Download PDF Becoming a Just Church Cultivating Communities of God Shalom Adam L Gustine Dennis Edwards 9780830841516 Books
Download As PDF : Becoming a Just Church Cultivating Communities of God Shalom Adam L Gustine Dennis Edwards 9780830841516 Books
Stop outsourcing justice! Many local churches don't know what to do about justice. We tend to compartmentalize it as merely a strategy for outreach, and we often outsource it to parachurch justice ministries. While these organizations do good work, individual congregations are left disconnected from God's just purposes in the world. Adam Gustine calls the local church to be just and do justice. He provides a theological vision for our identity as a just people, where God's character and the pursuit of shalom infuses every aspect of our congregational DNA. As we grow in becoming just, the church becomes a prophetic alternative to the broken systems of the world and a parable of God's intentions for human flourishing and societal transformation. This renewed vision for the church leads us into cultivating a just life together―in community, discipleship, worship, and more―extending justice out into the world in concrete ways. Let's hold being and doing together, so we can become just, compassionate communities that restore shalom and bring hope to the world.
Download PDF Becoming a Just Church Cultivating Communities of God Shalom Adam L Gustine Dennis Edwards 9780830841516 Books
"Adam Gustine writes this in Becoming a Just Church: "...would someone who only lived in your sanctuary know that
there is a real world outside of it and that that world is wracked with injustice?" In my personal experience of church for much of my life, the answer to this question would be no. And I think many people with an evangelical church background would say the same. We wonder then why people who live life in the margins feel out of place in our churches.
He goes on to say "If we were to consider the normative experience in many evangelical churches, it would appear that the real world outside the walls of the church was not considered. Ignoring the world outside, particularly the moments of extreme brokenness and injustice, is a subtle way of being a high-ground church. Because high-ground society is largely insulated from the injustice of the world, there is a certain degree of freedom not to talk about issues that arise in our world. For people who experience life as vulnerable or marginalized people, walking into a gathering for corporate worship and not talking about the issues they experience day to day often seems offensive."
So good. So needed. Highly reccomended!"
Product details
|
Tags : Becoming a Just Church Cultivating Communities of God's Shalom [Adam L. Gustine, Dennis Edwards] on . <strong>Stop outsourcing justice!</strong> Many local churches don't know what to do about justice. We tend to compartmentalize it as merely a strategy for outreach,Adam L. Gustine, Dennis Edwards,Becoming a Just Church Cultivating Communities of God's Shalom,IVP Books,0830841512,Christianity and justice - United States,Christianity and justice;United States.,Church,Church.,United States - Church history - 21st century,United States;Church history;21st century.,General Adult,Inspirational/Devotional,Justice; church; local church; shalom; ecclesiology; discipleship; kinship; community; church community; just church; justice and the church; justice and Christianity; social justice; Christian justice; social justice and Christianity; social justice and the church; justice oriented church; local church and community; church in the community; social justice issues; social change; economic justice; social justice book; Christian social justice; religion and justice; evangelical justice,Justice;church;local church;shalom;ecclesiology;discipleship;kinship;community;church community;just church;justice and the church;justice and Christianity;social justice;Christian justice;social justice and Christianity;social justice and the church;justice oriented church;local church and community;church in the community;social justice issues;social change;economic justice;social justice book;Christian social justice;religion and justice;evangelical justice;local church and community,Non-Fiction,RELIGION / Christian Church / Growth,RELIGION / Christian Living / Social Issues,RELIGION / Christian Ministry / Discipleship,RELIGIOUS,Religion/Christian Church - Growth,Religion/Christian Living - Social Issues,Religion/Ethics,SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sociology of Religion,Social Science/Sociology of Religion,United States,United States - Church history - 21st century,United States;Church history;21st century.,RELIGION / Christian Church / Growth,RELIGION / Christian Living / Social Issues,RELIGION / Christian Ministry / Discipleship,Religion/Christian Church - Growth,Religion/Christian Living - Social Issues,SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sociology of Religion,Social Science/Sociology of Religion
Becoming a Just Church Cultivating Communities of God Shalom Adam L Gustine Dennis Edwards 9780830841516 Books Reviews :
Becoming a Just Church Cultivating Communities of God Shalom Adam L Gustine Dennis Edwards 9780830841516 Books Reviews
- Which is more important, evangelism or justice? For many Christians, how we answer this question informs not only our ministry priorities but also our perceived faithfulness to the gospel itself. Problems arise when we don't answer the question with the right balance, or at least the right balance as assumed by the person asking the evangelism-justice question. But what if the problem isn't with how we answer but in the question itself? As Adam writes, "Instead of compartmentalizing justice as outreach or evangelism, we need a fuller and more nuanced understanding of mission that sees God’s intent as larger (though surely not less) than the salvation of souls."
