Five Challenges for the Once and Future Church [Paperback]

Loren B. Mead (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1996

Mead presents five key challenges facing today’s churches-and how they represent opportunities for the evolutionary, transformative changes he believes must take place in congregations if the church is to remain a viable institution into the 21st century. Readers of Mead's Once and Future Church and Transforming Congregations for the Future will want to continue the journey begun with those books. A must for congregational leaders at all levels.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Loren B. Mead is president emeritus of the Alban Institute, which he founded in 1974. Since his retirement in 1993, he has continued to consult with congregations, lecture, and write. He has written many books, including The Once and Future Church: Reinventing the Church for a New Mission Frontier (Alban, 1991), and A Change of Pastors (Alban, 2005).

Product Details

• Paperback: 100 pages
• Publisher: Alban Institute (December 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566991757
• ISBN-13: 978-1566991759
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,427,874 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What do you mean... 'challenge'?, September 27, 2000

By 

Leanne Jenski (Perth, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Five Challenges for the Once and Future Church (Paperback)

"I wonder if we have the time. Do we, who love our religious traditions and systems, have the time to redesign, reinvent, or redevelop them for the next generation?" This is the opening question from Loren Mead book. It is a small and very readable book which pulls no punches in giving the church of today five challenges for our once and future church. At times the writer is confronting and yet it told a common story of the church today: we are smaller, we are dwindling, we want to know why, we are hurting and we want to know what we can do so the church has a future. The five challenges push us to think about who owns the church, the relevance of our structures, our need for passionate spirituality and community, and finally how we can reach out beyond ourselves for the sake of the gospel. Despite being written for the American church I found his thoughts to be very relevant to our context. I highly recommend it for all people to read not just ministers. We all need to be challenged to think of our Once and Future Church.