17.08.2015
Restoring Trust Between Faith and Culture – Greg Fromholz’s New Book Out This Week
Where has the trust gone and how can it be restored is the not insignificant question Greg Fromholz tackles in his latest book. Broken: Restoring Trust Between the Sacred & the Secular is published this week by Abingdon Press and focuses on the rift caused by the growing disconnect between the instructions of Jesus and the actions of his followers.
“Through attitudes that appear exclusive and judgmental, believers no longer embrace culture but separate from it. Some are quick to blame the church and God. But the truth is Jesus didn’t fail. We did. We lost each other’s trust,” Greg says.
Greg, who is an acclaimed video director, speaker and author, is also the coordinator of Dublin and Glendalough’s Ministry to Young Adults based in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin.
In Broken he issues a bold call to mend the shattered relationship between the sacred and the secular, to not just repair but fully restore the trust that has been lost. Harnessing the power of stories from the Bible, history, c ulture, and his own experiences, Greg explores where it all went wrong and how to reconnect.
The book is the fruit of two years’ labour. Greg has sat in coffee shops, walked in Glendalough, loitered in St Stephen’s Green, wrestling with what he feels is one of the biggest issues today – the loss of trust between faith and culture. He did a TedX talk on the subject last year.
“It’s about the disconnect that’s been caused by the way we’re living our faith and the damage that has been done by the inconsistency of our love,” he explains. “Those outside the church are saying ‘Whatever’. I’m saying that I’ve failed to represent God correctly and asking how do we reestablish the trust between ourselves and God… The book breaks down the different ways of reestablishing trust between the sacred and the secular through forgiveness and collaboration.”
Greg adds that the sacred is found in the secular – God is not limited to a church building. “The way I lived my faith and did my ministry changed when I realized that I wasn’t bringing Jesus to people but was participating in what God was already doing when I arrived,” he says.
Broken: Restoring Trust Between the Sacred & the Secular has been widely endorsed with praise coming from well known Christian authors and activists around the world including Gabe Lyons, Shane Claiborne, Phyllis Tickle, Pete Greig and Martin Smith.
Archbishop Michael Jackson has endorsed the book saying: “His skill as a communicator shines through in the written word, which at times is as close to poetry as it is to prose. He is clear that communication is service of the Word of God. A number of compelling themes for our time cause us to stop, pray, and think afresh, for example: compassion precedes justice, and collaboration is the catalyst for change. This book is perspective–changing. Please read it”.
The late Revd Jack Heaslip stated: “In Broken, Greg Fromholz focuses on the essential but scary ingredient of peace building: TRUST. Trust is the real peacemaker’s challenge that won’t be satisfied with a placard or bumper sticker. He chooses the most untrusting of opponents—the Sacred and the Secular—opting not just to talk of ‘building trust’ or ‘maintaining trust’ but to confront the enormous problem of ‘restoring trust’ when trust has been lost”.
Greg Fromholz is a video director, speaker and author of Liberate Eden, a groundbreaking interactive iPad book app. He has contributed to a prayer book alongside Bishop Desmond Tutu and is featured in numerous leadership resources. He, along with the Revd Rob Jones, is a co–founder of Rubicon, a faith and culture think tank and co–hosts, with the Revd Alan Breen and Scott Evans, the very popular podcast The Graveyard Shift.
Broken is available to preorder now on Amazon and will be in all good bookshops from tomorrow, August 18.