Rescuing Jesus
Reviewed by: Becca Laabs
Bibliographic Information: Lee, Deborah Jian. Rescuing Jesus: How People of Color, Women, & Queer Christians are Reclaiming Evangelicalism. Boston: Beacon Press, 2015. 268 pages. $26.95. ISBN: 9780807075074.
Content Warnings: mentions of queerphobia and queerphobic interpretations throughout, passing mentions of conversion therapy
Written by journalist and professor Deborah Jian Lee, Rescuing Jesus is the culmination of eight years of field and academic research on the topic of marginalized people in the loosely-defined “evangelical” or conservative Christian church in America. Lee, a former evangelical Christian herself, weaves together the personal accounts of four young, progressive, self-proclaimed evangelical reformers with an expansive body of research on church trends, politics, and sociology as well as her own personal experience with evangelicalism in her youth. This book focuses primarily on the experiences of people of color, women, and queer people in the evangelical church and how this church has played a role in their marginalization and oppression.
Over the course of this book, readers follow the story of various evangelical (or former evangelical) radicals: Lisa Sharon Harper, a black writer and activist that works to mobilize conservative Christians to support immigration reform and combat racial profiling; Rev. Jennifer Crumpton, an evangelical feminist that fights against harmful patriarchal structures in the evangelical church; and Will Haggerty and Tasha Magness, former queer students of Biola University that fought against the anti-queer policies on their campus. Each of these four individuals, as well as Lee herself, describe similar yet distinct, experiences of oppression and marginalization in evangelical communities. This book chronicles their journey of transforming those experiences of oppression into catalysts of change, weaving the narrative and research to paint a picture of the changing face of Evangelicalism in the 21st century.
As a whole, this book is highly effective and informative: showcasing to readers the evangelical church is in the midst of substantial reform and humanizing the reform through the specific stories of Sharon, Jennifer, Will, and Tasha. Lee’s mastery as a journalist shines in the seamless combination of personal narrative and thoroughly researched statistics. In true journalistic form, Lee presents a mostly impartial explanation of the facts. While the personal narratives are told with emotion and compassion, facts presented alongside them are given without much commentary. Although it is evident to readers that Lee is in favor of reforming the evangelical church, she does not make an explicit argument about it. Instead, she tells the true stories of progressive evangelicals, letting their narratives and facts argue that reform is both necessary and already happening in the evangelical church.
This book does a surprising amount in relatively few pages. Not only do readers engage with the four stories, but Lee also barrages readers with seemingly endless relevant research. In part one, “Conformists,” Lee introduces readers to the traditional understandings of the evangelical church. She introduces the people readers will follow through the rest of the book, telling us how they came into the evangelical tradition and how even when they were doing everything “right,” something always made them feel out of place or less than. For Lee and Sharon, it was their race. For Jennifer, it was her gender. And for Will and Tasha, it was their sexuality. The statistics presented alongside these opening stories paint a similar picture of a predominantly white, patriarchal, and queerphobic evangelical church. This portion of the book is effective in a few ways. Not only would it be deeply resonant to many evangelical readers, it also leaves the reader itching for more. Assuming a reader of this book is at the very least interested in considering how the evangelical church might be reformed, this portion of the book is designed to make the reader want to scream at these people that they deserve better, that something has to change.
The next part of the book, “Skeptics,” is the portion of the book that begins to overtly introduce the reader to the “problem.” This is the point in the story where everyone begins to realize that something is wrong. Sharon realizes that she struggles to balance her black identity with her evangelical one. Jennifer realizes she’s not content with the box her church has trapped her in as a woman. Will and Tasha realize being queer is part of who they are, and they’re not able to keep themselves a secret. Readers follow their stories as they take risks and burst out of the status quos they feel trapped in. This section is incredibly effective, drawing readers close to these people and making them care about their lives and their stories. Likewise, Lee presents even more research, reminding readers time and time again that these stories are not outliers and that they are part of a systemic problem in the evangelical church.
Finally, the last part of the book, “Radicals,” packs the most punch, driving home the argument that not only do things have to change, but that they are starting to. This section emphasizes the big changes each individual chose to make in their lives and how many of them turned into an opportunity for ministry, activism, or advocacy. To some extent, we see the “end” of each person’s struggle, giving the book a nice sense of conclusion. However, Lee makes it very clear the “end” is really more of a beginning as she details the work that each person goes on to do after their break from traditional evangelicalism.
Woven together with the statistics that show many evangelicals, even those who aren’t outspoken reformers and leaders, want change. This portion of the book is nothing short of inspiring. It emphasizes the power of individuals to make a difference while simultaneously showcasing more widespread data. Masterfully, Lee shifts the tone of this book from one of hopelessness and oppression to one of hope and rebellion, proving that change is necessary and possible.
Overall, Lee did an excellent job of exposing me, a liberal protestant born and raised in the mainline tradition, to a side of evangelicalism that I didn’t even know existed. The personal narratives were touching and engaging, inspiring me to learn more about these people and their work today. Likewise, the statistical data was incredibly compelling and well-cited. Together, the blending of those two components was both powerful and convincing. Truly, she managed to give me some hope for a segment of Christianity that I often consider a little hopeless. The only thing really holding me back from accepting her argument fully is the publication date. Lee conducted research for an wrote this book between the years 2007 and 2015, a time in which America was swinging more progressive culturally and politically under the Obama administration in a post-Bush era. Much of what Lee writes clearly reflects that time, especially at points in the narrative when activism and lobbying are specifically described in that setting. Today, America as a whole is in a very different place socially, politically, and culturally, and I would be very curious to see how Lee’s conclusions and research would be different under the Trump administration when we are having a resurgence of what she describes as the “Christian Right.” This movement typified by conservative Christians taking an active stance in both the religious and political sphere. Based on what I am seeing in America today, I have a feeling she might reach some slightly different conclusions.
Ultimately, I would recommend this book for a variety of readers. As someone invested in the inclusivity of the church and the attempts to shape the church into a more diverse, welcoming, and socio-politically active institution, I think this is an incredibly worthwhile read for both evangelicals and non-evangelicals alike. Due to the level of research and vocabulary used, it would probably be best suited to college-aged individuals and older. Based on the subject matter, I believe it would be a great read for pastors, seminarians, and anyone else in church or ministerial leadership. Lee does not use any excessive jargon, and the piece reads as an extended article from a publication such as the New Yorker. The writing style is approachable for lay individuals as well as clergy. This is an important read for anyone in the evangelical church invested in reforming the church to be more diverse, inclusive, and progressive.
My only caution to potential readers of the book is that some of the individuals do tell heart-wrenching stories of racism, sexism, and queerphobia. While none of this is in graphic or explicit detail, it does explore some tender subjects, especially for people who have been hurt by a church due to these types of beliefs. If you are sensitive to that material, this book could be difficult to read. Overall, the tone is kept very informative, and the language is typically mild. Rescuing Jesus presents a thoughtful, personal explanation of the progressive evangelical movements in the 21st century as well as providing readers with a wealth of resources and citations for further research and exploration.