Author Frank Viola gives readers language for all they knew was missing in their modern church experience. He believes that many of today's congregations have shifted from God's original intent for the church. As a prominent leader of the house church movement, Frank is at the forefront of a revolution sweeping through the body of Christ. A change that is challenging the spiritual status quo and redefining the very nature of church. A movement inspired by the divine design for authenticity community. A fresh concept rooted in ancient history and in God Himself. Join Frank as he shares God's original intent for the church, where the body of Christ is an organic, living, breathing organism. A church that is free of convention, formed by spiritual intimacy, and unbound by four walls.
While there are many books that tell the "stories" about churches and church life, this work takes the rarely traveled path of looking directly into the lives of church members, focusing on the process of spiritual formation in each.
Beginning with a ‘Street Nativity Play’ that didn’t end as planned, and finishing with an open-ended conversation in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, "Being Interrupted" locates an institutionally-anxious Church of England within the wider contexts of divisions of race and class in ‘the ruins of empire’, alongside ongoing gender inequalities, the marginalization of children, and catastrophic ecological breakdown. In the midst of this bleak picture, Al Barrett and Ruth Harley open a door to a creative disruption of the status quo, ‘from the outside, in’: the in-breaking of the wild reality of the ‘Kin-dom’ of God. Through careful and unsettling readings in Mark’s gospel, alongside stories from a multicultural outer estate in east Birmingham, they paint a vivid picture of an 'alternative economy' for the Church's life and mission, which begins with transformative encounters with neighbours and strangers at the edges of our churches, our neighbourhoods and our imaginations, and offers new possibilities for repentance and resurrection.
With explores the narrative of the Bible to show that we were created to be with God, and that restoring this connection is his mission. Instead of life over, under, from, or even for God, what leads us into freedom and restoration is life with God. Why are American Christians, who have more access to biblical teaching than any other people in history, failing to experience the freedom of the Christian life? Why are pastors, those closest to the work and ministry, burning out at an alarming rate? Why do many church members, who give large amounts of their time and wealth to Christ and his kingdom, secretly question the legitimacy of their efforts? And why are spiritual seekers dismissing the validity of the Christian message? Is it possible we’ve misunderstood the call of the Christian life? A life lived in rich communion with God cultivates faith, hope, and love in a way that transforms both us and the broken world we inhabit. In With, you’ll find: illustrations of concepts in the book to aid understanding; recommendations for how to practice communion with God, including three helpful practices; and a discussion guide for use when continuing the conversation with others in small groups. Endorsements: If we've grown weary of Christianity, if we find most any local church uninspiring, maybe the problem lies not in the Christian faith or these faithful bodies, but in our own disgruntled hearts. In With, Skye Jethani tenderly unmasks the clichéd posturing that too often masquerades as genuine communion with Christ. More importantly, he takes readers to the humble place they must occupy--in prayer, studying Scripture, with the Church--if faith, hope, and love are to truly mark our lives. -James H. Gilmore, author, The Experience Economy It doesn’t matter, as old theologians were rumored to argue, how many angels can dance on a pinhead. But it does matter which preposition governs your faith--over, after, against, for, from, under, with. Who knew what huge worlds turn on such tiny words? Who knew what theological riches were laced into the bones of grammar? Skye has done a great service to the church. In prose elegant and clear, with insights keen and deep, he shows how everything changes with just one word: With. It’s a book I want my whole church to read. -Mark Buchanan, author of Spiritual Rhythm Who knew that a preposition had so much influence? Skye's book will challenge the way that you think about God and faith, digging deep into our motivations and heart issues. You can't read this book and not see yourself and others differently! -Margaret Feinberg, author of Scouting the Divine and Hungry for God
It’s been said that prayer is the vocabulary of faith. This book offers a wealth of resources from forgotten places to help us create a new vocabulary for worship and prayer, one that is located amidst the poor and the major issues of violence and destruction around the world today. It is a collection of prayers, songs, rituals, rites of healing, Eucharistic and baptismal prayers, meditations and art from four continents: Asia-Pacific Islands, Africa, Americas, and Europe. Liturgies from Below is the culmination of a project organized by the Council for World Mission (CWM) during 2018-2019. Approximately 100 people from four continents worked with CWM, collaborating to create indigenous prayers and liturgies expressing their own contexts, for sharing with their communities and the rest of the world. The project was called “Re-Imagining Worship as Acts of Defiance and Alternatives in the Context of Empire”. The author and others spent weeks living in each of four communities for several weeks/months, getting to know the people, and then facilitating the people’s own creation of prayers and liturgies. The author, other scholars, pastors, artists, activists and students all came from radically different ethnicities, races, sexualities, churches and Christian theologies. The people in each location were poor, living in very challenging communities, living in oppressive and seemingly hopeless situations. After some time, they wrote prayers and stories of their experience trying to live the Christian faith in utterly abandoned places. What we have here is an immensely rich and varied collection of liturgical sources from various communities dealing with issues of violence, immigration/refugees, drugs, land grabbing, war on the poor, attack on women, militarization, climate change, and so on.
