What happens to faith when the institutions meant to sustain it fail?

In Following Jesus Beyond Church Walls, ordained Episcopal priest Chantal Morales McKinney offers a searching memoir of spiritual reckoning from inside a progressive Christian community that could not live up to its own values. As cracks appear in the church's moral and relational foundations, she confronts painful historical questions about power, accountability, and the limits of institutional belonging.

Rather than walking away from Christianity, McKinney turns the church's failure into an invitation-one that leads her beyond institutional limits toward an expansive understanding of Jesus' teaching: "Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there with them." Beyond church walls, she begins to imagine a way of following Jesus grounded in relationship, moral courage, and presence rather than hierarchy or institutional authority.

Drawing on Christian mysticism, the Divine Feminine, contemplative practice, immersion in the natural world, and her own pastoral formation, McKinney reimagines what faith can look like when institutions fail. Structured around the spiritual arc of Root, Thrive, and Soar, this deeply moving memoir is both an exposé of the limits of even the most inclusive churches and a blueprint for building faith and community beyond them. Following Jesus Beyond Church Walls offers hope to those who have been harmed or disillusioned by religious institutions but still hunger for meaning, connection, and a faith that can survive the truth.

"Chantal McKinney is a brave and necessary truth-teller, unafraid to name harm and yet unwilling to surrender hope. Her voice is helping chart a new way forward-one rooted in integrity, resilience, and a fierce commitment to the liberating way of Jesus."—Rev. Dr. Amy Butler, pastor of Community Church of Honolulu, founder of Invested Faith, and the first woman to lead the historic Riverside Church in New York City

"Following Jesus Beyond Church Walls is a courageous and tender invitation to reclaim faith after spiritual harm. Chantal McKinney names what too many women have endured in silence and guides readers toward a love-centered, expansive Christianity rooted not in institutions, but in Christ. This book is for anyone who has been wounded by church but still longs for Jesus."—Dr. Andrew J. Bauman, author of Safe Church: How to Guard Against Sexism & Abuse in Christian Communities

"In Following Jesus Beyond Church Walls, Chantal McKinney courageously shares her own story of fracture and betrayal at the hands of the church-naming not only the harm she endured, but how that harm was multiplied by the institution's broken response. Through her healing, Chantal offers hard-won spiritual wisdom and casts a mystical, magnetic vision of a church beyond its walls, inspiring us by reminding us that 'there is nowhere God is not.' This book belongs in the hands of anyone seeking a faith that tells the truth and still dares to hope."—The Rev. Elle Dowd, author of Baptized in Tear Gas: From White Moderate to Abolitionist

"Following Jesus Beyond Church Walls feels like sitting across from someone who has walked through fire and still believes in love. Chantal Morales McKinney offers a fully brave and gentle invitation to anyone who has felt their faith outgrowing the container it was first poured into. She writes with an expansive honesty, carrying a love for Christ that refuses to shrink or harden. This book is a reminder that when our faith begins to stretch, it may feel like we are rebelling. We aren't. We are just growing. We are just being called to follow Jesus into mystery with courage."—John Roedel, comic, author of Hey God. Hey John.