Lost in the Middle?: Claiming an Inclusive Faith for Christians Who Are Both Liberal and Evangelical

There exists a deep and broad population of Christians who feel the labels of "liberal" and "evangelical" both describe their faith and limit their expression of it. By working to reclaim the traditional, historical meanings of these terms, and showing how they complement rather than oppose each other, Wesley Wildman and Stephen Chapin Garner stake a claim for the moderate Christian voice in today's polarized society. Lost in the Middle? guides readers through a process of diagnosis and articulation, offering complementary perspectives on the phenomenon, problem, and promise of Christians with both liberal and evangelical instincts. The authors show how individuals and institutions alike can reclaim and celebrate the highest virtues of both liberal and evangelical Christianity, and how doing so can lead to the creation of authentic and vibrant communities of faith. Pastors, congregational leaders, seminarians, and all thoughtful Christians will learn how truly moderate Christianity can unite the compassionate openness and social activism of liberal Christianity with the magnetism and spiritual fervor of evangelical Christianity. You may feel lost in the middle, but you are not alone there. The middle may be the place where you find yourself living most authentically.

Wesley J. Wildman is Associate Professor of Theology and Ethics at Boston University. His research and writing focuses on interdisciplinary topics connecting religion with the natural and social sciences. He is ordained in the Uniting Church in Australia and has seven years full-time parish experience in moderate Christian churches. Stephen Chapin Garner is the senior pastor of the United Church of Christ in Norwell, Massachusetts. He has just completed his DMin in homiletics, focusing on the role of first-person narratives in sermons.