Writing "Holy Disruption" with Amy Butler and Dawn Darwin Weaks

Writing a book solo is hard work—so is co-writing a book easier? Amy Butler and Dawn Darwin Weaks share the byline of Holy Disruptions: A Manifesto for the Future of Faith Communities, and in this Q&A, they share how the book came to be, the writing process, and their favorite part of their collaboration (hint: it’s the collaboration!).

Do you have a moment when you realized “this needs to be a book?”

Amy: I was in Midland, Texas, having coffee with two pastors I really admire. As I spoke with them about Invested Faith, I realized that the concept of Invested Faith–that the assets of churches and individuals can be directed toward the work of faith rooted social entrepreneurs–felt adversarial to their work, almost like taking sorely needed resources away from struggling institutions. The more we talked, though, the more it became clear that Invested Faith is an idea about transformation, about what’s next, rather than a waving of the white flag and giving into a future world absent of God’s transformational work. As I told stories of Invested Faith Fellows doing important work, I recall Dawn Darwin Weaks saying, “Somebody needs to tell these stories!” Unbelievably, she agreed to tell them with me, and here we are.

Dawn: I didn't know Amy personally until a year ago. We were chatting at a gathering for clergywomen in a coffee shop in Midland, Texas. She was telling me these stories of tremendously courageous spiritual entrepreneurs and I said, "The church needs these stories. Write a book." And as I recall, she said, "Only if you do it with me." It took a few weeks of prayer and conversation to get organized after that, but God's Spirit blew then and pretty much since it's been just trying to keep up.

 How long did it take you to write the manuscript?

Amy: I wrote another book, a memoir called Beautiful and Terrible Things: Faith, Doubt, and Finding Our Way Back to Each Other.  It was an excruciating process that took me a full six years and four or five iterations. Holy Disruption was born much more quickly–in less than a year. Much of that was due to the diligence of my co-author, Rev. Dr. Dawn Darwin Weaks, but I think it also came faster because this is a book for this moment and the urgency of the Church’s need for the book pushed us to get it done.

Dawn: This book wrote itself (almost). As soon as I started hearing more about the stories of the Invested Faith fellows Amy introduced me to, I was hooked. I felt my own enthusiasm for ministry rise and my imagination stirred up. Once we plotted out where their stories went, the rest of the framework fell into place. The writing was done in three months, and then the editing process began.

What are you most passionate about right now?

Dawn: Personally, staying fit mentally and physically so I can enjoy life and keep leading well. Professionally, I can't shut up about helping church leaders, in my own congregation and others, develop their imaginations for what is possible beyond what church has looked like for the last eighty years. I'm the mom of two young adults, so I'm chomping at the bit to see the church they create.

Amy: I am deeply passionate about spaces in which healthy faith community is emerging. I pastor a church, so I see it happening there. I also run Invested Faith, a network of over 80 faith rooted social entrepreneurs across the country who are creating communities that are challenging unjust systems and hurting our neighbors. As the institution we’ve known as Church undergoes significant change toward an unknown future, Invested Faith is helping me think outside the box and helping traditional communities of faith do the same.  My hope is that this book will do that for others.

 What’s one of your favorite passages from the book?

Dawn: To me, the refrain of "imagine" that introduces each new story is the heart of this book. I love it and think of it as the heartbeat of God's Spirit beating throughout the stories. I also treasure the poetry in the book between each chapter; poetry can reach our imaginations in places prose can't. The line from John O'Donohue's poem "For A New Beginning" to me is the essence of ministry in this moment: "Learn to find ease in risk." I was so glad when we got permission to include that line. 

Amy: People will love the stories in the book.  The stories of our Fellows and their work are regularly mentioned as favorite parts of the book, ideas and efforts that spur creative thinking. I love them, too, of course, but my favorite parts of the book are the theological reflection Dawn and I wrote, wondering out loud what would happen if the Church lived into this moment with open hands and open hearts, with an assurance of God’s abundance, and with an expectation of the reign of God here and now, always on its way. It was so lifegiving for me to write about what I believe so deeply; I hope we did it in a way that will help people reconsider their perspectives in this moment.

What was your favorite part about writing this book?

Amy: Writing a book is hard work. As someone who procrastinates like it’s a full-time job (I should be writing my sermon right now), the process of getting to the chair and opening the computer is very painful. My very favorite part of writing this book was doing it together with my friend and colleague, Rev. Dr. Dawn Darwin Weaks. Dawn is on top of everything, all the time. Her gentle reminders and less gentle reminders gave me the impetus to put words on paper when they needed to be put there. My very favorite moments were when we were in the document editing together; it was a true delight writing this book as a team.

Dawn: Two things: the camaraderie of writing with a witty wordsmith and courageous colleague like Amy, and the sheer hope I encountered in each of these world-changers whose stories we tell.