This is this significant contribution of Becoming a Just Church. By framing justice as an attribute of the church, Adam invites the reader away from the either-or of justice and evangelism that has bifurcated these conversations for way too long. Because churches of all theological persuasions have accepted this bifurcation, Adam has to address the readers' assumptions about what it means to be the church. There's a lot of very good and accessible ecclesiology in these pages and the result is a vision of justice rooted in our identity as the people of God.
Adam draws on an array of diverse voices along with his own experiences in ministry around the country to help us imagine this way of being the church. This book is wise and exceedingly readable. Any church or Christian community that sincerely engages this biblically grounded vision will find a hopeful and creative future opening before them. - Adam clearly articulates the purpose and practice of justice in the local church context. In this book we can see God’s plan for God’s people to bear witness to the whole gospel of Jesus Christ that moves beyond an outreach strategy. God’s plan for Shalom is a the way of life for local churches in communities and neighborhoods. As our American Church culture continues to struggle with new strategies to reach the lost in a post modern world, Adam shows us God’s original plan for God’s people that has always been at the center of God’s heart. Shalom! Abundant flourishing for all of creation together! This is good news!
- Adam Gustine writes this in Becoming a Just Church "...would someone who only lived in your sanctuary know that
there is a real world outside of it and that that world is wracked with injustice?" In my personal experience of church for much of my life, the answer to this question would be no. And I think many people with an evangelical church background would say the same. We wonder then why people who live life in the margins feel out of place in our churches.
He goes on to say "If we were to consider the normative experience in many evangelical churches, it would appear that the real world outside the walls of the church was not considered. Ignoring the world outside, particularly the moments of extreme brokenness and injustice, is a subtle way of being a high-ground church. Because high-ground society is largely insulated from the injustice of the world, there is a certain degree of freedom not to talk about issues that arise in our world. For people who experience life as vulnerable or marginalized people, walking into a gathering for corporate worship and not talking about the issues they experience day to day often seems offensive."
So good. So needed. Highly reccomended! - Directed primarily at North American white evangelicals, Becoming a Just Church explores the question, What would it look like for the church to embody God’s justice in the world? For many evangelicals the topic itself will be anathema, but for a growing subset of evangelicals, God’s call to pursue justice is of paramount concern, and as Gustine insists, a central theme of Scripture. As such, he makes the case that justice cannot be confined to one program area of the church, but must become a way of life for God's people. Walking us through the biblical storyline, Gustine draws out a theology of justice rooted in the ultimate picture of God’s kingdom of Shalom. This section alone is worth the price the book.
One of the other great gifts of Becoming a Just Church is the vocabulary and imagery Gustine invokes to offer readers a framework for imagining and living into God’s justice. He also does us the favor throughout of providing honest and critical reflection on his own pastoral experiences, which I suspect will resonate deeply for pastors who find themselves on a similar journey. The discussion questions after each chapter are thoughtful, provocative and useful for guiding discussion in small group settings. Our church will definitely benefit from having this as a resource and guide! - This is an excellent book! I really appreciate that this is not merely a treatise for justice in the church, or strictly theological (though there is plenty of strong theological work here), but the author begins at becoming the kind of people who embody the justice of God. He also provides several great thoughts and questions for further consideration and practical steps toward application in our own context at the end of each chapter. An incredibly helpful tool for further processing and discerning next steps, both personally and as leadership teams.
Such a welcome contribution to a very pertinent issue. As Gustine writes, “Injustice is tangible evidence of the kingdom of darkness at work in the world.“ But in this book Gustine vividly paints the picture of how God works through us as the church to bear the light of his kingdom into that darkness as a parable, a demonstration of the shalom of God. As we become just as a people, the light of God breaks into the brokenness of this world, and that is when truly transformative things happen.
