Preston Ulmer - The Doubters Club: Good-Faith Conversations with Skeptics, Atheists, and the Spiritually Wounded

If youre a doubter, welcome to the club. This book will make you laugh, make you cry, and make you think. Prestons authenticity is not only endearing; its enlightening.

MARK BATTERSON, New York Times bestselling author of The Circle Maker, lead pastor of National Community Church

Most Christians think evangelism is about trying to convince nonbelievers to believe what Christians believe. In Western culture, this is painfully awkward and rarely effective, which is why, despite the New Testaments many instructions to spread the Good News, most Christians understandably shy away from it. In The Doubters Club, Preston Ulmer uses compelling stories, insightful biblical teaching, and a healthy dose of refreshingly raw (and, often, comically self-deprecating) honesty to lay out a radically different and much more compelling model of evangelism. Among other things, instead of trying to rescue skeptics from their doubts, Ulmer encourages Christians to simply befriend skeptics as they are, which includes affirming and exploring their doubts. Perhaps most importantly, Ulmer is one of those gifted communicators who inspires readers at least as much as he informs them. The Doubters Club stirred a fire in me for evangelism that I confess had become rather cool over time. I am confident this book will have a similar effect on most who read it with an open mind, which is why I sincerely hope The Doubters Club finds its way into the hands of a great multitude of Christians.

GREG BOYD, senior pastor of Woodland Hills Church, president of ReKnew.org, author of Benefit of the Doubt

The Doubters Club comes at just the right time. We live in a time of political, racial, and ideological division. This book helps us see the image of God in all people, love them for who they are, and listen and lift them up from wherever they are.

WALTER HARVEY, president of the National Black Fellowship

I love both the evangelism and discipleship that is taking place through the Doubters Club! Preston makes it possible for any of us to live with Christlike love without having to have all the answers. This book is a true north for anyone who wants to have meaningful relationships with doubters and skeptics.

DOUG CLAY, general superintendent of The Assemblies of God

This book is for the cynics, dreamers, hesitant hopefuls, and the ones all too familiar with being shamed for their doubting. Preston Ulmer shares how to move past motivations of evangelical spiritual-trophy collections to genuinely seeing and loving others authentically and naturally. The Doubters Club is simply a stunning display of Gods desire to know and love us. Are you doubting? Are you in need of a fresh perspective on how to love others as they are? Are you hopeful for unity in relationships that seem to get stuck over arguments and petty disagreements? This book is for you.

CANDACE PAYNE (CHEWBACCA MOM), author, speaker, viral sensation

Preston is a practitioner of what is presented in The Doubters Club. His writing stirs my confidence that in an increasingly skeptical world, the gospel is and always will be good news for the curious and not-yet-convinced. Preston solidifies the truth that guided wrestling with faith questions, concerns, and doubts does not have to cause someone to drift away from Christ in fact, it might cause them to drift toward him. I highly recommend this book!

JEFFERY PORTMANN, director of the Church Multiplication Network

I have been inspired by the life and ministry of Preston Ulmer for years now, and I am so thankful that he is putting the brilliance of the Doubters Club into book form. This resource will not only help doubters find faith in Christ but also help Christians to create healthy environments for doubters to wrestle with their beliefs. This book will help the church truly be the church. I highly recommend this book and look forward to the lives that will be transformed because of it.

DR. AARON BURKE, pastor of Radiant Church

The Doubters Club exists for the curious at heart. It forms a bridge that can connect people with different worldviews in a safe and honoring space. It is a comforting reminder that we are more than allowed to ask questions.

HOLLYN, American singer and songwriter

Preston Ulmer officially joins the ranks of historic Christian writers such as C. S. Lewis, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther, and Charles Spurgeon, all of whom in like manner laid bare their own doubters souls. It takes audacity to display your uncertainties, but Preston Ulmer sees the future and how evangelism will play out in the days ahead. Through masterful storytelling and a strong dose of academic rigor, Preston dispels the myth that our doubts need to remain secret and undisclosed. Instead, The Doubters Club will show you how to leverage your doubts toward a life of conviction and influence.

DR. SCOTT HAGAN, author, president of North Central University

The Doubters Club welcomes people across dividing lines to explore genuine conversations about life, faith, and purpose. Read this book with your friends, and join the conversation!

DR. DAVID DOCUSEN, author of Neighborliness: Finding the Beauty of God across Dividing Lines

NavPress is the publishing ministry of The Navigators, an international Christian organization and leader in personal spiritual development. NavPress is committed to helping people grow spiritually and enjoy lives of meaning and hope through personal and group resources that are biblically rooted, culturally relevant, and highly practical.

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The Doubters Club: Good-Faith Conversations with Skeptics, Atheists, and the Spiritually Wounded

Copyright 2021 by Preston Ulmer. All rights reserved.

A NavPress resource published in alliance with Tyndale House Publishers

NavPress and the NavPress logo are registered trademarks of NavPress, The Navigators, Colorado Springs, CO. Tyndale is a registered trademark of Tyndale House Ministries. Absence of in connection with marks of NavPress or other parties does not indicate an absence of registration of those marks.

The Team:

David Zimmerman, Acquisitions Editor; Elizabeth Schroll, Copy Editor; Olivia Eldredge, Operations Manager; Julie Chen, Designer

Cover photograph of stacked mugs by Samantha Ram on Unsplash.

The author is represented by the literary agency of WordServe Literary, www.wordserveliterary.com.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations 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. Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified Bible, copyright 2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org. Scripture quotations marked CEV are taken from the Contemporary English Version, copyright 1991, 1992, 1995 by American Bible Society. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from The Message, copyright 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers. Scripture quotations marked NCV are taken from the New Century Version. Copyright 2005 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible,