“Any time you can take an insult and make it your own, it’s a win,” explains Bolz-Weber, who speaks in Winnipeg Friday, Oct. 4 and Saturday, Oct. 5.
And she’s not the only one who believes in transforming words, and even lives. On her recent book tour promoting her new bestselling memoir, Pastrix: The Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner & Saint, the recovering alcoholic and former stand-up comic has attracted crowds of up to 900 people wanting to hear her story, and maybe share some of theirs.
“I think people are eager to have a whole life faith, to have the sacred story connected with their reality,” explain Bolz-Weber of the huge response to her book, which exposes her struggle with drugs and alcohol, her move to faith, and her efforts to stay there.
Time will tell if her narcissism will likewise succumb to the Gospel. With an ASA of 70 she and her congregation have become a phenomenon here in the ELCA. When I first heard about her ministry I was intrigued as we’ve have never been very good at reaching outside our Lutheran ghetto. Now I wonder if she’s creating disciples of Jesus or of herself. Alas, with a denomination willing to tolerate HerChurch, perhaps celebrity status comes naturally in the search for relevance.