He spent his childhood trapped within the confines of countless bizarre, strict rules. And lived to tell about it. In this first-hand account, author Matthew Paul Turner shares amusing-sometimes cringe-worthy-and poignant stories about growing up in a fundamentalist household, where even well-intentioned contemporary Christian music was proclaimed to be "of the devil."
Churched is a collection of stories that detail an American boy's experiences growing up in a culture where men weren't allowed let their hair grow to touch their ears ("an abomination "), women wouldn't have been caught dead in a pair of pants (unless swimming), and the pastor couldn't preach a sermon without a healthy dose of hellfire and brimstone. Matthew grapples with the absurdity of a Sunday School Barbie burning, the passionate annual boxing match between the pastor and Satan, and the holiness of being baptized a fifth time-while growing into a young man who, amidst the chaotic mess of religion, falls in love with Jesus.
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"It's the author's sometimes awkward, sometimes hitting-too-close-to-home-for-me, personal story about growing up in the Church. I really liked it. "
— Aaron (4 out of 5 stars)
" A funny and somewhat enlightening book about a culture I knew very little about. It wasn't quite as interesting as I hoped it would be. "
— Brandi_f, 8/21/2011" Listen to audio version of book. Entertaining memoir of growing up as a fundamentalist Baptist through his formidable years. "
— Tim, 5/13/2011" Felt like I was reading my own memoir at times. "
— Callie, 4/27/2011" Not good. Not funny. Not true. Not representative of all who are historic fundamentalists. Not worth your time. Not fair. "
— Ken, 12/29/2010Matthew Paul Turner is the bestselling author of The Christian Culture Survival Guide and The Coffeehouse Gospel. Before he began writing and speaking fulltime, he served as editor of CCM and music and entertainment editor of Crosswalk.com. He and his wife live in Nashville.