Bulletproof Faith

Candace Chellew-Hodge is a United Church of Christ minister and founder of the online magazine Whosoever for GLBT Christians. She is an award-winning former television and radio journalist as a news writer, reporter, and editor with CNN. For a free study guide and more resources for this book visit www.bulletproofbook.com.

• Acknowledgments. Introduction: There Is Only One Side.Chapter 1: Becoming Bulletproof.Chapter 2: Losing Our Religion.Spiritual Survival Exercise: Reclaiming Our Authentic Self.Chapter 3: Learning to Love the Questions.Chapter 4: Wisdom Before Weapons.Spiritual Survival Exercise: Surrender Before Battle.Chapter 5: Learning the Outward Moves.Chapter 6: The Gift of the Enemy.Spiritual Survival Exercise: Breathing into Our Pain.Chapter 7: The Only Thing That Counts.Chapter 8: You Know Your Faith Is Bulletproof When . . ..Chapter 9: "No Weapon Shall Prosper".Spiritual Survival Exercise: Is That Your Final Answer?Notes.Recommended Reading.Online Resources.About the Author.

Chellew-Hodge, a former journalist, is a UCC pastor who runs the online magazine Whosoever.org. Her experiences as a gay Christian searching for how to live with integrity while contending with sometimes hateful opposition inform this book. The “spiritual survival tips” that conclude each chapter serve not only as summaries but also as direct points of advice for GLBT persons coping with inevitable conflict. She also includes brief meditation exercises. Chellew-Hodge offers a realistic voice of experience filled with compassion and love—not just for her intended audience but also for their attackers. Although some may find her impulse to forgive premature, Chellew-Hodge does not naïvely excuse much less accept the abusive language and behavior of antigay Christians. This is not a book explaining relevant Bible passages and their interpretations, though Chellew-Hodge advocates biblical literacy beyond literalism. Instead, it is a confident, sensible approach to handling the opposition and self-doubt that can undermine a GLBT person's sense of worth and belonging as a Christian. (Oct.) (Publishers Weekly, August 11, 2008)