Exploring Faith and Doubt with Rachel Held Evans and Jeff Chu: A Wholehearted Journey

Me: So much wisdom in this book. It shows why she was such a bad ass

United Kingdom on Jun 30, 2023

Johnston Family: I’m deconstructing and rebuilding my faith after leaving a conservative church. This book was phenomenal in helping me appreciate my roots but be comfortable in a new faith space.

United States on Jun 27, 2023

Lane Bass: Wholehearted Faith is hard to read not because of what it has to say (which is as brilliant and witty and challenging as everything RHE has written), but because of the myriad ways it reminds us of what we have lost.

Whether this book serves as you introduction to RHE or as a final connection to the woman who opened the eyes and softened the hearts of so many, it is worth your while to read, no matter how difficult it may be.

United States on Feb 16, 2023

Patricia Rowan: It’s hard to put into words how meaningful it is to hold this book in your hands, more than two years since Rachel Held Evans died. The gift it is to read more of her words when we thought there wouldn’t be more. These pages drip with her spirit - how she always taught us to bring our whole selves to God. Our questions, our doubts, our anger, our snark, our victories, our lament. RHE is the teacher who, without a doubt, has had the greatest impact on my own life. When I heard her say that she’s a Christian because the story of Jesus is the one she’s willing to risk being wrong about, I finally had words to express my own faith.

Wholehearted Faith is a collection of essays curated and edited by Jeff Chu. The first half is a manuscript she had started on, and the second half is a series of essays on different topics. The foreword by Dan, the introduction by Jeff, and the afterword by Nadia Bloz-Weber help tie it together. Read it with tissues. I promise you’ll need them.

United States on Sep 20, 2022

EDJ: It took me a long time to read this book because I would read a chapter or two and then start crying about Rachel Held Evans' death, and I'd put it down for weeks. This book definitely helped me to grieve losing my favorite spiritual writer. I felt like she was speaking to all of us from the grave. There is such a timelessness to her writing. Such truth and depth that will always be true, valid or important. And I am so grateful to Jeff Chu for pulling it together. I heard him in mentions of "masks" and movements like "Black lives matter" that Rachel did not live to see.

This book is about Wholehearted Faith, which, thankfully, doesn't mean doubtless faith. I think it means that we are pouring our lives out because of our faith in the God of love. The book delves into really loving our enemies--having a "thick skin, tender heart." She talks about having a renewed heart (Ezekiel 36) while also expressing the depths of our emotions and leaning on the Psalms in prayer, learning new ways to pray, different from the ways of the Pharisees... and perhaps the white supremacist "Christians".

There was a chapter called "Jonathan Edwards is not my homeboy," which is a powerful...

United States on Jul 25, 2022

Shirley Fordice: Good value for cost. Arrived in timely fashion. Excellent book - easy to read.

Canada on Apr 21, 2022

Mark Davis: Lovely to won this book. The price is reasonable and it makes much sense and has a meaning too. She died before completing this book, finished by her friend. Comes recommended.

United Kingdom on Mar 24, 2022

davidjordan84: I was surprised to discover Rachel Held Evans had another book to share with us following her sudden death a couple of years ago. Many have lamented her tragic loss when we thought she would write so many more books and lead many more conferences and continue encouraging and edifying readers and fans for years to come. This posthumous volume is simultaneously delightful and sad, an encouraging example of what a wonderful writer she was and a heartbreaking reminder of what we have lost.

This book is further proof that Evans was among the best of us, and articulated so well what many of us in the Evolving Faith community think and feel and wish that we could find the words for. She speaks for us and and does it so thoughtfully, beautifully, and with such good humor. I’m inspired to go back and re-read her previous work to continue experiencing the joy that she shared with us.

United States on Nov 19, 2021