Then, one day, they had a chance to meet and they talked through the core of Lutheran theology: salvation by grace. And Rosebrough often criticized Bolz-Weber on his show. He is, in many ways, all that Bolz-Weber would oppose. The most poignant story in the entire book, in my opinion, is that of Bolz-Weber’s relationship with Chris Rosebrough from Pirate Christian Radio, a very conservative Lutheran (from the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod ) who runs a very conservative radio show. I’ll not summarize the entire contents of the book but rather I have selected one story to give a brief sample of how the book flows. The book traces Bolz-Weber’s path towards the ministry through her years in recovery from alcoholism to her starting a church: “House For All Sinners and Saints” and the struggles and triumphs she experienced throughout these events. Her latest book is filled with autobiographical stories and a number of anecdotes which focus around the subtitle: they are often cranky, sometimes beautiful, and they reflect a sinner-saint. In short, this book is for every thinking misfit suspicious of institutionalized religion, but who is still seeking transcendence and mystery.Nadia Bolz-Weber is an edgy, hard-hitting, and often witty pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Wildly entertaining and deeply resonant, this is the book for people who hunger for a bit of hope that doesn’t come from vapid consumerism or navel-gazing for women who talk too loud, and guys who love chick flicks for the gay man who loves Jesus, and won’t allow himself to be shunned by the church. Using life stories-from living in a hopeful-but-haggard commune of slackers to surviving the wobbly chairs and war stories of a group for recovering alcoholics, from her unusual but undeniable spiritual calling to pastoring a notorious con artist-Nadia uses stunning narrative and poignant honesty to portray a woman who is both deeply faithful and deeply flawed, giving hope to the rest of us along the way. Surrounded by fellow alcoholics, depressives, and cynics, she realized: These were her people. Heavily tattooed and loud-mouthed, Nadia, a former stand-up comic, sure as hell didn’t consider herself to be religious leader material-until the day she ended up leading a friend’s funeral in a smoky downtown comedy club. Now a New York Times bestseller, Nadia Bolz-Weber takes no prisoners as she reclaims the term “pastrix”(pronounced “pas-triks,” a term used by some Christians who refuse to recognize female pastors) in her messy, beautiful, prayer-and-profanity laden narrative about an unconventional life of faith.

Cranky beautiful faith