The world is changing, and preaching needs to do the same. With that change, the notion of truth need not be surrendered in a postmodern age, but it must be approached differently. David Lose argues that preaching is a confession made openly for the hearers to embrace and engage in the midst of the real lived world they experience.
"The liturgical reforms that have guided congregations over the last few decades have transformed what different denominations know about themselves and their worship. Worshipers are no longer spectators, but active participants in the ritual acts that once were the possession of the clergy. As the liturgy is modified, church buildings are altered." "How does all such change affect the architectural style of church buildings? Vosko provides a foundation for building or renovating a place of worship and presents a thorough checklist for spaces, art, furnishings, and appointments. He discusses many concerns and offers practical advice. He also presents issues that need further consideration in every project."--BOOK JACKET.
Sometimes talking about Jesus with your friends can feel like trying to close a deal on a sales call, pushing something on people they may not really want. But what if you thought of it more like inviting them on a spiritual journey? Imagine being free to be yourself and free for the Spirit to work in you. Imagine that it doesn't depend on you a...
Advance Praise "From his pulpit at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, Alan Jones has influenced for good an entire continent of struggling Christians. In this provoking and helpful new book, he extends his voice to those both within and beyond the Church. A thinking Christian in a thoughtless world is what he is and what he aims to make us. This is a very good start." -- The Reverend Professor Peter J. Gomes The Memorial Church, Harvard University, and author of The Good Book "It used to be that Christian institutions and systems of dogma sustained the spiritual life of Christians. Increasingly, spirituality itself is what sustains everything else. Alan Jones is a pioneer in reimagining a Christian faith that emerges from authentic spirituality. His work stimulates and encourages me deeply." -- Brian D. McLaren, pastor (crcc.org) and author of A New Kind of Christian "This is a bracing breath of spiritual fresh air, an intelligent, witty, and passionate reclaiming of the goal of religious practice-the conversion of the heart to kindness and peace as the common faith in which we can all be believers." -- Sylvia Boorstein, author of Pay Attention, for Goodness' Sake and It's Easier Than You Think "Alan Jones is the best guide I know to lead us on the thorny but promising path that could lead to the renewal of Christianity." -- Sam Keen, author of Fire in the Belly "Compulsively readable, Alan Jones's book is a brave and brilliant attempt to res-cue Christianity from the clutches of the cruel reactionaries into which much of it has fallen. Generous-hearted Christians of all persuasions will cheer him on." -- The Most Rev. Richard Holloway, retired as primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church and Bishop of Edinburgh "Alan Jones combines the power of the mystical, the honesty of the skeptical, and the eagerness of the romantic. His vision of faith and ministry for the time to come will be a gift for many readers." -- Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, Georgia "A daring call to renew our relation to Christianity-and ourselves-through fac-ing the great questions of the heart that today permeate the life of every serious seeker and the life of our whole endangered world." -- Jacob Needleman, author of The American Soul and Lost Christianity
