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Is Faith Failing Americans in Troubled Times? PDF Print E-mail
Author Says Organized Religion May Not Provide Sole Answers

NEWBURY PARK, Calif. The nation‟s economy has had a positive effect on the weekly attendance of churches as people look for hope and peace, but author Wayne Jacobsen is skeptical that struggling people will find the answers they seek from organized religion alone.

“Though well-intended, many of the works-driven religious cultures thrive on guilt, conformity and manipulation, which devours the very love it seeks to sustain,” said Jacobsen, author of “So You Don‟t Want to Go to Church Anymore,” a fiction-based book that looks at the effectiveness of our religious systems.

“Because organized religion is a man-made institution, it has, in instances, become more about the way people dress and talk, what reactions they allow and what songs they like to sing, than to truly engage people with a Living God,” Jacobsen continued.

Jacobsen says that this false, “works-based” system of religion can drive people away, leaving them disappointed and disillusioned, yet still searching for the hope that can be found through God‟s love even in the toughest of times.

“While some people find organized religion to be an uplifting spiritual experience, others find it empty and irrelevant. They „left religion,‟ not to abandon their faith, but to find truer expressions of it,” Jacobsen said.

“Faith is more than a performance-based attempt to ingratiate themselves to God. It is a personal engagement of love and trust with the God of the Bible.”

History has proven that in times of calamity such as 9/11, the death of a loved one or a financial crisis, people turn to religion, but often these habits fade quickly as soon as times change for the better. The reason for this short-term faith, says Jacobsen, is partly due to a false sense of dependence on an imperfect institution and a lack of understanding in the power of relational Christianity.

Is Faith Failing Americans in Troubled Times?
Jacobsen helps people understand this difference in relationship and religion in his book, “So You Don‟t Want to Go to Church Anymore” (Hachette Book Group, 9780964729223, $11.99). In addition to being an author, Jacobsen is a founder of Windblown Media and was one of the key collaborators in the writing and publication of the New York Times surprise best-seller, “The Shack,” by William Paul Young, which has sold more than 7 million copies now worldwide.

Young credits Jacobsen‟s “So You Don‟t Want to Go to Church Anymore” for the inspiration behind the format of “The Shack.” Written in the same conversational style, “So You Don‟t Want to Go to Church Anymore” takes readers on the compelling journey of 13 conversations between Jake, a church leader in a rut, and his newfound friend John, a man who talks as if he walked side-by-side with Christ. John challenges Jake‟s view of church and turns his world upside down, helping him to realize what it really means to live deep in relationship with Christ.

“So You Don‟t Want to Go to Church Anymore” is available in bookstores nationwide through a partnership with Hachette Book Group. Windblown Media publishes compelling stories that unveil God‟s heart for the spiritually curious. For more information, visit www.windblownmedia.com.

Note to Editors: To arrange an interview with Wayne Jacobsen, please contact Kristin Cole at 615.289.6701 or via e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
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