Practicing Congregation : Imagining A New Old Church
$48.33
Diana Butler Bass’ groundbreaking project to explore encouraging signs of vitality among mainline Protestant churches is now gaining the momentum of a movement. The author’s cover story in Sojourners magazine offers a compelling overview of what characterizes these healthy, vital, and inspiring congregations. The Practicing Congregation is a central text on the road to envisioning a new way of being a church. From Nomads to Pilgrims, its follow-up companion book, contains reflections on practices by the pastors of some of the vibrant congregations that were studied in the writing of The Practicing Congregation.
ABOUT THE BOOK
The conventional wisdom about mainline Protestantism maintains that it is a dying tradition, irrelevant to a postmodern society, unresponsive to change, and increasingly disconnected from its core faith tenets. In her provocative new book, historian and researcher Diana Butler Bass argues that there are signs that mainline Protestant churches are indeed changing, finding a new vitality intentionally grounded in Christian practices and laying the groundwork for a new type of congregation.
The Practicing Congregation tracks these changes by looking at the overall history of American congregations, noting the cultural trends that have sparked change, and providing evidence of how mainline churches are reappropriating traditional Christian practices. The signs of life that Butler Bass identifies lead the reader beyond the crumbling “liberal vs. conservative” dualities to a more nuanced and fluid understanding of the shape of contemporary ecclesiology and faithfulness. In so doing, she helps readers understand tradition in new ways and creates an alternative path through the culture wars that today arrest the energies of most denominations.
Invigorated by stories from Bass’s own experience, The Practicing Congregation provides a hopeful and exciting vision of “the once and future church” that Alban founder Loren Mead first named over 10 years ago. The imaginative “retraditioning” the author identifies and celebrates will guide pastors and other leaders on this “pilgrimage of creating church,” and convincingly counter the naysayers that long ago gave up on the viability of the mainline church.
in stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
SKU (ISBN): 9781566993050
ISBN10: 1566993059
Diana Bass
Binding: Trade Paper
Published: September 2004
Publisher: Rowman and Littlefield Publishing Group
Print On Demand Product
Related products
-
Life Lessons From James
$14.99Do your Monday actions reflect your Sunday worship? How about your claims to faith? Is your life full of noticeable changes and actions? James, the half-brother of Jesus, wasn’t impressed with talk. He knew that a life of faith was all about actions that revealed a difference in a person’s life. For him, it was not that works save the Christian, but that they mark the Christian. In his letter, he boldly deals with practical issues of faith not bound by culture or place. He shows the importance of living a genuine life of faith. His message is bare-knuckled as he encourages, challenges, and confronts, offering practical words and admonitions to live out our faith.
The Life Lessons with Max Lucado series brings the Bible to life in twelve lessons filled with intriguing questions, inspirational stories, and poignant reflections to take you deeper into God’s Word. Each lesson includes an opening reflection, background information, an excerpt of the text (from the New International and New King James versions), exploration questions, inspirational thoughts from Max, and a closing takeaway for further reflection. The Life Lessons series is ideal for use in both a small-group setting or for individual study.
Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
-
Boundaries Updated And Expanded Edition (Expanded)
$19.99This New York Times bestselling and award-winning book helps readers set healthy boundaries in order to be the loving people God created, and now offers a whole new chapter.
Are you in control of your life?
Christians often focus so much on being loving and giving that they forget their own limits and limitations. Have you ever found yourself wondering: Can I set limits and still be a loving person? How do I answer someone who wants my time, love, energy, or money? Why do I feel guilty when I consider setting boundaries?
In this Gold Medallion Award-winning book and New York Times bestseller, Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend give you biblically based answers to these and other tough questions, and show you how to set healthy boundaries with your parents, spouses, children, friends, coworkers, and even with yourself. This updated and expanded edition specifically addresses boundaries in the digital age, online dating, single parenting, and the workplace.
Boundaries are personal property lines that define who you are and who you are not, and influence all areas of your life – physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually.
Unpacking ten laws of boundaries, Drs. Cloud and Townsend show you how to bring new health to your relationships. You’ll discover firsthand how sound boundaries give you the freedom to walk as the loving, giving, fulfilled individual God created you to be.
Add to cartIn stock (additional units can be purchased)
-
Kingdom Disciples : Heavens Representatives On Earth
$18.40The missing key to Christianity in America
There is a missing key in Christianity today. It is a critical key, and its absence has led to weak believers, disintegrating families, ineffective churches, and a decaying culture. Without the full use of this key, we lack the tools needed to fully live as heaven’s representatives on earth.
That missing key is discipleship. In Kingdom Disciples, Tony Evans outlines a simple, actionable definition of discipleship to help the church fulfill its calling. Readers will learn:
*What a disciple essentially is
*What a disciple cares about
*How to be a disciple and make disciples
*What discipleship looks like in community
*What the impact of discipleship on the world should beKingdom disciples are short supply, and the results are legions of powerless Christians attending powerless churches, resulting in a powerless presence in the world. The power, authority, abundance, victory, and impact God has promised will only come about when we understand and align ourselves with His definition of discipleship.
It is the goal of this book Kingdom Disciples to call believers and churches back to our primary, divinely ordained responsibility to be disciples and make disciples. Only when we take seriously this assignment will the world see heaven at work on earth. Will you accept the assignment?
Useful for base material in a course on discipleship.
Add to cartIn stock
-
Case For Christ (Revised)
$19.99Is there credible evidence that Jesus of Nazareth really is the Son of God?
Retracing his own spiritual journey from atheism to faith, Lee Strobel, former legal editor of the Chicago Tribune, cross-examines a dozen experts with doctorates from schools like Cambridge, Princeton, and Brandeis who are recognized authorities in their own fields.
Strobel challenges them with questions like, How reliable is the New Testament? Does evidence for Jesus exist outside the Bible? Is there any reason to believe the resurrection was an actual event?
Winner of the Gold Medallion Book Award and twice nominated for the Christian Book of the Year Award, Strobel’s tough, point-blank questions read like a captivating, fast-paced novel. But it’s not fiction. It’s a riveting quest for the truth about history’s most compelling figure.
The new edition includes scores of revisions and additions, including updated material on archaeological and manuscript discoveries, fresh recommendations for further study, and an interview with the author that tells dramatic stories about the book’s impact, provides behind-the-scenes information, and responds to critiques of the book by skeptics. As The Case for Christ and its ancillary resources approach 10 million copies in print, this updated edition will prove even more valuable to contemporary readers.
Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.