A Year of Gratitude
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; because his mercy endures forever.
Psalm 118
This Christmas season, the end of 2022, I am grateful. Although it is embarrassing, I want to share some of the reviews The Four Ways Forward: Becoming an Apostolic Church in a Post-Christian Age has received. The purpose isn’t to brag, but to thank, and to perhaps encourage you fence-sitters…I think this book will help us move forward into a new day in our Church.
“The Four Ways Forward provides a winsome, robust, and, most importantly, spot-on way of seeing and understanding emerging models and principles of parish renewal, evangelization, and mission. Windley-Daoust has a gift for classifying and systematizing contemporary approaches to the New Evangelization at a high enough level to make them distinct and digestible, while also describing them with enough detail to make them eminently useful to leaders and practitioners working at the level of diocesan or parish application. This is, perhaps, one of the most important books on evangelization and renewal at this present moment. As an author, I am, frankly, jealous. As someone who works full time in the area of missionary renewal, I am SO grateful that this book exists. ” — Deacon Keith Strohm, Executive Director of M3 Ministries and author of Ablaze: 5 Paradigm Shifts for Parish Renewal
“Dr. Susan Windley-Daoust convincingly outlines practical pathways forward for the missionary renewal of the parish in a post-Christian, apostolic age. Her writing is accessible, her tone warm and engaging, and her scholarship deep and rich. She combines her years of practical experience in diocesan, parish, and academic settings to provide models that any parish or ministry can use to move more deeply into mission. A must-read for Church leadership! ” — Julianne Stanz, Director of Parish Evangelization and Discipleship for the Diocese of Green Bay, author of Start with Jesus: How Everyday Disciples Will Renew the Church
“Every new bishop needs this book.” — Jennifer Fitz, author of The How-to Book of Evangelization: Everything You Need to Know But No-one Ever Taught You and the One Soul at a Time substack.
“If you want to read one book on the new evangelization, make it this one. It is a synopsis of everything else that is being said and then some. Susan Windley-Daoust writes as a teacher, a scholar, a mom, a parishioner and a diocesan director of missionary discipleship. Mostly, she writes as a missionary disciple herself….
As I reflected on what I was reading, I became convinced that Susan was indeed inspired by the Holy Spirit to write this book.” — Dan Ebener, author of Strategic Planning: An Interactive Process for Leaders, and Director of Parish Planning for the Diocese of Davenport.
“Got the Kindle version on the day it was released and gobbled it up! An important read for those of us fostering renewal in parishes today. Thank you for your valuable work and contribution to the Church! Thank you for your witness to Christ and His Mission of Love!” — Amazon reviewer
—You all, I am not worthy. This is a seriously humbling response. I take it to mean that this book strikes a long, loud chord with people reading the signs of the times in our current day. As usual, if this speaks to people, and helps them engage the four ways forward to becoming apostolic parishes in our contemporary world: all praise and glory to God. Thank you for reading. This feedback (whether praise or critical!) is so helpful to all of us who desire to share God’s love with a people in need through the spiritual powder keg in our midst: our parishes.
And if you haven’t read it…I hear it may be worth your while! It’s available here, and free discussion questions and assessment tools are available through Gracewatch Media.
