Churches In The Shape Of Scripture

"Could you tell me something about the church of Christ?" "Could you tell me the difference between the church of Christ and the ___________ church?" If you've ever asked questions like these--or been on the receiving end of them-- then this is the book for you. Expect to walk away from this book not only knowing what churches of Christ are all about, but also with a clear understanding of many of the beliefs and practices that distinguish them from other church groups. Don't be surprised, though, if you also walk away with a renewed conviction that being a New Testament-shaped church is a goal worth pursuing, and that doing things God's way really does matter.

The bestselling author of Christ-Centered Preaching provides a useful and accessible resource that traces the history of Christian worship and calls contemporary congregations to gospel faithfulness.

American pastors, says Eugene Peterson, are abandoning their posts at an alarming rate. They are not leaving their churches and getting other jobs. Instead, they have become "a company of shopkeepers, and the shops they keep are churches." Pastors and the communities they serve have become preoccupied with image and standing, with administration, measurable success, sociological impact, and economic viability. In Working the Angles, Peterson calls the attention of his fellow pastors to three basic acts--which he sees as the three angles of a triangle--that are so critical to the pastoral ministry that they determine the shape of everything else. The acts--prayer, reading Scripture, and giving spiritual direction--are acts of attention to God in three different contexts: oneself, the community of faith, and another person. Only by being attentive to these three critical acts, says Peterson, can pastors fulfill their prime responsibility of keeping the religious community attentive to God. Written out of the author's own experience as pastor of a "single pastor church," this well-written, provocative book will be stimulating reading for lay Christians and pastors alike.

What is left of the Gospel if you take away the cross? This central question, asked by C. L. Loos but tucked away in a nineteenth-century journal, launched The Cruciform Church twenty-five years ago. Read by a generation of ministers and church leaders, The Cruciform Church began a reimagination of the church in our increasingly, secular age. Now updated, with responses from eight key leaders, this contemporary classic aims to reach a new generation with the critical questions of faith and life. New Responses by: - Sara Barton - Richard Beck - Lee Camp - Raymond Carr - Randy Harris - John Mark Hicks - Scot McKnight - Jonathan Storment

In Story-Shaped Worship Robbie Castleman attempts nothing less than to uncover the fundamental shape of worship. Right worship doesn't require a traditionalist return to earlier forms of church, she argues, but a fresh response to God in light of the revealed patterns of worship we find in the Bible and church history.

Spent Matches explores the possibility that a few small paradigm shifts within the church might make the difference between extinction and effectiveness. In fact, taking a clue from the automobile industry, the church might be able to not only halt the rapid decay in attendance but also become an effective tool in achieving Jesus' final command. For instance, the Hybrid car has become the answer to Detroit's environmental and oil crisis issues. Finding the synergy between two technologies, gas and electric has created a new day for the auto industry. Likewise, Spent Matchesexplores how the church can find synergy between two seemingly competing thoughts: an invitation to come and a command to go. The Hybrid metaphor brings energy to the church's mission and an explanation to the age-old argument of Missional versus Attractional methods. Features include: Innovative ideas for growing the church Methods to reach those who may never have attended church Scripture passages that touch on the subject of church growth

Chambers provides a defense of our traditional worship format by contrasting it with the style and content of the new wave of contemporary worship assemblies dominated by drama, special singing, and lifting hands. "With amazing clarity; with a grateful grasp of current problems in public worship; with a fairness that is totally Christian, Dan Chambers has produced a work of monumental importance speaking to worship needs of this day." -- Jim Bill McInteer "By focusing the spotlight on biblical, worthy worship, Chambers brings the curtain down on current calls for entertainment-style showtime during our gathered celebration of the divine drama." -- F. LaGard Smith "I do not know of any study that is more needed in the churches today than this study of worship by Dan Chambers. The study is comprehensive, balanced, in touch with contemporary thought, and thoroughly biblical. It is my hope that it will be widely used as a text in Bible study classes as well as by individual students interested in meaningful worship. The book is an engaging and cogent plea for a more biblical approach to worship." -- Harvey Floyd Dan Chambers preaches for the Concord Road congregation in Brentwood, Tennessee. He has also served as an adjunct instructor in Bible at David Lipscomb University in Nashville. He has done graduate work in theology at Grace Theological Seminary and has received advanced degrees in Bible from David Lipscomb University (M.A., M.A.R) and in Business Management from Indiana University - Ft. Wayne (M.B.A.)

Addresses one of the most difficult aspects of the doctrine - the heterogeneity of the biblical and traditional material from which it is derived - and points to the areas where church must act to recover the sense of the immediacy of the Holy Spirit.