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By Robert Irwin, October 10, 2008 8:13 am

If you have been a regular visitor to our blog for awhile, you know that one of our friends and favorite authors is Matthew Paul Turner.

His latest book,”Churched,” was just released and it looks like it may turn out to be his most popular yet…

For those of you, like me, that were raised in the Church (especially those of you raised in more “fundamental denominations”) you will probably find this book to be right up your alley.

Matthew has a real skill with words and a talent for skewering the parts of Christian culture that deserve to be skewered.

The book recounts humorous stories of Turner’s upbringing in a strict fundamental Baptist church where Barbies were burned to explain hell and the preacher had a yearly boxing match with Satan.

“I encountered some odd experiences growing up in my church,” says Turner, “so this book is sort of like therapy for me.  Though I can find the humor in some of the experiences now, my church’s perspectives certainly left lasting impressions on me, offering me images of God that were fear-filled and frankly, incorrect.  I’m realizing I wasn’t the only one, and so I hope this book offers laughs and therapy for others too.”

Released Tuesday, churched quickly climbed Amazon.com’s top sellers list, landing at #687 by the end of the day.  The book is also available in Christian bookstores nationwide, including Family Christian Stores and Cokesbury.

Often compared to David Sedaris and Anne Lamont, Turner’s honest and funny prose vividly introduces readers to his conservative father, loving and sometimes overbearing mother, three know-it-all sisters, and a host of church members led by a hellfire and brimstone-loving preacher.  Within the 17 essays, Turner weaves threads of hope and faith into his childhood’s foibles and follies.

Some of the raves for the book…

“If you didn’t think Jesus-loving fundamentalist kids were very funny, Matthew Paul Turner proves you wrong.”
— Jason Boyett, author of Pocket Guide to the Bible and Pocket Guide to the Apocalypse.

“Matthew Paul Turner’s memoir has the insight of Anne Lamott and the comic honesty of David Sedaris. His stories force us to wonder which of our Christian beliefs and practices come from scripture and which spring up out of our own preferences and fears.”
—Rob Stennett, author of The Almost True Story Of Ryan Fisher

“Finally! A bona-fide humorist in the North American church! I might be tempted to say Matthew Paul Turner is Christendom’s answer to David Sedaris, but Matthew stands on his own without the comparison. A memoirist who doesn’t take himself or the world too seriously, but still manages to write profoundly and beautifully, Turner gave me a belly-laugh on almost every page. If you grew up believing ‘being conformed not to this world’ meant being the weirdest kid on the block, churched will be the funniest book you’ve read in years!”
—Lisa Samson, award-winning author of Quaker Summer, Embrace Me and Justice in the Burbs

“Who knew that a journey through faith and fundamentalism could be so painfully funny? I laughed out loud many a time while reading churched. Matthew Paul Turner manages to channel both boyhood innocence and wry retrospective through this fast-moving account of growing up with Jesus in late twentieth-century America and beyond.”
—Mike Morrell, TheOoze.com

You can get a free excerpt of the book here.

Below is Matthew reading an excerpt from his last book, “Hokey Pokey.” It will give you an idea of how thoughtful he is.

Enjoy the weekend.