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33rd out of 38 books
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1 voter
The Shaping of Things to Come: Innovation and Mission for the 21st Century Church
Christendom is dying and needs to be removed from its life-support system. Starting with this frank assessment of the current church, Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch present an alternative model for ministry in today s postmodern world. Instead of mourning the demise of the Western church as the center of society, the authors explain how the church can be reborn through inca...more
Paperback, 250 pages
Published
November 28th 2003
by Hendrickson Publishers
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I think this book paints an accurate picture of the major problems facing the Western Church and poses viable and theologically valid propositions for how to truly engage evangelism in this post-Christian American culture. I do, however, believe that there are many Pastors who would, if they had been properly educated and trained at the Seminary level, adopt a model of "Church" that sheds the hierarchal-authoratative structure and actually makes an impact in their communities. I also believe the...more
Wow. This was a great book. But also a somewhat unsettling book. It's the sort of book that challenges you to get up and do something, as illustrated so well by the image of Kirkegaard's geese who learn all about their ultimate destiny of flying but yet live in the safety of the farmyard. It is a book that I think I will be processing for a while. I may write about it on my blog if I have time. One last salient image I am pondering is that of the centered-set church (represented by a type of far...more
I find the issues raised by the authors of the book very challenging. The authors make it known that they are "modeling" ministry/ church for the post-Christendom generation, namely the for the Western perspective. I am Asian and some of the suggestions seem out of context for now. But i do see shits happening where i am and the book is prophetic in nature to how i find it. Some of the stuff i found difficult to grasp, maybe because i am no familiar with the subject at hand. I would recommend th...more
I love this book. This is what much of my churches philosophy of church originates from. Not theology mind you, but philosophy.
If you've noticed that church isn't working like it should, then you should read this book and watch it turn your world upside down. The sad reality is that the average church member will not be bold enough to embrace most of these practices.
I didn't see eye to eye with the authors %100 of the time, but as a whole this book is exactly what my church needed to be to our...more
If you've noticed that church isn't working like it should, then you should read this book and watch it turn your world upside down. The sad reality is that the average church member will not be bold enough to embrace most of these practices.
I didn't see eye to eye with the authors %100 of the time, but as a whole this book is exactly what my church needed to be to our...more
This is an outstanding book. The topic is centred on what the Church of Jesus Christ should look like in the twenty-first century. The authors want the reader to understand how much of what we call church, has nothing to do with Jesus, or the Bible, but rather is merely tradition. Even more frightening, many of these traditions have their roots in archaic Roman government structures, and should have never found their way into churches in the first place. Frost and Hirsh start by showing us where...more
I've been stalking the missional church for the past three years. My first exposure was somewhat accidental; someone put Mike Frost's Exiles on the free table at work, and I poached it and read it and loved it. It's ridiculously long, but his vision for the church was brilliant and the people he profiled were doing things, and calling it church, that I wanted to do and call church.
Eventually my pursuit of the missional church turned mercenary, as I thought perhaps I could compel some of these f...more
Eventually my pursuit of the missional church turned mercenary, as I thought perhaps I could compel some of these f...more
Finished reading this a month or two ago - but I'm delayed in posting my reviews.
I enjoyed the majority of this book. Frost and Hirsch discuss what Christian mission looks like in today's modern developed world - and how certain mission strategies of the past are no longer effective in reaching post-modernists. I particularly enjoyed the many examples of Christians performing mission in new and unique ways that are relevant to the 'culture' they are attempting to reach. Part of my reading of thi...more
I enjoyed the majority of this book. Frost and Hirsch discuss what Christian mission looks like in today's modern developed world - and how certain mission strategies of the past are no longer effective in reaching post-modernists. I particularly enjoyed the many examples of Christians performing mission in new and unique ways that are relevant to the 'culture' they are attempting to reach. Part of my reading of thi...more
Mar 08, 2008
Karen L.
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
those wanting to understand the emergent thing
Recommended to Karen L. by:
a friend in England who works with students
Shelves:
christianity,
theology
The authors define a lot of new emergent church terms and even have a glossary in the back of the book. He defines and discusses a need for more missional communities. They give some nice out reach examples, but these could be done by church folks in existing churches. No need to leave and start a new one.Having visited lot's of different churches and denominations (was a former missionary to a foreign field with a para church organization) , it seems that this emergent church mode gets into th...more
For those with an interest in the "missional" church and its emergence as a significant cultural and religious adaptation, this book will be useful. There is much here that is theologically familiar to evangelicals who want to remain within that stream of the Christian tradition, but there is also a fresh thinking about the intersections of religious life and sociocultural context that would be useful to progressive Christians with globalization and religious pluralism in mind.
I loved this book. It paints a very clear picture of the fate of the Church if we carry on doing what we've always done, and shows how Christendom-era thinking has become irrelevant and unhelpful. It goes on to illustrate how the Church needs to become mission-oreinted again, and that that mission orientation needs to be thoroughly incarnational and culturally contextualised in nature. Their analysis of the type of leadership needed in the future is, to my mind, spot-on. While the book is unsett...more
Not a bad read for people looking to develop a "cutting edge", trendy church. Lots to consider about how to best present Jesus to a culture in which we can't assume anything about anyone's depth of understanding regarding Christianity. A bit of a "trying to be trendy" feel to it, which puts me off a little bit, but I was certainly able to glean useful ideas from it.
OK, a friend asked me to read this and discuss it with him. I was not a fan of their critique of "The Western Church". I believe that some of their criticism is correct, but I don't appreciate someone taking pot shots at pastors and their churches by lumping them all in the same category.
