Congregations today exist in an in-between, or liminal, time. The customary answers about what it means to be and do church and strategies for renewal based on those answers no longer work. But there is no certainty about the new answers. It is a time of searching-of letting go of the old and experimenting with the new. This means facing the reality of death, which may come as institutions die or as established ways are abandoned. This book addresses this reality while maintaining a constant focus on the Christian promise of resurrection. It offers three images that recognize the differing contexts of congregations and help them shape their future as they seek to discern God's work in their midst. Congregations shaped by each of the three images (remembering, letting go, and resurrecting) have the potential to faithfully engage in God's work in their setting. For each of the three there are suggestions for helping a congregation move toward an even more faithful expression of the image. The book includes Bible studies and other resources that congregations will find helpful in this process. Some congregations may continue in traditional ways, while others seek a new way of being church. But all can join in God's work in their time and place with a new and deeper understanding of the ministry that is theirs. This book helps them do that. Because a different kind of leadership is needed the book offers an approach to leadership that is grounded in a spiritual process of inward reflection and outward involvement.
Select a Delivery Option
Being Church in a Liminal Time: Remembering, Letting Go, Resurrecting
You’re item was added to pickup at [location]
You’re [amount] away from FREE shipping!
You qualify for FREE shipping!
Translation missing: en.settings.free_shipping_default_message
Being Church in a Liminal Time: Remembering, Letting Go, Resurrecting
Jeffrey D. Jonesis the author of a number of books on congregational life and leadership, including:Traveling Together: A Guide for Disciple-Forming Congregations(Alban) andFacing Decline, Finding Hope(Rowman and Littlefield). He has served as the pastor of three churches, the interim pastor of two churches, and twice as a national staff person for the American Baptist Board of Educational Ministries. He retired as the Director of Ministerial Studies and Associate Professor of Ministerial Leadership from Andover Newton in 2015.
David Fredricksonis a native Coloradan. He has served as the Assistant Rector to Trinity Church in Buckingham, Pennsylvania, Rector to the Church of the Good Shepherd in Wareham, Massachusetts, Rector to Christ Church Parish in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and is currently the Priest-in-Charge to Zion Episcopal Church in Manchester Center, Vermont.
To lead a faith community through uncertainty, especially in settings unready to accept that something is dying, requires updated skills and knowledge. Jones and Fredrickson provide guidance through both instruction and modeling. They look that which is over straight in the face and address what some find too scary to imagine. They do so while never losing hope that, through God’s resurrecting love, something new is seeking to be born.
You May Also Like
Previous
Next
Recently Viewed
Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh.
Opens in a new window.
eBooks from Indigo are available at Kobo.com
Simply sign in or create your free Kobo account to get started. Read eBooks on any Kobo eReader or with the free Kobo App.
Why Kobo?
With over 6 million of the world's best eBooks to choose from, Kobo offers you a whole world of reading. Go shelf-less with your library and enjoy reward points with every purchase.