The Liturgy of Politics: Spiritual Formation for the Sake of Our Neighbor

"If all of us are formed by our practices, and politics is a kind of practice, how then are we as disciples of Jesus Christ being ordered through our political participation to the love of neighbor? That is the important question Kaitlyn Schiess has posed in The Liturgy of Politics. I won't spoil the book by giving you the answers here, but let's just say they're likely to catch you off guard a time or two. And if you take her cross-shaped account to heart, you might even find yourself confronted with a need both for repentance and a vision of hope. I think Schiess's book will be widely read and just as widely appreciated."

--Matthew Arbo, associate professor of theological studies and director of the Center for Faith and Public Life, Oklahoma Baptist University

"What hath the upper room to do with the Oval Office? What does the Spirit have to do with the Senate? In The Liturgy of Politics, Kaitlyn Schiess offers an insightful framework for thinking about these two at-first-glance antagonists. Many evangelicals nowadays seem to be suffering from worldview dissonance--shunning political engagement altogether because it's 'dirty work' or shirking genuine and careful participation because dogmatism and bumper-sticker responses roll off the tongue more easily. Schiess offers a careful and sustained via media that emphasizes the movement, timing, and practices of the church, which instill a vision for gathering community and reforming political participation. With fluent brilliance, Schiess does this by looking to ancient and contemporary voices such as Augustine, Karl Barth, and Jamie Smith. She reminds us that every time we enter that dusty, smelly building with well-worn pews, we throw ourselves at the right way to move and live and have our being--in shared spaces with our neighbor in the world!"

--Kyle David Bennett, associate professor of philosophy and chair of the theology and philosophy department at Caldwell University

"The Liturgy of Politics is a much-needed discourse on effective leadership in politics and caring for our culture. I have been following Kaitlyn's important voice for some time now, and I am delighted to have her contribution for our journey toward the New."

--Makoto Fujimura, artist, author of Culture Care and Silence and Beauty

"Is the church today forming our political landscape or being formed by it? There is world of difference between the two. The Liturgy of Politics shows us how the modern church has come to get this relationship backward--and how we might set it right again. Well-founded, big-hearted, and wise, this is a book that could make a world of difference."

--Karen Swallow Prior, author of On Reading Well and Fierce Convictions

"Neighborliness is a skill one must learn. We do not enter the world fully equipped to be faithful citizens or fruitful members of our local communities. Rather, we learn the skills, virtues, and habits that are required for faithful participation in common life over time. Or, too often, we don't learn any of those things, and we set out on the quest to live honorable lives in our homes, neighborhoods, cities, states, and nation radically unprepared for the challenges laid before us. Kaitlyn Schiess's The Liturgy of Politics is a worthy reflection on where mature community members come from and how our churches, schools, and neighborhoods can be shaping such people now. I am happy to commend this fine study to you."

--Jake Meador, editor-in-chief of Mere Orthodoxy and author of In Search of the Common Good: Christian Fidelity in a Fractured World