Missional Church in Perspective (The Missional Network)

J Zscheile Dwight, Craig Van Gelder

Description

In this book, two leading ministry experts place the missional church conversation in historical perspective and offer fresh insights for its further development. They begin by providing a helpful review of the genesis of the missional church and offering an insightful critique of the Gospel and Our Culture Network's seminal book Missional Church, which set the conversation in motion. They map the diverse paths this discussion has taken over the past decade, identifying four primary branches and ten sub-branches of the conversation and placing over one hundred published titles and websites into this framework. The authors then utilize recent developments in biblical and theological perspectives to strengthen and extend the conversation about missional theology, the church's interaction with culture and cultures, and church organization and leadership in relation to the formation of believers as disciples. Professors, students, and church leaders will value this comprehensive overview of the missional movement. It includes a foreword by Alan J. Roxburgh.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 01 mai 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781441232069
• Langue: English

Extrait

CRAIG VAN GELDER
Editor, The Missional Network Series
The Missional Network series publishes books that contribute to the ongoing missional church discussion in light of biblical and theological perspectives. Books in the series seek to reclaim more fully the identity of the church in order to better inform its purpose and ministry and aid the church in participating more fully in God’s mission within our dramatically changed context.
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© 2011 by Craig Van Gelder and Dwight J. Zscheile
Published by Baker Academic
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.bakeracademic.com
E-book edition created 2011
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.
978-1-4412-3206-9
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989, 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.
“The missional church project endeavored to reconnect ecclesiology and missiology and identified the key convictions that undergirded the church in a post-Christendom, pluralistic world. In the years since, the term ‘missional’ has been adopted by a wide variety of traditions and attached to many add-on programs. This book brings much-needed clarity to a confused picture. It is no rehash of familiar material but rather breaks new ground and leaves the reader with an appetite for more!” Eddie Gibbs, Fuller Theological Seminary
“ The Missional Church in Perspective is the most precise, informed, and uncompromising parsing to date of the history of the concept of ‘missional’ both as a sensibility and as a form of praxis. Like all good historical analyses, this book provides not only a basis for understanding where we have been but also a well-honed tool for considering where we may need and want to go next.” Phyllis Tickle, author, The Great Emergence
“Concertgoers are familiar with the cacophonous roar that precedes great orchestral performances. Confusing and competing noises spill out of the orchestra pit as musicians tune and warm up their instruments. When the conductor takes the stand, however, these same instruments now focused on a musical score produce music. The Missional Church in Perspective provides sheet music for all those who want to participate in the missional symphony. The book’s scholarship and synthesis qualify it to be a common score for us all.” Reggie McNeal , Leadership Network
“This book is a veritable morphology of the term ‘missional.’ As such it provides both conceptual tools with which to assess the impact of missional ideas on the Western church and a map that helps us chart possible future trajectories of what is clearly one of the most important movements in our times. Whether one fully agrees with the analysis or not, it certainly brings needed clarity to what is fast becoming a dangerously murky concept.” Alan Hirsch, Forge Mission Training Network
“ The Missional Church in Perspective is a helpful and well-researched work that traces and evaluates streams within the missional church conversation, showing a wide awareness from evangelical, mainline, and historical sources. I have found a new required textbook for my missional church class.” Ed Stetzer , LifeWay Research; missiologist
“It is a rare book that can clearly and cogently describe a highly complex field while also setting a bold course for the future. The Missional Church in Perspective does precisely this. Making sense out of diverse and sometimes conflicting perspectives, it provides a brilliant historical analysis and useful categorization of the diverse voices in the missional conversation, offering a compelling vision for congregational renewal and transformation. I have little doubt that this book will serve as a centerpiece for the missional conversation for the next decade and beyond.” Jack Reese , Abilene Christian University
