Tables in the Wilderness

In Tables in the Wilderness, Preston Yancey arrived at Baylor University in the autumn of 2008 with his life figured out: he was Southern Baptist, conservative, had a beautiful girlfriend he would soon propose to, had spent the summer living in southeast Asia as a missionary, and planned to study political science. Then God slowly allowed Preston’s secure world to fall apart until every piece of what he thought was true was lost: his church, his life of study, his political leanings, his girlfriend, his best friend . . . and his God. It was the loss of God in the midst of all the godly things that changed Preston forever. One day he felt he heard God say, “It’s going to be about trust with you,” and then God was silent---and he still hasn’t spoken. At least, not in the ways Preston used to think were the only ways God spoke. No pillars of fire, no clouds, just a bit of whisper in wind. Now, Preston is a patchwork of Anglican spirituality and Baptist sensibility, with a mother who has been in chronic neurological pain for thirteen years and father still devoted to Southern Baptist ministry who reads saints’ lives on the side. He now shares his story of coming to terms with a God who is bigger than the one he thought he was worshiping---the God of a common faith, the God who makes tables in the wilderness, the God who is found in cathedrals and in forests and in the Eucharist, the God who speaks in fire and in wind, the God who is bigger than narrow understandings of his will, his desire, his plan---the God who is so big, that everything must be his.

Foreword from Jefferson Bethke

“This book is a gift—to readers, to the Church, and to the spiritual memoir genre. Preston Yancey writes with stunning clarity, wisdom, and grace, and with this debut sets himself apart as one of the finest writers of faith of our time.” -Rachel Held Evans

“I don’t know exactly what it is about Preston’s writing, but you manage to find a million points of connection no matter how your spiritual path has meandered.… As you turn the very last page, your soul is yearning for God, and you know that he will be found.” -Jen Hatmaker, author of Interrupted and 7: An Experimental Mutiny against Excess

“Preston’s writing is simply gorgeous: clear, elegant, full of emotional honesty. I loved the experiences of curling up with these pages.” -Shauna Niequist, author of Bread & Wine

“As a theologian, Preston is in his own category. He’s ancient and modern and skips all the made-up mess in between.… He is brilliant, and this book is a prayer that he has prayed for all of us.” -Glennon Doyle Melton, author of the New York Times bestseller Carry On, Warrior, and the founder of Momastery.com

“Many preach grace—Preston practices grace. He loves well and his words engage and dissect the human soul with the precision of a master surgeon.” -Jennie Allen, founder of IF Gathering and author of Restless

“Preston Yancey is an old soul—I’m allowed to say that because I’m older than he is, but actually I’m humbled and proud to call him a teacher.” -Tsh Oxenreider, author of Notes From a Blue Bike: The Art of Living Intentionally in a Chaotic World

“I loved this conflicted, honest, and beautifully written book.” -Sarah Bessey, author of Jesus Feminist

“Tables in the Wilderness is a full and rich exploration of the still, quiet, transformative presence of God. Full of wit, wisdom, and emotional gravity, it is a beautiful, spellbinding read from the first word to the last.” -Seth Haines, editor, deeperstory.com

“Journey with Preston Yancey into the bewildering, silent wilderness in this poignant, honest, coming-of-spiritual-age memoir.” -Michelle DeRusha, author of Spiritual Misfit: A Memoir of Uneasy Faith

“Preston Yancey deftly explores the intersections of God’s voice and his silence, between knowledge and mystery, between brokenness and wholeness. His story is deeply personal, yet shot through with wisdom, theology, liturgy, and quiet.” -Addie Zierman, author of When We Were on Fire: A Memoir of Consuming Faith, Tangled Love, and Starting Over

“Preston’s book reads like a carefully crafted novel, replete with unexpected twists that will captive audiences. It is a tale of someone with enough spiritual chops to ask difficult questions about God and life. Read it and uncover a faith worth believing.” -Jonathan Merritt, author of Jesus Is Better Than You Imagined; senior columnist for Religion News Service

“If you know the sound of the silence of God, wrestle to cease striving, and play at spirituality, read Tables in the Wilderness. Read it and feel invited in the direction of joy, into the Presence.” -Amber C. Haines, blogger at therunamuck and upcoming author with Revell

“There are frankly not many contemporary spiritual memoirs anywhere nearly this good (nor this honest).” -Jonathan Martin, author of Prototype and founder of Renovatus: A Church for People Under Renovation

“It’s been a long time since I’ve read something so beautifully written.” -Nish Weiseth, author of Speak: How Your Story Can Change the World, and editor-in-chief, deeperstory.com

“Know Preston Yancey for even five minutes, and you’ll find yourself longing for a seat next to him around any dinner table.… Tables in the Wilderness is a literary morsel to be savored for sure.” -Logan Wolfram, Executive Director, Allume

“Tables in the Wilderness illuminates the simple but essential truth that our place at God’s table is that of a welcome and beloved guest, being served a feast not of our design but for our delight.” -Karen Swallow Prior, author of Booked: Literature in the Soul of Me and Fierce Convictions: The Extraordinary Life of Hannah More—Poet, Reformer, Abolitionist