Taylor, Barbara Brown 1951-

views updated

Taylor, Barbara Brown 1951-

PERSONAL:

Born September 21, 1951, in Lafayette, IN; daughter of Earl Clement and Grace Brown; married E. Edward Taylor, November 20, 1982; children: stepdaughters Kathleen Jacobs and Claire Mills. Education: Emory University, B.A., 1973, and Yale Divinity School, M.Div., 1976.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Piedmont College, P.O. Box 10, Demorest GA 30535. E-mail—[email protected]; [email protected].

CAREER:

Writer, minister (clergy), and educator. Ordained as an Episcopal priest. Candler School of Theology, assistant to the dean, 1976-81; Yale Divinity School, assistant director of development, 1981-82; Georgia Baptist Medical Center, chaplain, 1982-1983; All Saints' Church, associate rector, 1983-92; Grace-Calvary Church, rector, 1992-97; Piedmont College, Demorest GA, Harry R. Butman Chair in Religion and Philosophy, 1997—; Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, GA, adjunct professor of Christian spirituality, 2001—. Also has lectured on preaching at Yale, Princeton, and Duke Universities, and has preached at churches across the country and been a commentator on Georgia Public Radio.

MEMBER:

Academy of Homiletics, American Academy of Religion, Society of Biblical Literature, Center for Progressive Christianity.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Yale Divinity School Alumni Award, 1993; Associated Church Press Award of Excellence, 1996, 2001, 2002, 2003; The Emory Medal, Emory University, 1998. Honorary degrees from Piedmont College, 1995; Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, 1997; Colgate University, 2001; Virginia Theological Seminary, 2001; Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, 2002; Hastings University, 2005; The University of the South, 2005; Wake Forest University, 2006.

WRITINGS:

NONFICTION

(Editor) Ministry & Mission: Theological Reflections for the Life of the Church, foreword by Jim L. Waits, Post Horn Press (Atlanta, GA), 1985.

Mixed Blessings, S. Hunter (Atlanta, GA), 1986.

The Preaching Life, Cowley Publications (Cambridge, MA), 1993.

Gospel Medicine, Cowley Publications (Cambridge, MA), 1995.

Bread of Angels, Cowley Publications (Cambridge, MA), 1997.

When God Is Silent, Cowley Publications (Cambridge, MA), 1998.

God in Pain: Teaching Sermons on Suffering, Abingdon Press (Nashville, TN), 1998.

Home By Another Way, Cowley Publications (Cambridge, MA), 1999.

The Luminous Web: Essays on Science and Religion, Cowley Publications (Cambridge, MA), 2000.

Speaking of Sin: The Lost Language of Salvation, Cowley Publications (Cambridge, MA), 2000.

The Seeds of Heaven: Sermons on the Gospel of Matthew, Westminster John Knox Press (Louisville, KY), 2004.

Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith, HarperSanFrancisco (San Francisco, CA), 2006.

Contributor to books and anthologies, including Best Spiritual Writing 1999, edited by Philip Zaleski, HarperSanFrancisco (San Francisco, CA), 1999; Best Christian Writing 2002, edited by John Wilson HarperSanFrancisco (San Francisco, CA), 2002; Just Preaching: Prophetic Voices for Economic Justice, edited by Andre Resner, Jr., Chalice Press, 2003; What's The Matter with Preaching Today?, edited by Michael Graves, Westminster John Knox (Baltimore, MD), 2004; Preaching in the New Millennium, edited by Frederick J. Streets, Yale University Press (New Haven, CT), 2005; and Sermons from Duke Chapel, edited by William H. Willimon, Duke University Press (Durham, NC), 2005. Columnist for the Christian Century.

ADAPTATIONS:

Books have been adapted for audio, including Gospel Medicine, Episcopal Media Center, 1997; Home By Another Way, Episcopal Media Center, 2000; and Speaking of Sin, Episcopal Media Center, 2003.

SIDELIGHTS:

A longtime Episcopal priest, Barbara Brown Taylor has written numerous books about Christian faith as well as a memoir in which she writes about her life and developing new perspectives on Christianity. As an Episcopal priest she wrote books such as When God Is Silent, in which the author talks about the importance of language in preaching when people are looking for a word from God. In a review in the Christian Century, Kathleen Norris wrote: "Concise, pithy and challenging prose is evidence that she is practicing what she preaches: that Christian pastors take more care with the words they use and treat language with economy, courtesy and reverence." Bread of Angels, is a collection of Taylor's sermons that were called "simple in theme but elegant in expression" by Christian Century contributor Martin B. Copenhaver.

While Taylor long followed the path of traditional Christianity, her memoir, Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith, reveals how the author begin to question these traditional beliefs and ultimately left her station as an active Episcopal priest, although she remains ordained and in good standing with the church. The author writes of her youth and how she was drawn to religion and also details her life as a minister and the many duties it encompassed. The author also discusses her growing feeling of distance from the Episcopal Church and her reassessment of Christianity. In a review in the Library Journal, Leroy Hommerding wrote: "This easy-to-read memoir is likely to speak to adults dealing with doubt, tension, or grief." Lillian Daniel, writing in the Christian Century, noted: "Coming from one of the best-loved preachers of our day, her words about ministry and faith will carry great weight, and they should. She has earned the right to reflect on the pastoral life." Detroit Free Press contributor David Crumm called the memoir a "moving story"and one that "leads us in unexpected directions."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Taylor, Barbara Brown, Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith, HarperSanFrancisco (San Francisco, CA), 2006.

PERIODICALS

Christian Century, November 19, 1997, Martin B. Copenhaver, review of Bread of Angels, p. 1062; May 19, 1999, Kathleen Norris, review of When God Is Silent, p. 567; May 30, 2006, Lillian Daniel, review of Leaving Church, p. 41.

Dallas Morning News, June 10, 2006, "Q&A with Barbara Brown Taylor: Leaving Sermons Behind."

Detroit Free Press, July 1, 2006, David Crumm, review of Leaving Church.

First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life, June-July, 2006, Jason Byassee, review of Leaving Church, p. 38.

Library Journal, April 1, 2006, Leroy Hommerding, review of Leaving Church, p. 100.