“I am among the many who have been deeply enriched by the missional church conversation, but I have been concerned lately that the term ‘missional’ has been losing potency even as it has been gaining popularity. This book comes along at just the right time to help participants in the missional conversation reconnect with the deeper theological themes that originally inspired Lesslie Newbigin and others. It is a fitting follow-up to Missional Church .” Brian McLaren, author and speaker
“The word ‘missional’ has been tossed around in so many different ways in recent discussions regarding the church that it is tempting to give up on it. But that would be a mistake; something of great importance has been associated with the term even amid all the confusion. This marvelous book helps us move beyond the confusion of tongues, while also pointing us in healthy new directions for a vital Christian presence in the world.” Richard Mouw , Fuller Theological Seminary
“Since the 1998 publication of Missional Church , ‘missional’ has become a buzzword in many church circles with too many church leaders picking up the language and attaching their own meanings to the term. The purpose of The Missional Church in Perspective is to restart and reshape the conversation I expect it to succeed.” George G. Hunter III , Asbury Theological Seminary
“Dozens of books and articles have explored missional aspects of ecclesiology and church practice in the past decade and followers of the missional conversation have often found themselves confused by the elasticity of the word ‘missional’ until now. This book examines the key voices in the missional conversation, plots its terrain, and then with sublime grace values and evaluates the contributions of numerous conversation partners. Don’t buy another book on missional theology until you have read this one. It puts all others in perspective.” Clayton J. Schmit , Fuller Theological Seminary
“Van Gelder and Zscheile make ‘missional’ make sense. While many churches try to ‘go missional’ and many books on ‘being missional’ hit the market, this wise conversation guide sorts through the different uses of the term and points us toward a rich, hopeful future for God’s people.” M. Scott Boren , pastor, consultant, and author, Missional Small Groups
“The missional conversation, which has experienced explosive growth over the last ten years, has been in sore need of a road map. The Missional Church in Perspective provides just that. In this scholarly and generous guide, Van Gelder and Zscheile clear away the confusion by providing a masterful, historical description of the various tracks of the missional church. Along the way, they tell the whole story of the movement, assessing its weaknesses and making counter proposals. In so doing, they have given us the book that can chart the course for the next era of the missional church, one of the most vital missionary movements in North America.” David Fitch , Northern Seminary
“The use of the term ‘missional’ has exploded in the last decade, taking on an extraordinary range of meaning. In the midst of this situation, Van Gelder and Zscheile perform two invaluable services: first, they provide a taxonomy of the various usages of the term that clarifies commonalities and differences; second, they set forth a compelling agenda for future reflection. As with any enterprise of this sort there will be disagreement concerning their judgments, but it is hard to imagine anyone interested in the missional conversation who would not find this to be an extremely helpful volume.” John R. Franke , First Presbyterian Church of Allentown, PA; Gospel and Our Culture Network
“This is one of those rare, paradigm-shifting books. More than a constructive synthesis of the various strands of the missional conversation, The Missional Church in Perspective provides a focused yet fluid and participatory approach that serves the church by addressing the future imaginatively and hopefully. This is an indispensable volume for academics, practitioners, and anyone whose heart is responsive to the mission of God in the world.” Linda Bergquist , Southern Baptist Convention California
“With anything outside the church’s own walls now being labeled as ‘missional,’ the authors provide a healthy corrective. They do so not by throwing stones but by shaping content for the conversation, showing how missional is more than simply another strategy. The authors lay out how radically different and revolutionary it is for the church to be a missional people. This book not only adds to the conversation but also shapes and deepens it.” Gary V. Nelson , Tyndale University College and Seminary; author, Borderland Churches
“This is an important book. It represents the theological homework for those who want to take seriously the impulse toward a missional church by powerfully underscoring the vitality of trinitarian theology understood within a social and relational model. It offers a vibrant and relevant ecclesiology and invites a conversation about missiology that goes far deeper than mission studies and church growth strategies. It belongs on the reading list of anyone whose ecclesiological imagination is stirred by the promise of the reign of God.” Paul K. Hooker , Presbyterian Church (USA) Presbytery of St. Augustine
“The missional conversation has for some time been in need of clarity. This book provides us with an understanding of this term and its origin while also offering helpful suggestions for extending the conversation. Using both biblical and theological resources, The Missional Church in Perspective clarifies and deepens the