The first thing most people mention when they talk about the Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber is her tattoos. She has many — most of them religious in nature, including a large icon of Mary Magdalene covering her right forearm.
Then they talk about how tall she is (6-foot-1), that she looks more like the lead singer of an all-girl punk rock band than a pastor, and that she (unapologetically) swears a lot — even from the pulpit while preaching the Gospel.
All of the above is true and part of what make Bolz-Weber unique among high-profile pastors and so-called “Christian authors.” (I hate that term. The word “Christian” is best used as a noun, not an adjective.)
But to focus solely on those externals is missing the point. Bolz-Weber has a bold and unmistakable voice, preaching the Gospel of Grace in a way the world needs to hear. And we might not listen if her appearance, vocabulary, and backstory were more neat, pious or easy.
Bolz-Weber, a pastor at House for All Sinners and Saints, an Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in Denver, was in Southern California recently speaking to a full house at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena on a book tour promoting her new memoir Pastrix: The Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner & Saint.
At the moment, “Pastrix” (which debuted last month at #17 on the New York Times Best Seller list) is at the very top of my books-everyone-I-care-about-has-to-read.
It is funny (once upon a time Bolz-Weber was a stand-up comedian), filled with indelibly fascinating characters (she is a recovering alcoholic who ran with and still runs with a motley tribe of wonderfully imperfect souls), and the most honest memoir I believe I’ve ever read….
TO READ THE REST OF THE COLUMN, CLICK HERE. (And yes, there is a paywall on the Register site. It’s $2 to gain access to this column and the paper’s entire archive, including everything I’ve written for it since I joined the staff in late February.)
To read an excerpt from the “La Femme Nadia” chapter of PASTRIX click HERE (and you can read it without the paywall.)