The Community of the King [Paperback]

Howard A. Snyder (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 27, 1977

A classic revisited--revised and expanded. For over twenty-five years, Howard Snyder's Community of the King has set the standard for a penetrating look at the relationship between the kingdom of God and the earthly church. Biblically and practically Snyder helps us think through such crucial questions as

• What is the kingdom of God?
• What role does it play in history?
• What does it mean for the church to be an agent of the kingdom?

Once we grasp the nature of the kingdom, Snyder helps us explore its implications for the church as we experience it in daily life. The church, he argues, is part of God's dramatic plan to reconcile all things to himself. The church that is true to its calling will emphasize the God-given gifts of all its members and develop structures and strategies that reflect God's reign in the world. In addition to a completely new chapter on developments in Christian thinking on the church since its first publication, this new edition of Community of the King contains a fully updated bibliography and is revised throughout. Here is a classic book for all concerned with church life and growth.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Intervarsity Pr; 1st edition (June 27, 1977)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877847525
• ISBN-13: 978-0877847526
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,210,149 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Howard A. Snyder - Professor of Wesley Studies, Tyndale Seminary, Toronto. Formerly taught and pastored in São Paulo, Brazil; Detroit, Michigan; and Chicago, Illinois.

My main interest is in the power and relevance of Jesus Christ and his Kingdom for the world today and tomorrow.

My books include The Problem of Wineskins, Community of the King, and most recently, Salvation Means Creation Healed.

Website: wineskins.net

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Kingdom Consciousness, March 8, 2002

By 

Ken Klemme (Harrodsburg, KY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Community of the King (Paperback)

This book dawns with some definitions and clarifications. First Mr. Snyder contrasts the church as an "institution" marked by the characteristics of status, status quo, principles of human organization, etc. versus the divinely led "kingdom of God." This is a place that is both promised in our future (heaven) and present in our world today (the Church) offering redemption and reconciliation of people to God. He calls this understanding "kingdom consciousness." An excellent example of this contrast is summarized in this quote from Easum's book, "The Church too can be merely smooth-running machinery with a veneer of personalism. Or it can be a radically biblical, caring community of believers totally sold out to Jesus Christ."
Snyder approaches the problems of today's protestant church from two fronts. He addresses the change in our world society that marks the end of the Modern Age. Like Easum (discussed later) Snyder challenges the Church to examine our paradigms and discover what prevents us from being relative to this generation.
The second front is really a different perspective of the first. First churches must separate what is the Biblically sound, mandated mission, values, and strategy of the Church (Kingdom of God) from the "sacrelized" institutions made by man. Then institutions, which serve a purpose for the church, may be created and maintained so long as they are relevant and useful. Since we understand the difference between them and the truly sacred "kingdom of God," when they cease to be useful, they may be eliminated.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Kingdom of God Praxis, October 12, 2006

By 

Thomas D. Todd Jr. "Solomon's Porch Inc." (Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Community of the King (Paperback)

Original publication date 1977, Second publication date 2004.

Why do I say this to start with? Here we have a Man of God, "Howard A. Synder" who has an edge on all of us. Why? Because of His -NOW- Kingdom Mindset. Prophetically speaking, this teaching is aligning with the Now Kingdom spirit. The Spirit of God's teaching has been manifested in this book.

If we come to the altar, with no pre-suppositions, no denominational boundaries, no preconceived ideas of traditional teachings of man's ideas and allow the Holy Spirit to teach you, then you will find yourself in the middle of this book nodding your head in agreement with 80-90 percent of this teaching.

What are you interested in? Do you want to grow the Church of God? Then, how can that be accomplished in this sectionalized, denominationalized Church? We must move out of the failed systems of business plans to a Spirit Led Church. We must move from one seeing the Senior Pastor as a "CEO" of an organization to be seen as the "Spiritual Leader."

Read this book after you ask God to remove all your presuppositions and begin your life anew. Move into a Kingdom reality, a Body of Christ mentality and out of a denominational hierarchy.

In His Spirit

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Community of the King, October 31, 2009

By 

Biju George "Gilgal" (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Community of the King (Paperback)

Great book. It answers a lot of questions about Church. If you are struggling with Church-related issues, read this one!