Welcome to the World of Asphalt Jesus!

Hi, I'm Eric Elnes, co-founder of CrossWalk America and author of Asphalt Jesus. I’m glad you dropped by the blog to chat about the state of progressive Christian faith at the grassroots in the U.S. Feel free to post a question or comment on this topic. Not all posts must be about Asphalt Jesus. However, regarding the book:
 
Asphalt Jesus offers a glimpse of Christianity at the grassroots in America that is quite different from what is portrayed in the media or by popular religious leaders. It opens a view that neither my companions nor I quite expected to find as we took a 4.5 month, 2,500 mile walk from Phoenix, Arizona to Washington, DC, last year in an effort to move beyond media reports and understand what Christians in so-called "middle-America" were really thinking and feeling. The picture that emerged is both surprising and encouraging for those of us who have been critical of the excesses of Christian fundamentalism and the sterility of liberalism.
 
To make a 189-page story short, what we discovered was nothing less than the emergence of a new form of Christian faith at the grassroots that transcends the traditional labels and stereotypes. This faith is more concerned with honesty than morality, more with embracing difference than with judging others, and more with pushing boundaries than with creating them. The story of this emerging faith is not always pretty. It is frequently funny. It is sometimes irreverent, occasionally devastating, and often astonishing.
 
For Christian progressives, the story is ultimately one of hope even amidst formidable challenge. "Middle America" is not nearly as religiously far-right as it would seem based on media reports. In fact, it is quite possible for Christian progressives to find a hearing among many evangelical and fundamentalist Christians. We discovered more than a few evangelicals and fundamentalist Christians, as well as huge numbers of the "spiritually homeless" (the 6 in 10 Americans who identify themselves as Christian but do not actively participate in a faith community), silently yearning for a solidly progressive form of faith akin to that articulated in the Phoenix Affirmations. In many cases these folks have remained silent because they have thought they are the "only ones" who believe like they do, or that their beliefs and values must put them outside the "truly Christian" fold. From these people, we regularly heard the comment, “Thank you. You’re walking for me.”
 
The challenge for progressive Christians right now is not winning the hearts of others. Our walk convinced us of this, even as we ran into opposition and protest in some areas. The challenge to progressives is making our faith known, joyfully and unapologetically, to the wider community. When people discover that they're neither crazy nor alone in their faith, they get emboldened. And they get excited. VERY excited. They want to find others who share their beliefs, and they want to get organized.
 
I invite you to pick up a copy of Asphalt Jesus at a bookstore near you, or on Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com and post a comment or question. If you'd like to sample a story from the book, I invite you to click here.
 
Finally, if you'd like to find where a FILM of our journey, called The Asphalt Gospel, is showing around the country or watch the film trailer, you'll find that info at www.crosswalkamerica.org.
 
Peace and grace,
 
Rev. Eric Elnes, Ph.D.
Co-Founder, CrossWalk America
Senior Pastor, Scottsdale Congregational UCC