A Church Kid’s Journey from Confidence, to Questioning, to Christ
by Austin Noll

 
Here is the Church. Here is the Steeple.

Open the Doors…

Growing up, a life in the church was all Austin Noll ever knew. Born into the Christian faith, his relationship with Jesus was rivaled only by his loyalty to the Church. He lived and breathed the culture surrounding Christianity. For him, church wasn’t a part of his life. It was his life.

As a kid, he viewed his thoughts, ideas, and beliefs of God and church as infallible. But as he got older, that once indestructible belief system started showing cracks as he began to witness firsthand the detrimental effects a church lifestyle can have on a person’s faith when God’s power, love, and grace are exchanged for fear and control. Through experiences of artificiality, dishonesty, and shame, Austin found himself somewhere he never thought possible: Unsure of what he believed.

In A Jumble of Crumpled Papers, Austin leads readers through the evolution of his spiritual journey, from his upbringing as a “church kid”, to the events and realizations that lead him to leave his childhood church, to the daunting and overwhelming process of figuring out what to do when the most stable aspects of your life suddenly become the most uncertain. Through sharing his own experiences, he aims to share in the pain of those who have been hurt by the church, while encouraging readers to voice their doubts, seek answers to their questions, and know that God will always be bigger than the shortcomings of imperfect people.

About the Author

Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Austin Noll studied screenwriting at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film, and Television before moving to Austin, Texas to continue pursuing his writing endeavors. His family, including his parents and two younger siblings, followed suit and live nearby. Though his focus has primarily been writing for the screen, his passion for helping people achieve a deeper, more authentic relationship with Jesus was enough inspiration to switch mediums with this first book.

299 pages