When "Spiritual but Not Religious" Is Not Enough: Seeing God in Surprising Places, Even the Church

The phrase "I'm spiritual but not religious" has become a cliché. It's easy to find God amid the convenience of self-styled spirituality -- but is it possible (and more worthwhile) to search for God through religion?

Minister and celebrated author Lillian Daniel gives a new spin on church with stories of what a life of faith can really be: weird, wondrous, and well worth trying. From a rock-and-roller sexton to a BB gun-toting grandma, a church service attended by animals to a group of unlikely theologians at Sing Sing, Daniel shows us a portrait of church that is flawed, fallible -- and deeply faithful. With poignant reflections and sly wit, Daniel invites all of us to step out of ourselves, dare to become a community, and encounter a God greater than we could ever invent.

Humorous and sincere, this is a book about people finding God in the most unexpected of places: prisons, airports, yoga classes, committee meetings, and, strangest of all, right there in church.

Featured in the New York Times and on PBS, Lillian Daniel's work has been described as biting, hilarious, pitch perfect, tender, and often stunningly beautiful. She has taught preaching at Chicago Theological Seminary, the University of Chicago Divinity School and at her alma mater, Yale Divinity School, but she can't be held responsible for everyone who falls asleep in church.

She writes for a wide audience in the Huffington Post, Christian Century, Leadership Journal, Christianity Today, Relevant Magazine, and Books and Culture, but on Sundays you can find her preaching at First Congregational Church in Dubuque, Iowa, where she serves as Senior Minister.