Confessions Of A Pastor

These refreshing confessions of a pastor will help readers live for an audience of One.

Tens of thousands of American adults join the Catholic Church every year. Why? What is it that attracts them to Catholicism? In Confessions of a Mega-Church Pastor, Allen Hunt unveils the treasures of Catholicism that many life-long Catholics are simply unaware of. At the same time he demonstrates the genius of Catholicism and encourages us to move beyond taking our faith for granted. With a personal touch that is profound and disarming, Hunt takes his readers on a journey that is sure to change the way we experience our faith. At a time when so many are disillusioned about where the Catholic Church is and where it is going, Allen Hunt brilliantly reminds us that personal holiness is the key to the bigger future God wants to leads us to both as individuals and together as a Church.

You can sin with food in many ways -- by not sharing it, by eating way too much of it, by throwing it across the restaurant table... But you do not sin with food by bowing your head over it, saying grace with true gratitude in your heart, and tucking in. Sharp-edged but humorous, Confessions of a Food Catholic addresses the unscriptural approach to food that many Christians have developed in recent years. (By the way, a "food catholic" is somebody who accepts all eaters of all foods, even if he or she doesn't actually eat quinoa.) Specifically, the book addresses divisive threats to Christian table fellowship, the know-it-all pride of newfangled "health food" rules, and the dislocated moralism that makes "organic" and "natural" the signs of righteousness while disdaining the brethren who buy their beef at Stuffmart.

Ex-Presbyterian pastor turned Catholic convert coveys his feeling of being an outsider in today's Christian faith.

As an ordained minister, I've recently begun having a recurring nightmare. It goes something like this: I'm in a dim and damp basement room, a light bulb swinging from the ceiling, and a pair of interrogators standing over me. There's the well-meaning one and there's the bad, unpredictable, aggressive one. I anxiously wonder how many members from my congregation they have crammed into the room behind the two-way mirror. As I begin to sweat under my clerical collar, I feel stuck to the rusty, metal folding chair. Trying to keep my wits intact, I feel a paralyzing dread washing over me. Good Cop: Do you believe in God the Father Almighty? Me: Um...Mostly? Bad Cop: It is a yes or no question! Me: Yes. I think. I don't know. Can I be a "sort of "or a "maybe?" Good Cop: No. Me: But what do you mean by "believe" and "in" and "God"? Also, I am trying to steer away from patriarchal language and using human characteristics to describe God. So, I guess I'm out with God as the Father. Unlike other religious tell-all accounts, Doubting Faithfully: Confessions of a Skeptical Pastor articulates what a spiritual nomadic quest of an active leader of the Sunday morning faithful feels like from the other side of the pews-a confession most other clergy might prefer to keep hidden.

Pastors' children should be allowed to pursue their dreams. After all, you only have one life to live. People need to stop putting their pastor and their children on a pedestal. They too are going to make mistakes. To my knowledge, there is only one perfect man to walk on this planet Earth. He is the sinless one, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He is the only one that I have to answer to when this place can no longer afford me a home. I pray that he has forgiven me for all my sins. I want him to say, "Well done thy good and faithful servant. Welcome! Be Blessed!