Tony Jones - Phyllis Tickle: Evangelist of the Future

PHYLLIS TICKLE

EVANGELIST
OF
THE
FUTURE

PHYLLIS TICKLE

Reflections on the Impact Shes Had on Publishing,
Religion, and the Church in America

EDITED AND WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY Tony Jones

2014 First Printing
Phyllis Tickle: Evangelist of the Future

Copyright 2014 by: Introduction, Tony Jones; Chapter One, Jon M. Sweeney; Chapter Two, Jana Riess; Chapter Three, Sister Danielle Dwyer; Chapter Four, Stephanie Spellers; Chapter Five, Ryan K. Bolger; Chapter Six, Brian D. McLaren; Chapter Seven, Sybil MacBeth; Chapter Eight, Doug Pagitt; Chapter Nine, Lauren F. Winner; Afterword, Diana Butler Bass; Annotated Bibliography, Kelly Pigott.

ISBN 978-1-61261-375-8

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Scripture references marked CEB are taken from the Common English Bible, CEB Copyright 2010, 2011 by Common English Bible. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. The CEB and Common English Bible trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Common English Bible. Use of either trademark requires the permission of Common English Bible.

The Paraclete Press name and logo (dove on cross) are trademarks of Paraclete Press, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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Published by Paraclete Press
Brewster, Massachusetts
www.paracletepress.com

Printed in the United States of America

Tony Jones

PHYLLISS GIFTS
TO
PUBLISHING
AND
THE CHURCH

BEFORE AMAZON
The Two Women Who Changed Religious Publishing
Jon M. Sweeney

SHE JUST STICKS HER ARMS OUT,
NO MATTER WHOS COMING
Phyllis Tickle and the Practice of Holy Envy
Jana Riess

WHAT LIES BENEATH
Phyllis Tickles Voice in Poetic Chancel Drama
Sister Danielle Dwyer

PHYLLISS CHALLENGES
TO MAINLINE,
EVANGELICAL,
AND
EMERGENCE CHRISTIANS

LIFE ON THE BRIDGE
Stirring Mutual Transformation in the Anglican Institution and the Emergent Frontier
Stephanie Spellers

EVANGELICALS ON A JOURNEY TO EMERGENCE
What to Take, What to Leave Behind
Ryan K. Bolger

Brian D. McLaren

PHYLLISS LEGACY
AS MIDWIFE,
FRIEND,
AND
PRAY-ER

MOTHERING AN AUTHOR THROUGH THE BIRTH OF A BOOK
Phyllis Tickle as Doula
Sybil MacBeth

Doug Pagitt

PRAYER IS A PLACE
Reflections on Praying with Phyllis Tickle
Lauren F. Winner

Diana Butler Bass

Kelly Pigott

Tony Jones

When asked, What does your husband do? my wife, Courtney, replies, Hes a freelance theologian. She likes that response because (1) it usually gets a chuckle and (2) it doesnt make me sound like a pastor or professor who cant find work.

Truth be told, I love the freelance life. But its not without anxiety. Yes, I get to write books, speak, teach, and take part-time work here and there, but Ive also got to worry about things like health insurance and retirement without anyone to back me up.

I have taken more lessons on this way of life from Phyllis Tickle than from anyone else. She is the queen of freelance theologians. In fact, itd be more accurate to call her an ecclesial gadfly. She shows up everywhere, and shes got an opinion on everything. Ive seen Phyllis Tickle challenge a nave full of becollared Episcopal clergy to get their heads out of the sand, and Ive seen her address a stadium of 10,000 evangelical youth pastors. At the latter, she made one guy so angry that he rushed the stage and looked like he was going to deck her. One of the conference organizers jumped in between them and restrained the ornery youth pastor.

And, like a superhero, Phyllis escaped into the night.

Festschrift is a bit of a strange word. As you might guess, it comes from German and means a celebratory piece of writing. Its what the colleagues of a prominent theologian write when he or she retires. In academia, its an honor both to have a Festschrift devoted to your work and to be asked to edit a Festschrift for one of your mentors.

But as a freelance academicas one who travels the country and teaches clergy and laity outside the confines of a seminary faculty positionPhyllis doesnt have academic colleagues, per se. Shes done more to teach church history, biblical interpretation, and practical theology than a truckload full of seminary professors, but without a faculty job, she wasnt going to get a Festschrift. Thats why I approached Paraclete Press about this volume. Happily, they concurred: Phyllis deserves a Festschrift.

Another thing that Phyllis and I have in common is a great love of the Latin language, so Im quite sure that she will agree with me that the Latin term for this kind of volume is superior: liber amicorumliterally, a book of friends.

This is, indeed, a collection of essays by Phylliss friends. And, as much as I implored them to focus on Phylliss work, on her contribution to scholarship and church history, and on her challenges to future generations, they continued to default to at least some mention of her as a person. What you will find in the pages that follow is a wonderful mix of the personal and the professional, from Sybil MacBeth telling about how Phyllis is her literary midwife to Jon M. Sweeney tracing the influential arc of Phylliss work in the publishing industry. In each chapter, youll get some of Phyllis the person and some of Phyllis the professional; some chapters lean more to one side, some to the other.

The plain fact is that you cant really reflect on Phylliss work without reflecting on her as a person. If she likes you, shell take you into her heart faster than a redneck superchicken. She did with me. If she doesnt like you, look out. (But chances are shell like you.)

Heres the thing, Phyllis has a keen bullshitometer. Shes shoveled her share of literal BS on her farm, and shes seen plenty of it in the church and publishing worlds. She can smell it from a mile away. And she doesnt like it. Recently, during an interview, National Public Radios Krista Tippett jokingly told Phyllis that shes not very politically correct, and Ive got to say thats one of the things that I love most about Phyllis. Maybe its her age, or her Southern charm, or a combination thereof, but shes able to write and say things that would get the rest of us in a lot of hot water.