Pilgrim Practices

"Kristopher Norris's Pilgrim Practices is a winsome treatment of the Christian life organized around the key themes of pilgrimage and practice. Norris retrieves the ancient understanding of Christianity as not merely a set of doctrines but a people's way of living as an alternative community on missional pilgrimage in the world. The book begins with a helpful exposition of this basic vision, which is followed by a quite rich discussion of key practices of Christian discipleship as these are revealed in the Epistle of James. This book is original, honest, humble, and always engaging. I strongly recommend it."

-David P. Gushee

Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics

Mercer University



"With writing as vivid and engaging as his vision of the Church, Kris Norris opens up fresh sky over what it means to follow Jesus in the world. I already want to read it again."

--Julie Pennington-Russell

Pastor, First Baptist Church, Decatur, GA





"Pilgrim Practices is a great example of what can happen when a scholar lands in a local congregation and real lives become fertile soil for ideas. The demonstration plot of real community breathes life into Norris' theology. The result is a study of James that will benefit any congregation that's eager to join God's mission right where they are."

-Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove

author of God's Economy and co-compiler, Common Prayer



"It seems like there is a lot of talk these days about the 'missional church.' But Kris Norris puts biblical flesh on those bones and helps those of us who want to be real disciples of Christ take the next steps. It's about receiving and entering into a new identity--about falling in love with Christ, Christ's people, and Christ's work in the world. Norris walks us through the book of James and into a pattern for a bolder and more authentic way of living."

-Stephen A. Hayner

President, Columbia Theological Seminary





"Pilgrim Practices: Discipleship for a Missional Church, like the Letter of James on which it is based, is full of wisdom and passion. It is a poignant and powerful explanation of Christian discipleship, offering a compelling journey guide for individuals to follow Jesus in the context of missional communities. I especially appreciated the clear call to engage in 'practices' that form identity and define what it means to be fully human."

--Daniel Vestal

Executive Coordinator,

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Atlanta, Georgia



"A refreshing and honest look at two critical ingredients for a New Testament church in our twenty-first-century world . . . missional discipleship. What is it? How can it happen? Who are those to lead the way? The answers are discovered through the author's walk through the Letter of James. A worthy read that can empower missional leaders and churches."

--Edward Hammett

Author of Reframing Spiritual Formation:

Discipleship in an Unchurched Culture



"Kristopher Norris has crafted a witty, exegetically astute, and even prophetic riff on the book of James. His hopeful and insatiable passion for the church is evident on every page. Norris's text captures the true soul of James' letter, an exercise in orthopraxy that is direct, challenging, pragmatic, and missionally 'spot on' for the church in its present cultural context."

--Tim Conder

Founding Pastor of Emmaus Way in Durham, North Carolina, and author of Free for All: Rediscovering the Bible in Community



"With the cultural disestablishment of Christianity in America in full swing, churches are being forced to come to terms with what it means to live in a world where they no longer enjoy privileged standing. As Christendom declines Christians have the opportunity to learn apostolic faith and practice anew by identifying with the image of the church as a pilgrim people in a strange land. Yet knowing this new reality and living into it are different matters. This book offers basic training for equipping churches to embrace their identity as a community of pilgrims and to embark on the missional journey."

--Curtis W. Freeman

Research Professor of Theology and

Director of the Baptist House of Studies,

Duke University Divinity School