Contemporary Mystics Publishing
Contemporary Mystics Publishing seeks to honor authors’ spiritual wisdom and experience of the Divine by unrolling a welcome mat to our emerging community of authors. We seek to publish books about God and spirituality that are far more expansive than the boxes of patriarchy and traditional religious doctrine. We welcome you to join us as we expand our concept of God/Goddess, spirituality, intuition, and faithful living. We are inclusive, ecumenical, and welcome a diversity of faith expressions. Our books are rooted in Love and seek to accompany you on a journey toward a life in alignment with the Divine.
Mystics (n.)- We who are on a journey toward encountering the Divine, acknowledging that the essence of God can be experienced both within and around the world. We are seekers of the sacred, golden thread of Truth that runs through all religions and beliefs rooted in Love. Mystics seek union with God and an ever-expanding concept of the Divine.
Contemporary Mystics live in and around this world now. We are not relics of the past, but continually bring a fresh perspective to a life lived in alignment with the Divine. We are not limited to one belief or expression of faith, as it is possible to encounter God in a diversity of ways. We often point to the divinity from within each person as a means to experience God directly.
Featured Release
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.
Pre-order now at Bookmarks, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon.
Advance Praise for Following Jesus Beyond Church Walls
“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.
“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
“This book is for deconstructing Christians, exvangelicals, spiritual seekers, and anyone searching for God beyond church walls. A modern-day Christian mystic and Episcopal priest, Chantal Morales McKinney explores an expansive faith in Christ that makes room for others while calling the church toward justice, reform, and healing. This book opens readers to spiral fractals, the divine feminine, and seeing, praying, and living with Christ-eyes—loving, spiritual eyes. Chantal inspires us to form communities that resonate and spiral outward with that all-loving, inclusive divine vision.”
- Eady Jay (EDJ), podcaster and author of Reconstructing Sexual Ethics
“A courageous and tender invitation to reclaim faith after spiritual harm… rooted not in institutions, but in Christ.”
- Dr. Andrew J. Bauman, author of Safe Church
“McKinney casts a mystical, magnetic vision of a church beyond its walls… a faith that tells the truth and still dares to hope.”
- The Rev. Elle Dowd, author of Baptized in Tear Gas
“With courageous honesty, McKinney offers a searing account of abuse in the church and a hope-filled call to action. Change is possible.”
- David Hayward (NakedPastor)