FAVORITE ReviewS
Lessons in Belonging
RELEVANT’S TOP 10 BOOKS OF 2015, NON-FICTION
“In further wrestling with the nature and practice of church, Erin Lane challenges us to imagine a faith in which belonging is just as important as believing. This will be another excellent resource for those who are struggling with church.” – C. Christopher Smith, Relevant Magazine
“Erin S. Lane’s new book, Lessons in Belonging from a Church-Going Commitment Phobe, is a revelation. . . . Lane challenges, encourages, exhorts, and entertains; she crafts her stories with care and integrity, with fierce wit, and vulnerability. She is a writer’s writer—one who weaves story and scripture together seamlessly, while forging beautiful sentences. Lane loves words, but not as much as she loves the church.” – Janell Anema, Evangelicals for Social Action
“‘I don’t think I’ve ever looked forward to going to church for the people.’ You have to love a book that makes this declaration. Erin Lane tells a good story about her curious condition as an incurable introvert who nonetheless loves the church—and is married to a pastor to boot. Part church history, part spiritual memoir, part theological treatise on Christian community, Lessons in Belonging suggests how we might shed ‘illusions of how belonging should happen.'”
– Anne Blue Wills, The Christian Century
Talking Taboo
HEARTS & MINDS BEST BOOKS OF 2013
“We award this for a few reasons, not the least of which is that it is entertaining reading, good writing, finely crafted essays and engaging storytelling. More obviously, though, the pain and disenfranchisement experienced by many women in many religious settings is simply a matter that must be talked about. In many places sins against women are legend and the voices of women nearly excluded.” – Bryon Borger, HeartsandMindsBook.com
“The anthology as a genre here speaks for itself. By placing the stories together, by keeping them loose and unbounded, the stories meld together as if to form the voice of one strong, loud woman. To read Talking Taboo is to have a long conversation with that woman. For some, her story may be familiar; for others, her voice and perspective may be new. Either way, the thing to do is to listen.”
– Rebecca Kraybill, Sojourners
“This significant book offers a glimpse of the diverse lived realities of Christian women and encourages the church to accept the full humanity of women.”
– Publisher Weekly, Starred Review
feature stories
“Reaching a New Generation with the Bible,” by Cara Meredith, CT Pastors, Spring 2017
“Redefining Fruitful,” by Ellen Painter Dollar, Sojourners, January 2016
“Why Are Women Leaving the Church?” by Roxanne Stone, Today’s Christian Woman, June 2015
“Women ‘Talking Taboo;’ Looking for Change Inside the Christian Community,” by Morgan Lee, Christian Post, December 20, 2013
“Women and Taboos: Leaning In, and Getting Frank About Faith, Sexuality, and the Bible,” by Jamie Calloway-Hanauer, Sojo.net, November 10, 2013
AUTHOR interviews
“Angsty Book Proposals with Erin Lane,” Episode 167, This Good Word with Steve Wiens podcast, October 4, 2018
“Women (and Restlessness and Singleness) in Churches w/Erin Lane,” Episode 112, Blue Ocean World podcast, August 3, 2018
“Erin Lane on Taking Sabbatical and Celebrating Small Victories,” Episode 16, Kindreds podcast, April 3, 2018
“Belonging with Erin Lane,” Everything is Workable podcast, April 27, 2017
“Erin Lane Commitment & Living Your Words,” Episode 33, Inefficiency podcast, June 13, 2016
“Erin Lane Disillusionment & Commitment,” Episode 32, Inefficiency podcast, June 8, 2016
“Lessons in Belonging – Erin Lane,” Steve Brown, Etc., February 8, 2016
“God w/Erin S. Lane,” Episode 18, This Good Word with Steve Wiens podcast, December 13, 2015
“Why Millennials Are Leaving the Church,” Dr. Bill Maier Live, June 27, 2015
“Erin Lane, Author of Lessons in Belonging from a Church-Going Commitment Phobe,” Episode 74, Seminary Dropout, March 18, 2015
“A case for church from a self-described ‘commitment phobe‘,” by Jonathan Merritt, Religion News Service, March 16, 2015
“I’m a Christian. But I’ve Forgotten How to Belong to the Church,” by Laura Turner, Christianity Today, January 29, 2015
“Erin Lane, Enuma Okoro: Talking Taboo,” God Complex Radio with Carol Howard Merritt & Derrick Weston, November 25, 2013
“Talking Taboo: An Interview with Enuma Okoro and Erin Lane About Women, Faith, and Hot Topics,” by Amy Julia Becker, Patheos, November 25, 2013
ADDITIONAL MEDIA
“IVP ‘On Series’: A Collection of Short Questions on Big Ideas with Erin Lane,” InterVarsityPress, July 2015
“Making Peace with the Church Panel:Finding Grace and Authenticity in an Age of Skepticism,” Regent Redux, February 3, 2015
