Amanda Henderson - Holy Chaos: Creating Connections in Divisive Times

Praise for Holy Chaos

Our best hope as we navigate the realities of a divided and highly polarized world is to find a love, listen, and collaborate across faith and politics not just despite our differences but because we know we need each other. Amanda Henderson is the perfect voice for these tumultuous times. With on the ground experience and the kind of leadership we desperately need for a better future, she offers us tangible ways to do our own inner work, bridge divides, and embody healthy change our world desperately needs. Holy Chaos is the perfect book for individuals and communities who want to not only learn but transform that learning into action. Kathy Escobar, co-pastor of The Refuge and author of Practicing: Changing Yourself to Change the World

I wish I could go back twenty years in time and give myself a copy of Amanda Hendersons beautiful new book, Holy Chaos. It would have saved me so many mistakes. It would have inspired me to take worthwhile risks. It would have comforted me when the work of peace-making and justice-seeking seemed terribly hard. Im so glad this book is now available for you, because we need you, right now, to become an agent in the holy work of building connections in these divisive times. Brian D. McLaren, author/speaker/activist

Amanda Henderson is a wise and generous teacher. She draws from her own experiences as pastor, activist, and (most importantly) family member to show us all that every moment is an opportunity for building relationships. In these fractured times, no one is more cherished than someone who can help us put the pieces back together. I am blessed to know her and learn from her. Jack Moline, president, Interfaith Alliance

Gracefully written, this book is a documented guide that leads its readers through a mix of religion and politics, fear and love, diversity and unity, poetry and prose, diversity and cooperation, defeat and joy, surprisingly opening readers minds to the insightful interaction of what at first glance seem to be contradictions. With unique skill, the author draws from multiple religions not to highlight differences or peddle ideologies but to introduce life-enhancing wisdom helpful for everybody. C. Welton Gaddy, president emeritus, Interfaith Alliance; pastor emeritus, Northminster Church; host, State of Belief radio program

There are many ways to live our lives; by far the most powerful and dangerous is to live vulnerably. And this is precisely why Holy Chaos is both powerful and dangerous. Amanda not only invites us toward vulnerability but makes herself vulnerable on every page of this book. In doing so, she invites us to live this kind of life, and reveals this is fertile soil for us to come together, across our pain and difference, to pursue peace and justice. Michael Hidalgo, lead pastor, Denver Community Church, author of Changing Faith: Questions, Doubts and Choices about the Unchanging God

If you have ever experienced chaos in your world, community, family, or your own heart, Amanda Hendersons wise book is for you. She offers no easy answers, rather telling stories about her own and others experiences and inviting reflection on the holiness of our messy lives. Holy Chaos is a necessary book for these divisive times. Jane E. Vennard, spiritual director and author of Fully Awake and Truly Alive: Spiritual Practices to Nurture Your Soul

Amanda Hendersons Holy Chaos is a powerful guide for people of faith who are perplexed by the challenges of our age and wondering how we might respond in impactful ways. Drawing on her stories and expertise as a pastor and community organizer, Henderson has written a book chock-full of practical insights and provocative invitations to create holy chaos in our communities to bring about the healing and redemption that our world so desperately longs for. This book is required reading for every community of faith seeking to make an impact in their world! Brandan Robertson, lead pastor of Mission Gathering Christian Church, San Diego, and author of True Inclusion: Creating Communities of Radical Embrace

Never has the release of a book been so well timed. As people of faith navigate the turbulent waters of our nations politics, it is helpful to have a guide that can bring us safely into harbor without sacrificing our souls. Amanda Henderson has not only studied the waters, but has braved them herself, leaping head first into the deep end of faith and politics. Whether she is in the capitol in a clergy collar standing against unjust systems or in a T-shirt and jeans passing out PBJs to our homeless brothers and sisters, Rev. Henderson lives her faith. Read Holy Chaos , and you will be better at living yours as well. Jerry Herships, founder of AfterHours Denver, author of Last Call and Rogue Saints

Copyright

Copyright 2020 by Amanda Henderson

All rights reserved. For permission to reuse content, please contact Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA01923, (978) 750-8400, www.copyright.com .

Bible quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked CEB in this publication are from the Common English Bible. Copyright 2011 by the Common English Bible. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version) , copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

How Does It Feel? on pages 6667 copyright 2012 by Norma Johnson of Boulder, Colorado. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

Cover design: Jennifer Pavlovitz

ChalicePress.com

Print: 9780827215153

EPUB: 9780827215160

EPDF: 9780827215177

Dedication

For Kyle,

Mia, Faith, & Ryan

For our little space in the world

where we learn how to grow,

how to struggle,

how to experience joy and laughter

in the midst of it all

while loving each other still.

Contents

Prelude

In the Midst

The morning after the 2016 presidential election, I sat, like so many others, feeling shock and deep concern for the future of our country and for my children. That same morning my father was scheduled for surgery. I was to meet my parents at the hospital two miles from my house at 8:00 a.m. I knew my parents were happy about the election results; they had the hats to prove it. I was heartbroken. I didnt understand how my mother, a strong independent woman who has always judged a mans character by his marital fidelity and treatment of women (to the point of refusing to watch movies with stars who have mistreated their wives), could vote for a person with such a horrific track record with women. I was baffled that my father, a life-long computer and science guy who values facts, could give a pass to the lies and science denial coming from the new President. Throughout the campaign season, we had spent many hours together in crowded hospital rooms, rotating between uncomfortable chairs and a pull-out bed. We had unfortunately gotten into heated debates about presidential politics, and I was not interested in reliving that tension on this day. On this painful morning I knew I needed to bracket my emotions about the election and focus on caring for my parents by being present and compassionate.