An Untidy Faith: New from Kate Boyd

Kate Boyd is one of my travel buddies. We've been to Kenya, the UK (photo of us at Dover Castle below), Italy, and Mexico together. And she's the author of An Untidy Faith (Herald Press, April 2023)—which launches today! The host of the Happy & Holy podcast and a seminary student, Kate helps weary and wounded Christians rebuild their relationship with Scripture and community and to love God and their neighbors with their whole selves.

In the wake of scandal, culture wars, and abuse, many Christians wonder whether the North American church is redeemable—and if not, whether they should even stay. While many are answering "no" to those questions, An Untidy Faith is for those who long to disentangle their faith from all the cultural baggage and recapture the joy of following Jesus.

Through personal anecdotes, encounters with the global church (some of which we experienced together), deep dives into Scripture, and helpful historical context about Christianity, An Untidy Faith takes readers on two journeys. The first journey lays out the grand vision of Christianity and the legacy passed on to us by the early believers in hopes of renewing readers' belief in the church writ large. The second journey helps believers understand why they feel distant from their church settings and provides a reorientation drawn from Scripture of God's vision for community.

A gentle companion, Kate Boyd walks alongside those who have questions but can't ask them for fear of being labeled by or cast out of their communities. An Untidy Faith is a guidebook for those who want to be equipped with practices to rebuild their faith and shape their communities to look more like Jesus. Here's Kate in her own words:

Q: What gave you the idea to write An Untidy Faith?

Over the last few years, I have noticed an uptick in the Christian community of conversations around “deconstruction.” In listening to those conversations, I realized that there was a segment of the population who are working through their beliefs that did not seem to be represented. Most were talking about their deconversions or how people shouldn’t be deconstructing at all, but there were people like me who had walked through a season of renovating belief and practice while still remaining committed to Jesus. As more and more people were beginning to ask questions because of the many scandals and idols within white American evangelicalism that have been revealed over the last few years, I realized that because I had walked through this journey before that I may be able to create a space to meet those like me there and provide guidance to the way of Jesus and a bigger faith full of joy.

Q: Who will benefit from reading An Untidy Faith?

My initial audience tends to be people like me—millennials raised as evangelicals. However, as I have been gathering a community and writing the book, I have found that as often as someone in their 30s or 40s resonate with these topics, I also find those from older generations who are walking through the same journey now or trying to understand their children’s current journeys. While I also am generally focused on lay people, I think it will also be a helpful tool for church leaders to understand the mind and desires of those who are deconstructing or disentangling their faith.

Q: Why do you think this book is important for right now?

An Untidy Faith is important for this moment because deconstruction is not going away, and we have reached a point where many who were tearing down parts of their faith are looking for a way to rebuild a faith that is holistic, authentic, and joyful. Many lack the vocabulary or resources to go about creating a new theology and practice that connects to global and historic Christianity while existing in their current context. An Untidy Faith connects the readers to stories from the global church and examines some of today’s most relevant topics to provide a way for rebuilding and reshaping ideas about them in order to live out a faith that looks more like Jesus and that works for every time, place, and people.

Q: What are some of the topics An Untidy Faith covers?

An Untidy Faith covers a wide range of topics with intention. I wanted to help people process by example and provide information related to the topics that are being widely discussed today. The book then covers how to adjust one’s relationship with the Bible, the relationship between righteousness and justice and what that means for how we love our neighbors, the ways we have misused and misunderstood the Kingdom of God, how the end of the world is discussed in the Bible and how it changes how we relate to all of creation, what to look for in leaders and discipleship that lead to healthy and whole disciples, and reframing the work of evangelism and missions in today’s world.

Q: Which chapter did you most enjoy writing and why?

My favorite chapter in the book is chapter 11, “In Spirit and In Truth.” I think this may be my favorite because it draws on themes very close to my heart as to how we view the purpose of church and how we frame worship. In some ways, I think it is at the heart of all the other topics—how our entire lives fit together in worshipping God every moment of every day. Situating worship within the context of all we do rather than in a few hours we spend per week has changed how I approach all of my life as a follower of Jesus. I think it is one of the most impactful ideas to grasp for the church writ large today.

Q: What do you want readers to take away from An Untidy Faith?

At the end of An Untidy Faith, I hope that readers find the permission they seek to ask questions, rework big ideas, and find joy again in their walk with Jesus. I also hope they find new processes and perspectives for engaging with those questions and finding their feet in their faith again. Most of all, I hope they walk away seeing that Jesus is better, and walking in his way is how we give hope to the world.

As Kate and I have traveled, we have often joked in litotes—or massive understatement. If we eat an awesome bowl of sticky toffee pudding or see a view of the English Channel on a gorgeous day, we'll say, "This does not suck." So here is an endorsement of her book: This does not suck! (Also, what Kaitlyn Schiess said in the banner ad above. It’s a much needed work.)