What It Is, Where It Is Going, and Why It Matters. Whatever else one might say about Emergence Christianity, one must agree it is shifting and reconfiguring itself in such a prodigious way as to defy any final assessments or absolute pronouncements. Yet in Emergence Christianity, Phyllis Tickle gathers the tangled threads of history and weaves the story of this fascinating movement into a beautiful and understandable whole.

Through her careful study and culture-watching, Tickle invites you to join this investigation and conversation as an open-minded explorer. You will discover fascinating insights into the concerns, organizational patterns, theology, and most pressing questions facing the church today. And you'll get a tantalizing glimpse of the future. Welcome to the story that's still being written . . .

About the Author: Phyllis Tickle is an authority on religion in America and a much sought after lecturer on the subject. Founding editor of the Religion Department of Publishers Weekly, she is frequently quoted by media sources.

"What a fascinating read! Phyllis Tickle tackles emergent Christianity once again. In this volume, she takes the conversation further, filling in all the details and answering the who, what, where, why, and how of the movement. Never in one volume have I seen such a diverse set of Christian movements not only listed but analyzed for their meaning as it related to the bigger picture. As we have come to expect, Tickle has done her homework, and the result is a unique contribution to the conversation about what Christianity has and will become in the twenty-first century." --Ryan Bolger, associate professor, Church in Contemporary Culture, Fuller Theological Seminary

"Finally someone has put the emergence conversation in the wider historical context it deserves--showing how what is now emerging owes so much to contributors over the last century, from Walter Raushenbusch to Johann Baptist Metz, from Dorothy Day to Mary and Gordon Cosby, from Azusa Street to Taizé and Iona to Buenos Aires. Phyllis Tickle gets it right and conveys it beautifully, so more and more readers can be a part of it . . . with a clearer understanding of what 'it' is!" --Brian D. McLaren, author/speaker/networker

"You will find many wonderful things between the covers of this book: provocative questions and astute observations about sacred space, hierarchy, authority. Scattered throughout are fascinating history lessons--who knew that a musical decision made in a Seattle church in 1956 is still reverberating in early-twenty-first-century house churches? Finally, Tickle's insights will help the church reflect on a larger question: How can we best serve the kingdom of God right now?" --Lauren F. Winner, author of Mudhouse Sabbath and Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis