Book Description
A feisty, entertaining, and educational conversation about the shape of the church of the 21st century.


From the Back Cover
What should the church look like today? What should be the focus of its message? How should I present that message? We live in as pivotal and defining an age as the Great Depression or the Sixties–a period whose definition, say some cultural observers, includes a warning of the church’s influence. The result? A society measurably less religious but decidedly more spiritual. Less influenced by authority than by experience. More attuned to images than to words. How does the church adapt to such a culture? Or should it, in fact, eschew adapting for maintaining a course it has followed these last two millennia? Or something in between? These are exactly the questions asked in The Church In Emerging Culture by five Christian thinker-speaker-writers, each who advocate unique stances regarding what the church’s message should be (and what methods should be used to present it) as it journeys through this evolving, postmodern era. The authors are: Andy Crouch–Re:Generation Quarterly editor-in-chief Michael Horton–professor and reformed theologian Frederica Mathewes-Green–author, commentator, and Orthodox Christian Brian D. McLaren–postmodernist, author, pastor, and Emergent senior fellow Erwin Raphael McManus–author and pastor of the innovative and interethnic L.A.-based church, Mosaic Most unique about their individual positions is that they’re presented not as singular essays but as lively discussions in which the other four authors freely (and frequently) comment, critique, and concur. That element, coupled with a unique photographic design that reinforces the depth of their at-once congenial and feisty conversation, gives you all-access entrée into this groundbreaking discourse. What’s more, general editor Leonard Sweet (author of SoulTsunami and AquaChurch, among several other acclaimed texts) frames the thought-provoking dialogue with a profoundly insightful, erudite introductory essay–practically a book within a book. The Church In Emerging Culture is foundational reading for leaders and serious students of all denominations and church styles.


About the Author
Andy Crouch is editor-in-chief of re:generation quarterly magazine. For nine years he was a campus minister with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at Harvard University. A columnist for Christianity Today, he writes regularly on faith and culture for several national magazines.;Michael Horton teaches theology and apologetics at Westminster Seminary California (Escondido), where he lives with his wife Lisa and four children. A prolific author, he is also the host of The White Horse Inn, a nationally syndicated radio program, and editor of Modern Reformation magazine.;Frederica Mathewes-Green is an author, commentator, and Orthodox Christian. She is a regular contributor to Christianity Today, Focus on the Family-Citizen, and Touchstone.;Brian D. McLaren (M.A. University of Maryland) is founding pastor of Cedar Ridge Community Church, an innovative nondenominational church in the Baltimore-Washington region.A national and international strategist and speaker on culture, change, creativity, and leadership, he is the author of An Unstoppable Force: Daring to Become the Church God Had in Mind and Seizing Your Divine Moment: Dare to Live a Life of Adventure.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

What should the church look like today?What should be the focus of its message?How should I present that message?

We live in as pivotal and defining an age as the Great Depression or the Sixties-a period whose definition, say some cultural observers, includes a warning of the church's influence.

The result? A society measurably less religious but decidedly more spiritual. Less influenced by authority than by experience. More attuned to images than to words.

How does the church adapt to such a culture? Or should it, in fact, eschew adapting for maintaining a course it has followed these last two millennia? Or something in between?

These are exactly the questions asked in The Church In Emerging Culture by five Christian thinker-speaker-writers, each who advocate unique stances regarding what the church's message should be (and what methods should be used to present it) as it journeys through this evolving, postmodern era. The authors are:

Andy Crouch-Re: Generation Quarterly editor-in-chiefMichael Horton-professor and reformed theologianFrederica Mathewes-Green-author, commentator, and Orthodox ChristianBrian D. McLaren-postmodernist, author, pastor, and Emergent senior fellowErwin Raphael McManus-author and pastor of the innovative and interethnic L.A.-based church, Mosaic

Most unique about their individual positions is that they're presented not as singular essays but as lively discussions in which the other four authors freely (and frequently) comment, critique, and concur. That element, coupled with a unique photographic design that reinforces the depth of their at-once congenial and feisty conversation, gives you all-access entrée intothis groundbreaking discourse.

What's more, general editor Leonard Sweet (author of SoulTsunami and AquaChurch, among several other acclaimed texts) frames the thought-provoking dialogue with a profoundly insightful, erudite introductory essay-practically a book within a book.

The Church In Emerging Culture is foundational reading for leaders and serious students of all denominations and church styles.