The Unauthorized Guide to Choosing a Church

by Carmen Renee Berry

Book Overview

This wise and humorous book introduces readers to each major Christian denomination, empowering them to make an informed decision when choosing a church. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1587430363
• ISBN13: 9781587430367
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Brazos Press
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 7.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

One of the best faith guides I've seen...

This book has proved to be a treasure to me. I'm a journalist who writes frequently about religion and the way that Berry sorts out, defines and describes the nuances of different styles of Christian worship is terrific! Raised in the Nazarene faith, Berry has grown into the kind of seeking Christian who is able to write clearly and without bias about different aspects of Christian experience. Her descriptions of the differences between "Catholic," "Congregational" and "Wesleyan" churches, for instance, are dead on. She spices up her history with a lot of humor...her portrayal of John Knox is great "I believe he can be best understood as a Scotsman first, and then as a Protestant..." After reading this book, for the first time in my life I feel I really understand the difference between things like "African Methodist Episcopal, "AME Zion," "CME," what makes a church a "holiness" church, what it really means to be "Baptist" as opposed to other Protestant experiences. She offers great tips and perspectives on what you'll experience by attending worship at different churches. This book is ideal for anybody who is searching for a Christian church, researching different Christian denominations, may be looking to return to the Christian fold or just simply wants to understand more about their own faith. One of the few indispensable research books that's also just plain fun to read!

Practical for Lots of Reasons

Ms. Berry's book does just what it sets out to do. As a graduate of a seminary with a degree in theology, I wish I'd had much of the information she included in her exploration of various denominations and church history. She takes what scores of theologians spend oodles of time writing volumes on and distills it to the essentials. If you're a "born-again" Christian looking to understand more about many denominations, this book is great. Just remember that the intent of this book is NOT to convert souls, but rather to explain how denominations came to be, and what they basically look like as a result. I would highly recommend this book to anyone either looking for a church, trying to help someone understand the nuances between churches, or simply trying to make sense of the cumbersome topic of church history. I'm proud of Ms. Berry's ability to take a topic like this and make it accessible to everyone.

A earnestly written, amusing, ultimate resouce!

Having been a member all my life of a local Methodist church, deciding to find a new place to worship was both difficult and wrenching, leaving friends with whom I'd formed close relationships. But I knew- KNEW - that I was spiritually stagnating. Ergo buying Carmen Berry's "Unauthorized Guide to Choosing a Church". Berry helped me understand my need for growth, giving me the run-down of churches in my area with an eye towards history, tradition, and belief systems. So this is a pretty weighty tome, right? Wrong. With a mixture of relaxed commentary and amusing anecdotes, Berry's book captivates and informs from page one. I'd recommend this to pretty much everybody as a useful, interesting read that manages to be both spiritual yet without the saccharine that I'm used to in similar books.

good reference for anyone looking for a church

This book gives a good overview of churches in America. The research was extensive, reviewing some obscure groups...I felt like the author did a good job of being objective...there were pros and cons to every group....I agreed with her representation of the groups I have personally visited....So, 1-extensive research, 2-objective, 3-easy reference, and 4-well written.

Fascinating and Informative

Having just left a difficult church situation, I found this book fascinating. Berry is well-researched and quite literate in the ups and downs of committing to any particular church or denomination. Her sense of humor lends lightheartedness to a subject that has too often been overshadowed by scandals and misunderstandings. If you're looking for information and guidance on choosing a church without having to wade through the author's individual preferences, this is the book for you!