Tables in the Wilderness: A Memoir of God Found, Lost, and Found Again

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Overview

Preston Yancey arrived at Baylor University in the autumn of 2008 with his life figured out, then slowly each piece of his secure world fell apart: his church, his life of study, his politics, his girlfriend, his best friend, and his God.

It was the loss of God in the midst of all the godly things that would change Preston forever. One day he heard God say, ?It?s going to be about trust with you,? and then God was silent?and God still hasn?t spoken. At least, not in the ways ...

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Tables in the Wilderness: A Memoir of God Found, Lost, and Found Again

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More About This Book

Overview

Preston Yancey arrived at Baylor University in the autumn of 2008 with his life figured out, then slowly each piece of his secure world fell apart: his church, his life of study, his politics, his girlfriend, his best friend, and his God.

It was the loss of God in the midst of all the godly things that would change Preston forever. One day he heard God say, “It’s going to be about trust with you,” and then God was silent—and God still hasn’t spoken. At least, not in the ways Preston used to think were the only ways God spoke. Journey with Preston as he navigates becoming a patchwork of Anglican spirituality and Baptist sensibility, of reckoning with a God who is bigger than the one Preston thought he was worshiping: the God of a common faith, who makes tables in the wilderness, who is found in cathedrals and in forests and in the Eucharist, who speaks in fire and in wind, who is so big, that everything must be God’s.

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Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly
08/11/2014
Having grown up in a Texas home with his Baptist preacher father and a mother who battles chronic pain with humble faith, Yancey had taken God’s presence for granted. When he heads off to college, he follows his parents’ encouragement to ask questions and finds he doesn’t know a lot of the answers. He has trouble hearing God’s voice and feels himself a bit out of place at Baylor University. He relates, in tedious detail, his time in the wilderness—enduring God’s silence, failed relationships, and an unsuccessful attempt to start a church with his best friend, then finally encountering the Episcopal Church, with its liturgy and prayer books, where he ultimately feels at home. The college-student angst about choosing majors, finding friends, and rebelling will appeal to young adult readers, especially those who are questioning their beliefs after being raised in Christian homes. Some of his theology might put off evangelicals, however, and his ponderousness, switches between points of view, and tense shifts might annoy some readers. Agent: John Topliff. (Sept.)
CBA Retailers + Resources
Well-written, engaging, and authentic...
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780310338826
  • Publisher: Zondervan
  • Publication date: 9/30/2014
  • Pages: 240
  • Sales rank: 141786
  • Product dimensions: 5.60 (w) x 8.50 (h) x 1.10 (d)

Meet the Author

Preston Yancey is a lifelong Texan raised Southern Baptist who fell in love with reading saints, crossing himself, and high church spirituality. He now makes his home within the Anglican tradition. He is a writer, painter, baker, and speaker. An alumnus of Baylor University, Preston completed a masters in theology from St. Andrews University in Scotland before returning to the States. He currently lives in Waco, Texas.

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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 3 )
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  • Anonymous

    Posted Tue Sep 30 00:00:00 EDT 2014

    Beautifully written

    Beautifully written

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  • Posted Wed Sep 24 00:00:00 EDT 2014

    Generally, when I read a book, I want it make me feel better. To

    Generally, when I read a book, I want it make me feel better. To escape or offer a solution to a problem. But lately, the books I've been reading haven't lived up to that need.




    They haven't made me feel better but they have made me feel.




    tables in wildernessAnd that's where I am with Tables in the Wilderness: A Memoir of God Found, Lost and Found Again by Preston Yancey. (Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the book through the Booklook Bloggers program.)




    I love Yancey's writing. His blog is one that I read whenever he posts something new. And it's always challenging, often poetic, and downright refreshing. The book is all of that, too, in its own way. I will admit to stumbling a little in the beginning because Yancey's writing is different than most. It's good, just not easy. As he talks about his spiritual journey from a know-it-all Southern Baptist entering college to a questioning Anglican on the other side of college, the stories and observations roll out, sometimes chronologically, sometimes not. The first time I read Annie Dillard and Anne Lamott, I felt this sort of disconnectedness in the flow but realized as I was reading that it was all connected and related after all. This book has a similar feel.




    But it's a journey worth taking, and I found myself silently screaming "yes" to passages that reflected my own journey.




    I'm telling you to notice, because at a certain point I stopped. At a certain point, I stopped  noticing that God was moving all around me, and I believe it was this lack of attention on my part, this willingness to treat common the awe of the Almighty, that would eventually arrive me to a place where God withdrew. (39)




    For me, reading this book was like drinking a glass of wine. On first taste, I am startled by the taste and I almost forget that I like it. Then I drink a little more and taste the flavors buried in the glass. And by the time I finish a glass, I am satisfied by the experience and not at all sorry.




    Tables in the Wilderness is a book for pilgrims and seekers, for those who don't have faith figured out, who wonder if anyone else feels the same way. For those who question the tradition in which they were raised, who have more questions than answers. It's one man's spiritual journey but it contains valuable truths for those of us on our own journeys. You might not like everything he has to say, but his story is worth the telling.

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  • Posted Sat Sep 20 00:00:00 EDT 2014

    What happens when you hit a point in your spiritual walk where G

    What happens when you hit a point in your spiritual walk where God just goes silent? That is the question author Preston Yancy lives into and through in his memoir, Tables in the Wilderness. Raised in the Southern Baptist church, Preston begins exploring the depths of his own faith during college, which in the midst of great loss, leads him to the Anglican church (in his own words: "Baptist sensibility-Anglican spirituality"). This is not another memoir of yet another millennial bashing the church and then leaving, but of one who stayed and wrestled... and learned what it truly means to trust, and that even in the midst of a desert, we have a God who sets a place for us at His table.

    I happened to really love this book despite some small things I wouldn't agree on if Yancy and I were sitting at coffee, chatting about theology. Having grown up in a more orthodox tradition of Christian faith than the popular mainstream "evangelical" vain, I understood exactly what the author was getting at in his exploration of the Anglican church--how it practices the sacraments, saints, and the like. I know for some readers there will be confusion with those bits (may even be a bit off-putting), but that was not the case with this here reader. Yancy's weaving of beautiful quotes, poems, and descriptions of art the depict Christian truths were a treat. The writing style kind of reminded me of Donald Miller and Shauna Niequist, only it bent a bit more towards the poetic and had a tone of slowness (in a good kind of way). I found myself re-reading certain sections and writing notes in the margins when I came to spots where Yancy so perfectly put into words some of the things I've felt at times in my own spiritual walk. Memoirs are less about coming to a black and white conclusion, and more about sharing one's life in an honest way--readers accept both the messy and beautiful. The readers are invited to the table to simple listen and enter in. Yancy's book allowed that to happen for this reader, and I so enjoyed getting to read his story.

    Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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