Customer Reviews

Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America (Gospel & Our Culture)

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is one of the better books currently available introducing church leaders, pastors and lay ministers to ecclesiology from a missional perspective. Guder and his fellow writers do a worthy job of synthesizing contemporary perspectives on church in post-Christian North America. Especially engaging is the way that the writers articulate the distinctive claims a Canadian culture (as opposed to an United States culture) will make on a missional church. There are valuable lessons here for pastors seeking to become more adept in cultural discernment. What is lacking in this book are concrete examples of what a missional church "looks like" in ways different than what one finds in Christendom. One hopes that this is an absence that will be addressed in the next four volumes. In short, check out this book as a synthesis of ecclesiology from a post-liberal perspective (a la Hauerwas, Yoder, Brueggemann). Also, a note for pastors: Chapter 7, "Missional Leadership: Equipping God's People for Mission," is worth the price of the book.

Guder does an outstanding job of editing this text.

The writers present a quality summary of today's American spiritual culture as well as justification for returning the church back to its apostolic (i.e. sent) roots. The mission of God is so well presented in this book that I'm going to use it as a required text in the evangelism/mission course that I'm teaching this fall at a Christian/Lutheran university.

"Missional Church" is a sound volume for someone new to the conversation on what it means to be missional. Its assessment of the current state of the North American church is fair and accurate and the history that got the church where it is is well summarized and to the point. The sections on the shaping and leading of the missional community were especially helpful as they give a general lesson on what the change that needs to be made looks like. The book is much heavier on theory than it is on practice but there are plenty of quality books that deal with the practice. For someone unfamiliar with idea of the church in North America being a "sent community," this book will set them well on an exciting journey.

A decent read. I read it for a class. Some of the information was decent but it is generally geared toward people that have no understanding of the postmodern worldview.
My biggest issue is that some chapters flow beautifully and some chapters are like trying to run through neck deep maple syrup. I believe this is due to the multiple authors and their distinct writing styles.

This book was written really well. We had to read it for school and I was surprised at how much I liked it. If you like this book I strongly encourage you to NOT read the missional church in perspective. The missional church in perspective, the review of this book however is a waste of time, and I will indicate that in the review.

I've been plugging this book at clergy gatherings for the last 6 months. This book was a partial answer to a prayer that I've had for years, "God, What are you calling us to become, because it seems clear that we can't continue with the Christendom models." I've read a lot of other books, but none come close to giving the depth of anaysis into the problem of Christendom. The essays in this book present an exiciting mission for the church as it moves to the margins of culture. The book is not an easy read for those who have limited theological training. However, with a copy of Westminsters Dictionary of Theological Terms in hand, thoughtful Christians will gain a host of insight into the North American Church context(AND YES! They do separate anaysis for Canada and the USA context). Rev. Jim Love (United Church of Canada)

Keeping in mind the audience for this book, which is mainline churches, the authors do an excellent job of challenging us to rethink how we do church. Society is not what it once was, so should the church remain the same in order to communicate effectively the Gospel story? Though one reviewer did not find the book useful, he was already of the postmodern generation and not necessarily the key audience. My seminary president led a class with this book as one of our main resources. We all found it both thought provoking and well worth reading.

This is book is the first in a series entitled "The Gospel and our Culture Series." It was written by a team of six authors and it provides an excellent introduction to the relationship of the church and culture and why the church must see itself not as "having" a mission, but "being" a missional community. The book challenges the consumer approach that is found in much of the North American church and promotes a missional ecclesiology that sees the church as a living, breathing organism that is being sent (Apostolically) into the culture to bring transformation where ever it goes.

List strengths of book.
The book does an excellent job, better than I have ever read anywhere else, on presenting the mission of God. The book also offers an excellent bibliography of more than twelve pages for research on a missional ecclesiology.

List weaknesses of book.
While the book is probably strengthened by the work of the research team the writing in the book seemed at times to be too varied between authors. Secondly, the book would have been strengthened with concrete examples of what a missional church look likes.

Missional Church is a humble, yet firm, call by the authors for the church rethink itself. Perhaps rethinking is not exactly the best term to use. Once senses in the pages that the book more or less assumes that the church has always been what the authors suggest it should be, but the people of the church have forgotten who they are. So it is more that the church needs to remember itself than rethink itself. In fact, a good bit of the problem is that all the church has been doing is rethinking itself to the point where it has lost its identity and been washed up in whatever cultural setting it is found. The authors focus directly on the church in North America, identifying the cultural milieu we find ourselves in and offering a helpful examination of how the North American church can reorient itself in such away that it not only doesn't fade away into irrelevance but becomes again what it was always meant to be.
One should not read this book with the expectation that it will confirm ones understanding of the nature of the church. Even if one is conversant in the language of culture and willing to hear that the North American church doesn't actually have it all figured out, something new can still be learned. A new language is developed as one enters into the thought of the missional church group, a language based on sending. Whereas for centuries the churches of the West thought they were the ones sending people, for example and American congregation sending a missionary to China, missional church thought would say that sending is the action of God because God is by very nature a missionary God. Now, it is also necessary for North American churches to understand that they are not only to send people "out there" into other parts of the world but that the church is sent into whatever context it finds itself. It is for this reason that the church must become conversant in the language of culture, because culture is the context into which it is sent.
The authors take the reader through the relevant history which has brought the culture to where it is. They overview the history of the Enlightenment and show how the autonomous self arose, fracturing society metaphysically and ideologically into a big melting pot of individuals. The individual has been bombarded by numerous metaphors to shape her identity, notably the roles of consumer and product of technique. These identity roles have created an "unresolved tension" for the modern self (31). This history has also shaped the church in North America, from the way the church views itself in relation to the government, to the way members view themselves as consumers of a religious product. The system of denominationalism was developed greatly in North American after peoples from Europe immigrated bringing along their various religious views and ideas shaped by current philosophical and governmental ideals. The product has been "a functional Christendom and forms of church life shaped by modern notions of voluntary association and rational organization" (77).
With the current state of the church in mind and a desire to meet the challenge of reshaping the church's way of being the authors move forward and spend the bulk of the book sketching what the church ought to look like and how it can move in that direction. Again, the missional church is sent by God into the world. The church is the representative of God on the earth. The authors provide the concept of the reign of God as an overarching theme and lens by which to view the call of the church. It is a helpful concept because it is all-encompassing, holistic vision for the world. It is what Jesus preached. In a culture overcome by individualism which leads to selfish division, the reign of God stands out as a beacon of hope. It is this hope that the church is to radiate to the world in its communal practices as the Body of Christ. The authors offer helpful guidance for how churches can begin to live out this calling, by seeking formation which equips and empowers congregations, even collectives of churches in particular areas. The reign of God breaks down the barriers of autonomy and exposes functional Christendom for the sham that it is. The church must always be aware, even in the midst of transitioning into the missional way, of the threat and very real temptation of idolatry. Things such as image, growth, success, and security can become idols to the visible church (229).
Missional Church is a comprehensive look at the North American church, its history, current state, and the direction it needs to find. It offers a view of the church that is more than refreshing to a person discontent with the current state of nationalistic and individualized (funny how those two things so often go together) Christianity. It offers a challenge and wakeup call to those who have been misled, and encouragement to those who have been wondering what to do.

I have not read this yet, but it is for my reading in one of my classes. I got it in new condition.