FeedNew Kind of Church, A: Understanding Models of Ministry for the 21st Century
August 27, 2011 in St Church Tags: 21st, Century, Church, kind, Ministry, Models, Understanding
New Kind of Church, A: Understanding Models of Ministry for the 21st Century
- ISBN13: 9780801091896
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
There is no shortage of books these days on new ways of “doing church.” New church models have been both warmly embraced and roundly criticized. What are church leaders and others concerned about the state of the church to make of all this? Does the Bible prescribe a standard model for doing church? Or is there freedom within certain guidelines?
In A New Kind of Church, respected church consultant Aubrey Malphurs addresses these important questions and suggests that there is room for new ways of doing ministry while being true to Scripture. In the process, he offers a theological and interpretive framework for evaluating any church model, new or old. He also offers suggestions for implementing change in the local church.
List Price: $ 15.99
Price: $ 6.39
August 27th, 2011 at 9:13 am
Disappointed,
Overall I am disappointed with this book. In the first chapter Malphurs with broad strokes began painting a picture of the local church changing radically with the 21st century. He had my attention, with me hoping for some kind of new insight into how to address those changes. Instead, by chapter 3 he fell into a comparison of newer model churches such as Saddleback or Willow Creek to traditional model congregations. Throughout most of this volume, the author summarizes what has been said by other church growth authors, or what he has said in his other books. The best chapters of this book are chapters 1, 2 and 7. Chapter 1 identifies the changing church, and chapter 2 gives insight into why churches are changing. Chapter 7 addresses the vital nature of the local church, and what it is and isn’t. With all the emphasis today on small Bible study groups and para-church movements, the authors’ thoughts here are worth the price of the book.
This title is worth the money due to presence of the three chapters mentioned. It isn’t worth the time to read it in its entirety, especially if you have read other works by Malphurs.
Was this review helpful to you?
|August 27th, 2011 at 10:01 am
A much-needed addition to this discussion!,
I have always been an Aubrey Malphurs fan – respecting his depth, scholarship, and purposeful approach to helping churches flourish. This book is a timely, fair, and insightful addition to the dialogue about emerging church trends – both within the church and in the communities and populations those churches are serving. Before taking a dogmatic position based on limited information, I encourage every Christian leader to read this book. It is sure to facilitate a more balanced and productive conversation among pastors and leaders, and will serve to help churches find the future direction and mission-clarity they so desperately need.
Was this review helpful to you?
|August 27th, 2011 at 10:11 am
A Need Plea For Change,
Aubrey Malphurs has numerous works about the church and congregational leadership on the market. I remember reading his book on planting churches which was excellent. This book is a needed wake up call to churches across America. He has some superb discussion on culture. He highlights the pervading influence that culture has on congregations. Culture is neither moral or immoral. Culture is. Also, there is good conversation on the need to change to reach the culture around us. There is too much resistance to change in too many congregations. A congregation must be evangelistic and willing to reach out to new people. The problem is that us church people dislike people who have little background in church operations. The little markers within a congregation are not understood by those outside of the church. This book help a lot of leadership within the church. Not all of it we would agree with, but some of it is excellent. It disliked the focus on the mega-church movement. The author seemed to like this style of operations for congregations, I see a better method than a willow creek style of church. Overall the book will be informative and helpful, especially in the beginning chapters.
Was this review helpful to you?
|