Misfit Faith: Confessions of a Drunk Ex-Pastor - Hardcover

"Jason Stellman's Misfit Faith is like a Johnny Cash album for the spiritual book world. He snarls, laughs, and cries as he tells us about the strange signposts along his own spiritual journey. And in doing so, he leads us to the God who tells the story of His love through the rituals of creation and the Catholic Church. In the end, he dares you to find your own strange, bizarre, and rebel faith. Count me in as one of the misfits." --Jonathan Ryan, author, blogger, and co-founder of Sick Pilgrim

"An ex-pastor walks into confession. . . and out comes this drunk miracle of a book. Deeply thoughtful and compulsively readable." --Peter Kispert, McSweeney's contributor

"Stellman's book puts to bed the myth that conversion means an end to questions, doubts, and confusion. His words are a balm to those of us who find our faith journeys resemble the art of MC Escher, with stairways to nowhere and doors that open only onto more doors. But his words are hopeful too. In the Catholic Church he seems to have found a faith wide and deep enough to humble, hold, and challenge him--all while letting him be the misfit that he is." --Jessica Mesman Griffith, coauthor of Love & Salt: A Spiritual Friendship Shared in Letters

"Misfit Faith is more than just another book about God, man, and the meaning of life. What you are holding in your hands right now is a spyglass masquerading as a book. Four hundred years ago Galileo did something radical with a small handheld nautical tool that brought what had been invisible into view: he pointed it away from the sea, toward the heavens. The result was a revolutionary understanding of the universe and our place in it.
Exactly in this way, Jason Stellman uses his 176-page spyglass to achieve a brilliant paradigm shift in our understanding of the 'Man Up There' and how we fit into his scheme of things. Stellman shines the light of insight upon questions such as what makes God God? With a unique writing style that is by turns witty and poignant, Stellman wrestles with dichotomous aspects of spirituality--religion vs. secularism, divinity vs. humanity, law vs. love, and others--topping off clarity with a colloquialism (personal favorite: "is what I'm saying") that has you nodding in agreement. Alternately tapping into studied wisdom and real-life experience in reconciling these age-old debates, the gift Stellman imparts is harmony." --Maura Poston Zagrans, author of Camerado, I Give You My Hand and Miracles Every Day

"If mindfully sipped, this book can leave you sitting in the glow of a Love you might not have known before." --Seth Taylor, author of Feels Like Redemption

A former Protestant pastor chronicles his journey to become Catholic, and he offers not only original and refreshingly personal perspectives on what Catholicism is all about but provides practical suggestions on how to defend Catholicism in a secular world while better developing your relationship with Jesus.

Though the popularity of Pope Francis has aided a shift in the positive perception of the Catholic Church in America, many American Catholics still consider themselves outsiders in today's culture. No one understands this better than Jason Stellman, a former Presbyterian minister who left his old church and looked to Rome for a new one. 

Embracing Catholicism, Stellman converted, but his shift in faith came at a high cost. He lost many friends and a way of life he'd known for decades. In his spiritually charged, raw, honest, and deeply affecting examination of both the Church and his choice, Stellman provides controversial, but scripturally sound, answers to a simple question: If Protestantism is correct, then why did the early followers of Jesus act so Catholic? 

Looking at a number of early practices of the Church from two thousand years ago, Stellman presents a fresh picture of Catholic belief for those who struggle with the modern portrait represented by today's media.