Shaping of Things to Come

Michael Frost

Description

In a time when the need for and the relevance of the Gospel has seldom been greater, the relevance of the church has seldom been less. The Shaping of Things to Come explores why the church needs to rebuild itself from the bottom up. Frost and Hirsch present a clear understanding of how the church can change to face the unique challenges of the twenty-first century. This missional classic has been thoroughly revised and updated.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 01 mars 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781441241092
• Langue: English

Extrait

© 2003, 2013 by Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch
Published by Baker Books
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.bakerbooks.com
Ebook edition created 2013
Original edition published in 2003 by Hendrickson Publishers and Strand Publishing
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means for example, electronic, photocopy, recording without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
ISBN 978-1-4412-4109-2
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com
Scripture quotations labeled NASB are from the New American Standard Bible®, copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org
Scripture quotations labeled RSV are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Italics in Scripture quotations signifies authors’ emphasis.
The internet addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers in this book are accurate at the time of publication. They are provided as a resource. Baker Publishing Group does not endorse them or vouch for their content or permanence.
“ The Shaping of Things to Come is a theological splinter in the Western church’s collective mind. But it is a holy splinter, because it calls us forward to a grander view of the church-in-mission than the one to which we have become all too accustomed. I am personally grateful for this new edition.”
Mark Batterson, lead pastor, National Community Church; author, The Circle Maker
“Not often does a title of a book prophesy itself. But The Shaping of Things to Come has shaped things to come in the global Christian world like perhaps no one book published in the past decade. It truly is a ‘classic,’ and this new edition promises to continue its tradition of shaking and shaping.”
Leonard Sweet, author; professor, Drew University and George Fox University
“ The Shaping of Things to Come has been a window of hope and motivational boost for bringing change to the church for so many of us. Just when we were about to lose hope in today’s organized church, Mike and Alan show us that perhaps we unintentionally developed a limited understanding of what the church is even supposed to be. But they don’t stop at simply pointing out the problems of the church; they give us vision and ideas for joining in together and creating the future church. Not a future church based on trends or human strategies either, but one based on going back to the beginning to see what was the New Testament vision for the church on mission in the world. The Shaping of Things to Come is one of those rare books that you don’t just read and place nicely back on your shelf. It gets deep into your psyche and alters your perspective on what it means to be the church today, what it means to follow Jesus on his adventurous mission.”
Dan Kimball, author, They Like Jesus but Not the Church
“ The Shaping of Things to Come by Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch was a pivotal book in 2003 for me and many others who take the mission of God seriously. This new and revised edition will play a monumental role in bringing even more leaders and readers into the missional conversation. I would encourage you to take a first or second look at this landmark text and discover your part in the Jesus mission.”
Dave Ferguson, lead pastor, Community Christian Church;movement leader, NewThing
“The first edition of The Shaping of Things to Come helped reshape the missional thinking for many church planters and congregations around the globe. It challenged us to recognize the extent to which change was necessary in our approach to church and faith and helped us think about how this might be possible. This new edition of Frost and Hirsch’s groundbreaking book does not disappoint. It reinforces the messages of the first edition with new insights and updated examples that speak well into our current context with messages of hope for revitalization within the church. I think that this new edition is particularly helpful for those within the established church who seek to reinvent their approach to the mission of the church.”
Christine Sine, cofounder, Mustard Seed Associates
“As we look at the depth and breadth of the missional movement, I continually direct people back to The Shaping of Things to Come . Things have definitely shaped around the concepts of this book, and it continues to be a plumbline for missional thought leadership and practice.
Hugh Halter, author, The Tangible Kingdom and Sacrilege
“ The Shaping of Things to Come has achieved landmark status in the missional church conversation. Ten years after its first printing, it remains the starting point for many of the concepts we are fleshing out to this day. So welcome to this revised edition. And I eagerly look forward to new insights!”
David Fitch, author, Prodigal Christianity ; BR Lindner Chair of Evangelical Theology, Northern Seminary
“ The Shaping of Things to Come was one of the early warning cries to the Western church that the world we are responsible to engage with the love of Christ is radically changing. Though it caused discomfort, we had to face the truths expressed, and open our minds and hearts to what ‘the Spirit is saying to the Church.’ Though we still have much that needs shaping to become as effective as we need to be, the missional conversation has significantly transformed many of us.”
Tammy Dunahoo, general supervisor, The Foursquare Church
“ The Shaping of Things to Come is a seminal book that has profoundly influenced the missional conversation. To truly understand where the conversation is now, it is essential to retrace its roots and embrace anew the concepts that were introduced by Hirsch and Frost a decade ago.”
Linda Bergquist, church planting catalyst and coach; coauthor, Church Turned Inside Out
“Passion, imagination, and clear analysis; organization theory and historical perspective; biblical depth and cultural sensitivity the first time I read The Shaping of Things to Come , I was stunned. Where had these guys come from? They quoted my favorite authors and wove it together with a perspective on the captivity of the church that was both prophetic and pastoral. And they saw where it needed to go because they were on the ground working for change while participating in a global conversation. The astonishing thing is how current the book remains. This update celebrates the ongoing story of missional recovery as the world moves deeper into post-Christendom. If this is your first read, fasten your seatbelt and open your heart. Listen for the Spirit; you won’t be disappointed.”
Len Hjalmarson, adjunct professor of ministry, Northern Baptist Theological Seminary; author, Missional Spirituality
To my stu dents at Morling Seminary, who help me trial all these ideas before they ever get to print.
MF

To my various comrades at missional.com (a newly formed collaborative network comprising of ForgeAmerica, Exponential, Future Travelers, Missio, New Thing Network, GCM, Entermission). You are the shaping of things now.
And especially to Debs, who has always inspired me for the journey.
AH
A church which pitches its tents without constantly looking out for new horizons, which does not continually strike camp, is being untrue to its calling. . . . [We must] play down our longing for certainty, accept what is risky, live by improvisation and experiment.
Hans Küng
Contents
Cover 1
Title Page 2
Copyright Page 3
Endorsements 4
Dedication 5
Epigraph 6
You Must Read This Bit First 9
Part One The Shape We’re In 13
1. Evolution or Revolution? 15
2. The Missional Church 33
Part Two Incarnational Ecclesiology 51
3. The Incarnational Approach 53
4. The Shape of the Missional Church 83
5. The Contextualized Church 101
6. Whispering to the Soul 123
Part Three Messianic Spirituality 139
7. The God of Israel and the Renewal of Christianity 141
8. Action as Sacrament 169
9. The Medium Really Is the Message 183
Part Four Apostolic Leadership 203
10. The Genius of APEST 205
11. Imagination and the Leadership Task 225
12. Organizing the Revolution 247
Glossary 273
Additional Resources 279
Notes 287
Back Ads 291
Back Cover 293
You Must Read This Bit First
The first edition of The Shaping of Things to Come was published in 2003, although we had begun what turned out to be the lengthy and laborious process of writing it several years before that. It has also subsequently been translated into German and Korean, and has been read across the globe. Given this exposure, and that it was penned over a decade ago, we are regularly asked whether we still agree with what we wrote then, and if there’s anything we’d change if we could write it over. Our answer is invariably the same: we still totally stand by the central tenets of this book, but there are three changes we’d make if we were rewriting it: update the anecdotes and snapshots of missional projects outlined in the original edition; soften the polemical edge of the early section that appears to dismiss all traditional approaches as inherently non-missional; and be less pessimistic about inviting the leaders of established churches to incorporate missional principles into their churches.
On the first point, the need to update our illustrations should be evident. More than ten years after our searc