Reclaiming the Great Commission: A Practical Model for Transforming Denominations and Congregations

by Claude E. Payne, Hamilton Beazley

Reclaiming the Great Commission describes a biblically based model that can restore the missionary power of first-century Christianity to twenty-first century denominations and their congregations. Based on shared vision and mission, the model can guide the members of any congregation or denomination into deeper and broader evangelism, an enhanced experience of community, and a renewed hope of personal and spiritual transformation.

Genres: Evangelism, Discipleship, Church

268 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2000

Reviews

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thumbed through about a third of this book and although I appreciate the effort to rethink the missional character of the church, I came away thinking this perspective is too ecclesiocentric for my tastes. Maybe I will give it a more vigorous try in the near future. I am of the Star Trek generation, and when I see the word "assimilate" I don't necessarily think of it as a positive thing. Remember the Borg? Regarding the missional nature of the church, it seems to me that the hoped-for goal is not necessarily to bring people "in" from the community "out there" so they can be "assimilated". The community is ready to welcome the church into it, from its comfortable equilibrium into a new, very diverse equilibrium. The trouble is the disequilibrium that ensues between places. The more it's anticipated, the more anxious we get about how different it feels. Thank you for the opportunity to do some more thinking with you all!