Church Re-Imagined: The Spiritual Formation of People in Communities of Faith (Emergentys) (Paperback)

by Doug Pagitt (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
This is one of the rare books in the emerging church genre that combines thoughtful insight on the need for new practices and theology with the real-life story of people living it out.

From the Back Cover
The Spiritual Formation of People in Communities of Faith.

This book isn’t about quick-fix methods or bulleted, how-to lists. And it’s certainly not a dry lecture about a heady theological topic. Instead this book is about striving, about trying, about experimenting with the idea that the old ways of approaching spiritual formation may not be the only avenues toward living lives in harmony with God in our day.

Inside these pages you’ll spend a full week with Solomon’s Porch—a holistic, missional, Christian community in Minneapolis—and get a front row seat at their gatherings, meetings, and meals. Along the way, you’ll also discover what spiritual formation looks like in a church community that moves beyond education based practices by including worship, physicality, dialogue, hospitality, belief, creativity, and service as means toward spiritual formation rather than mere appendices to it. Specifically, you’ll get a glimpse into the lives of six people from Solomon’s Porch and track their growth through their journals as they wrestle with various approaches to spiritual development.

Church Re-Imagined is ideal for thinkers, pastors, church leaders, and anyone else seeking fresh ways of experiencing life with God.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (September 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031026975X
• ISBN-13: 978-0310269755
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #223,077 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not a method, but a great direction in which to move..., January 13, 2006

By	Bob Hyatt (USA) - See all my reviews

This is a retitling of the earlier-released "Re-Imagining Spiritual Formation."

It may be that you are coming to realize that the program-driven, "what can you do for me now" consumer approach to Christianity is quickly becoming unworkable. Sure... it may seem still to be reaching many... but where are all your 18-30 year olds?
Many are at churches like Solomon's Porch and other emerging communities which are doing their best to walk away from the "provider of religious goods and services" paradigm for church and get back to being covenant communities.

Pagitt, and you gotta love the guy- he'll anger you, inspire you and humble you... all in one sentence- provides a glimpse into how their community does it. It's not a program, not a blue-print, don't think you can xerox it... but it may inspire you to do something beyond the "seeker" paradigm (which often doesn't seem to draw many seekers) you've leaned on... but are finding less and less workable all the time.

In Church Re-Imagined, Doug Pagitt draws a picture of covenant community for us, a picture many of us have longed to see in our churches for quite a while now...

5.0 out of 5 stars A New Creation...a promise and a way to live, November 8, 2008

By	grace is enough (in this place, USA) - See all my reviews

I first purchasedBodyPrayer: The Posture of Intimacy with Godand was so impressed, I wanted to see what else the author might have written. Growing up Catholic, and now at a staid and true Presbyterian church, I am a mixed bag at best. Pagitt and the Solomon's Porch group show that worship is as diverse as creation, and community isn't something you pay your taxes for someonelse to maintain. Great narratives from fellow pilgrims. My first reading on the emergent church, and now I'm wanting to learn more. Inspirational and easy to read...you feel you know the author as a real person trying to live REAL, and for him, the Word is ALIVE.