ChurchMorph: How Megatrends Are Reshaping Christian Communities
Stock No: WW037627
ChurchMorph: How Megatrends Are Reshaping Christian Communities  -     By: Eddie Gibbs

ChurchMorph: How Megatrends Are Reshaping Christian Communities

Baker Academic / 2009 / Paperback

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Product Description

It is estimated that 80 percent of churches across the theological spectrum are either stalled or in decline. In ChurchMorph, internationally respected church observer Eddie Gibbs goes beyond an analysis of the causes to show how many churches and faith communities are actually breaking the downward trend. He expertly maps current converging church movements-emerging and missional churches, mainline renewal groups, megachurches, urban mission, new monasticism, alternative worship, and expanding networks-and offers a positive assessment of the reshaping of today's church.

Gibbs argues that more is required of western churches than adopting new programs if they are to missionally engage within their context. The church must re-image itself, resulting in its reconfiguration and a comprehensive change in its self-understanding; it must morph in order to be defined by its mission in the world. Gibbs identifies trends that provide signs of the kingdom, reflecting on how different ecclesial communities are working out what it means to be "church" in a post-Christendom environment. He provides a range of examples from North America and the United Kingdom to offer encouragement and assurance that God has by no means abandoned his church.

This stimulating and encouraging book will appeal to professors, students, pastors, and church leaders interested in theology, ministry, the emerging church, Christianity and culture, and mission.

Product Information

Title: ChurchMorph: How Megatrends Are Reshaping Christian Communities
By: Eddie Gibbs
Format: Paperback
Number of Pages: 224
Vendor: Baker Academic
Publication Date: 2009
Dimensions: 8.50 X 5.50 (inches)
Weight: 9 ounces
ISBN: 080103762X
ISBN-13: 9780801037627
Stock No: WW037627

Publisher's Description

It is estimated that 80 percent of churches are either stalled or in decline. In ChurchMorph, internationally known church observer Eddie Gibbs goes beyond an analysis of causes to show how many churches and faith communities are actually breaking the downward trend. He expertly maps current converging church movements--emerging and missional churches, mainline renewal groups, megachurches, urban mission, new monasticism, alternative worship, and expanding networks--and offers a positive assessment of the reshaping of today's church. The core of the book identifies trends and movements that provide signs of the kingdom and reveals how different faith communities are working out what it means to be "church" in a changing world.

This stimulating and encouraging book will appeal to pastors, church leaders, and students interested in ministry, the emerging church, Christianity and culture, and mission.

EXCERPT
The morphing of the church relates to the church transitioning to a new identity as a missional presence in the West. There is a growing realization among leaders committed to mission that the challenge will not be adequately met by adding new programs to ensure the local church, or a denomination's, institutional survival. Such leaders are talking about an unfettered re-imagining of the church, resulting in a comprehensive change in its self-understanding and its reconfiguration.

Frequently the term "deconstruction" is used by radical voices within the emergent church. But this technical term is often misunderstood, being perceived as too threatening and confrontational. It is heard to imply demolition and destruction, which is not what is intended. Deconstruction refers to a particular method of literary criticism that seeks to get behind the text to reveal the embedded assumptions. Among Emerging Church leaders, "deconstruction" signifies, not destruction, but a breakthrough. It means to undo or take apart in order to arrive at a deeper understanding, allowing for a creative re-reading. However, in order to avoid the negative implications of the term, and its highly technical explanation, I prefer to speak of the re-imagining of the church, and of the transformation process as the morphing of the church.

Wikipedia defines morphing as a special effect in motion pictures and animations that changes (or morphs) one image into another through a seamless transition. The term has a much more ancient usage however. It is derived from the Greek word morphe, which appears in the New Testament in a significant context.

Author Bio

Eddie Gibbs (DMin, Fuller Theological Seminary) is director of the Institute for the Study of Emerging Churches at the Brehm Center for Worship, Theology, and the Arts and a senior professor in the School of Intercultural Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. He is the author of numerous books, including Emerging Churches and the critically acclaimed ChurchNext (winner of a Christianity Today book award), and is cohost of the popular Church Then and Now Web site.

Author Bio

Eddie Gibbs (DMin, Fuller Theological Seminary) is director of the Institute for the Study of Emerging Churches at the Brehm Center for Worship, Theology, and the Arts and a senior professor in the School of Intercultural Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is the author of numerous books, including Emerging Churches and the critically acclaimed ChurchNext (winner of a Christianity Today book award), and is cohost of the popular Church Then and Now Web site.

Publisher's Weekly

A professor of church growth at Fuller Theological Seminary, Gibbs catalogues the latest church trends, from so-called “missional” and “emerging” church formats to new monastic communities and alternative worship. The book is intended for a professional audience of ministry students and church leaders and provides short summaries of innovative churches in the U.S., Canada and Great Britain. It calls attention to cultural and geographic changes that will challenge church leaders to adapt to new circumstances if they are to engage people in a 21st-century context. For example, Gibbs points out that preconceived church models, such as the big box megachurch, may not be culturally appropriate to today's ethnically diverse urban communities. In these settings, church members may be more eager to engage with social justice issues such as substandard housing and education in contrast to more self-focused, consumerist suburban churches. Still, Gibbs's book is intended more as a resource than an argument. He commends churches of all types that succeed in advancing the Christian mission. (Aug.) Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

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