The main thesis of the text is the discussion of "Incarnational Ministry". Living in the culture that you are trying to win for Christ. They write as though this is a new concept. Well, guess what? I lived "Inca...more
The main thesis of the text is the discussion of "Incarnational Ministry". Living in the culture that you are trying to win for Christ. They write as though this is a new concept. Well, guess what? I lived "Inca...more
Aug 04, 2011
Aaron Thomas
added it
This book has so many unforgettable quotes, it's hard to choose one to describe it. I'll paraphrase since the book isn't in front of me. "Jesus said 'Go and make disciples' but our church buildings say 'Stay'. If the church building is the only place we can meaningfully connect with unbelievers...then we're in trouble."
I liked this book but it was more diagrams and theory than I'd hoped for. Hirsch and Frost provide some interesting examples of people living out in various ways to make natural connections to people rather than beating them over the head with a Scoffield Bible. It wasn't the easiest of reads but not a bad read.
This book turned my thinking about Western institutionalized church inside out and upside down. I was both challenged and encouraged as Frost and Hirsch present a refreshing, innovative and incarnational approach to mission and the building of gospel centred communities.
This is a seminal text for the emerging church, yet it covers so much more than the emerging church. It's basically a new paradigm for church covered in a systematic way. Unfortunately, its heavily based in experience and little in terms of biblical theology and exegesis. Yes Hirsch and Frost use the bible to back up their claims, but they do not systematically study the bible to come up with a theology that supports their claims. I suppose doing that would be modernistic and would go completely...more
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This book forever changed the way I think about church and ministry in the western world. It entered me into "missional" thinking, and I can't go back.
Hated this book with a passion. Answers the right questions with the wrong solutions. Makes church about being different and not about Jesus.
This is the first book of this kind I have read and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It was refreshing to read about different perspectives on how to do church. They talk about how the era of Christendom has affected Christianity and the urgent need to change the way the church interacts (or doesn't) with the community in which it exists. They discuss exploring your context in depth, and doing church in new ways that are more culturally relevant and accessible than the typical form of g...more
The book that gave me hope for the Church. Still does.
Worth the read, pity about the language
May 12, 2009
Ben
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Those who feel disappointed with what the western church has to offer and dreams of something more.
Recommended to Ben by:
Jon Kramer
This was an exciting, encouraging, frustrating and difficult book to read. It left me excited but having no real way to work out what I would like to (not the books fault). If you believe the western church as it stands is flawed and in need of re-creation to be effective at carrying out the great commission in a new world than this book can be a great place to start imagining what it could be like. If you think the church is great as it is than skip this book and save yourself the hypertension...more
Feb 05, 2008
Ben Wedeking
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
josh wilson, adam mellem
Shelves:
emerging-church
Alan Hirsch is one of my new favorite authors and does a really nice job in challenging the church to rethink its DNA. This was an excellent book and one I would highly recommend to those who would like to see theoritically and practically what the church needs to do moving into the future. A particular favorite part of the book focused on the importance of imagination and included some cool ideas on how to stimulate your creativity. Not the major point but an interesting tag on to the main idea...more
LOVE this book. Great insights and thoughts about how being and doing church needs to change with the movement of Christianity to the margins of western society. it isn't about battling to get back from the margins, but trying to be faithful to God and reach out to serve others where we're at. I felt inspired to think about how my future ministry involvement could look differently than being working for an already existing church. Even tried to get my hubby to read it. He's read some. :)
Though long winded, Frost and Hirsch display an impeccable knowledge of our society's needs from their churches. Read this book if you plan on doing ministry! It will change how you think and go about your evangelism.
This is a very good book. This is a book that I've meant to read for many years and
Just got to it. If your care about the future of Christianity or have become frustrated with much of what church has become, this book is for you.
It is not the easiest book to read. There is an amazing amount of information to get through. This is one book you will want to
Keep right next to you do you can keep coming back to it.
Just got to it. If your care about the future of Christianity or have become frustrated with much of what church has become, this book is for you.
It is not the easiest book to read. There is an amazing amount of information to get through. This is one book you will want to
Keep right next to you do you can keep coming back to it.
This is an intriguing book and good to have on your shelf. It is a discussion of revamping our ecclesiology for the modern world. Nothing in here was new for me but it has been a helpful reference in dialogue with Christians around the world. It lacked clarity and was too hasty to divorce today's church from its rich, though admittedly messy, history.
Great book on the emerging church. It is a book you must read slowly, a chapter at a time and then chew on it a while. Great discussion starter especially for those who are thinking about starting a church.
Used this as required reading in my Global Perspectives class at NCU. Loved it. A nice weave of theological and practical insights on just what the church is and how we are to BE the church in the world.
If you ever want to know why we don't go to church read this book. I am tired of defending our decision, mostly to Christians, this book is intelligent and will make you think.
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Michael Frost is the Vice Principal and the Director of the Tinsley Institute at Morling College. He teaches various missiology and evangelism subjects and has written extensively on a missional paradigm for the church in a post-Christian era.
See also other Michael Frosts.
More about Michael Frost...
See also other Michael Frosts.
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“Whether [new Protestant church movements] place their emphasis on new worship styles, expressions of the Holy Spirit’s power, evangelism to seekers, or Bible teaching, these so-called new movements still operate out of the fallacious assumption that the church belongs firmly in the town square, that is, at the heart of Western culture. And if they begin with this mistaken belief about their position in Western society, all their church planting, all their reproduction will simply mirror this misapprehension.”
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