a healthy and holy multiethnic church is called 2 Pastors Take a Walk and Make a Podcast.