For our Epiphany series, we’ll be reading Nadia Bolz-Weber’s Accidental Saints: Finding God in All the Wrong People as our companion book. But here’s the twist: we’re not reading it cover to cover. We’re reading it thematically—jumping around to match each week’s sermon focus.
Before you panic, hear us out.
If you haven’t met Nadia Bolz-Weber yet, prepare yourself. She’s a heavily tattooed, foul-mouthed Lutheran pastor who founded House for All Sinners and Saints in Denver—a church for people who don’t fit anywhere else. She’s exactly the kind of person religious folks might dismiss, which is precisely why her voice matters.
Accidental Saints tells 19 stories of how Bolz-Weber discovered that the people who drove her crazy, the ones she wanted nothing to do with, kept turning out to be her teachers. God, it seems, has a sense of humor about who gets to deliver divine truth.
The book is funny, honest, and deeply faithful. Bolz-Weber writes about depression, addiction, difficult people, and the messy reality of trying to follow Jesus without any of the usual religious polish. She refuses to sanitize her stories or offer easy answers. Instead, she tells the truth about what it actually looks like when broken people encounter a God who loves them anyway.
Why read thematically?
Each Sunday, we’ll explore a different epiphany—limits, truth, neighbors, suffering, responsibility. We want the book to deepen what you’re hearing in worship, not just run parallel to it. So we’re assigning chapters that connect directly with each week’s theme.
For example, when we talk about truth-telling on MLK weekend (Week 3), you’ll have just read Bolz-Weber’s raw account of preaching at a Sandy Hook funeral and her critique of mission-trip savior complexes. When we talk about embodied action (Week 6), you’ll have just read her foot-washing stories. The connection matters.
At about 200 pages total with 19 chapters, we’re planning to read 2-3 chapters per week (roughly 25-30 pages). Bolz-Weber’s writing is conversational and moves quickly—you won’t need a theology degree or three hours of uninterrupted time.
Here’s a taste of what you’re in for. Bolz-Weber writes: “God’s grace is not defined as God being forgiving to us even though we sin. Grace is when God is a source of wholeness, which makes up for my failings. My failings hurt me and others and even the planet, and God’s grace to me is that my brokenness is not the final word.”
If you’re tired of pretending everything is fine, if you’re weary of religious performance, if you’ve ever wondered whether God shows up in the mess—this book is for you.
Let’s read together and see what God wants to show us.
If you choose to follow along, here is our plan:
| Sundays | Chapters | Themes |
|---|---|---|
| January 4 | Intro, Chapters 1 & 2 | Seeing what’s missing |
| January 11 | Chapters 3, 4, & 9 | We’re not so good |
| January 18 | Chapters 5, 8, & 11 | The truth sets us free |
| January 25 | Chapters 6, 10, & 12 | Loving real people |
| February 1 | Chapters 7, 14, & 17 | Sitting in pain |
| February 8 | Chapters 13, 15, & 16 | Faith in action |
| February 15 | Chapters 18, 19, & Conclusion | Home by another road |
Yes, we’re skipping around. Yes, you’ll get all 19 chapters by the end. No, the world won’t end if you read them out of order.
But what if I’m a sequential reader?
Look, we get it. Some of you break out in hives, figuratively, at the thought of reading Chapter 9 before Chapter 5. Your inner librarian is screaming. You color-code your calendar and alphabetize your spices.
So, here’s your permission slip: Read the book however you want.
If reading straight through from page 1 brings you joy and keeps you engaged, do that. You’ll still benefit from the series, and honestly, the chapters work both ways—they tell a coherent story sequentially, AND they stand alone thematically. Bolz-Weber structures each chapter around a different saint or liturgical moment, so jumping around doesn’t break anything essential.
But if you’re willing to try something different, give the thematic approach a shot. You might discover that reading Chapter 8 (Sandy Hook) right before hearing a sermon about truth-telling on MLK weekend creates connections you wouldn’t have noticed reading it in order. Sometimes disruption leads to epiphany. Which is, after all, what this whole series is about.
We’ll have a few new books available for purchase at $7 each. Additional copies of the paperback edition are available through Amazon for under $11, and used copies in good condition are even less. This book may also be available at the local library.
Our Book Club does not meet as a group. However, our weekly messages reference that week’s chapters. You can anticipate spoiler alerts unless you keep up with the pace. You can purchase your own copy or visit your local library.
You can contact our office with questions by phone or simply type your question or enter a prayer request on our website’s homepage — FlintAsburyChurch.org.
Pastor Tommy
Nadia Bolz-Weber. Accidental Saints: Finding God in All the Wrong People. NY: Convergent Books, 2015. (ISBN 978-1-60142-755-7 ).