Dr. Steve McSwain

Dr. Steve McSwain has been called "the voice for the SBNR (Spiritual but Not Religious)."

He grew up in the Baptist church, but he's an advocate of inter-faith dialogue. He was a Christian minister for over 20 years but didn't receive his spiritual awakening until he quit going to church. Today, he is devoted follower of the Christ-path to knowing God but argues that Christianity isn't the only pathway to the Divine.

Dr. McSwain may be a walking contradiction. Or, he may speak for a growing number of Americans who are finding and creating new pathways of spirituality.

In The Enoch Factor: The Sacred Art of Knowing God, McSwain reaches out to an ever-growing segment of the American population - "Nones" or those who once attended church to find God but discovered instead a complex and frustrating set of rules and burdens, doctrines and dogmas, as well as conflict and division. Disenchanted, they switched denominations, or left entirely. 

"Instead of a bridge to God, religion has become a barrier to God," says Dr. McSwain. "Why else would over 34 million Americans have left the church in recent years? My goal is not to bring these people back to church, but help those who seek an authentic spiritual life create the conditions for one."

"I have sometimes wondered if being 'Christian' for many people is little more than some ego-identification, a kind of role they play. It was for me," says Dr. McSwain. "I mistakenly thought being a Christian was subscribing to a narrow set of beliefs, holding membership in a church, or both. When I awakened out of this madness, however, everything changed: I now know there's a day-and-night difference between labeling yourself a Christian and living a Christ-conscious life, one in touch with what Buddhists might call your 'Buddha-nature.'"

Dr. McSwain experienced a spiritual awakening on a normal Sunday, but outside the church. Detailed in The Enoch Factor, this event inspired Dr. McSwain to embrace a new kind of spirituality, one that connects people to God and to other human beings, regardless of their race, ethnicity, or religious tradition. 

He hopes his circuitous spiritual path will help others rediscover the sacred side of life.

Dr. McSwain is also the author of The Giving Myths: Giving Then Getting the Life You've Always Wanted (2007). For more information, please visitwww.stevemcswain.com.