Generous Ecclesiology: Church, World and the Kingdom of God

Generous Ecclesiology: Church, World and the Kingdom of God

by Brutus Green (Author), Ian Mobsby (Afterword), James Heard (Author), Julie Gittoes (Author)

Synopsis

Generous Ecclesiology seeks to present a positive theological response to the issues raised by Mission-Shaped Church and For the Parish. The former reminds us that the church is to engage in creative and imaginative ways with our missionary calling. The latter affirms the place of inherited patterns and structures which cannot simply be discarded. Alert to the danger that discussion about tradition and innovation can become polarized; the editors recognize that living in relation to a generous God shapes our ecclesiology. This vocation is formed by a double constitution of worship and mission. This vocation is for the sake of the Kingdom of God. Generous Ecclesiology takes as its basis the uniqueness of the church's calling in God's world, a world embraced by the generosity of his love. This collection is a contribution to an ongoing conversation; to this end, it engages with a rich range of dialogue partners, historically, ecumenically and culturally as well as theologically. It seeks to offer a rigorous theological resource - inspiring us to drink deeply of the wells of our tradition and inherited patterns. Whether implicitly or explicitly, these essays reflect on or are shaped by the ordinary concerns, challenges and opportunities of ministry.

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More Information

Format: Illustrated
Pages: 192
Edition: Illustrated
Publisher: SCM Press
Published: 30 Sep 2013

ISBN 10: 0334046629
ISBN 13: 9780334046622

Media Reviews
A book that speaks of the church and mission with such passion and integrity, and yet is rooted in the overwhelming abundance and generosity of God, is arguably long overdue. Generous Ecclesiology is a true manifesto for our times. It is a call for the church to live, love and serve well by abiding in the generosity of God - and to rejoice in the breadth and depth of the tradition we inhabit and share as Christians. This is a book for all those who want to move on from the tribalism that so easily ensnares Christian discourses, and often leads to painful conflict and division. Generous Ecclesiology calls the reader into that deeper, abundant and wholly generous space that we might dare to call the church. -- Martyn Percy
The church in our time needs is not so much restructuring but renewal. These essays help to focus our attention where it belongs, not on the Church as a sociological phenomenon which caters for our religious tastes and feelings but as a Eucharistic movement away from self absorption and towards the invitation of God who so loved the world that he was generous and gave himself to us in Jesus Christ. The Church lives and becomes part of the life of God by remembering the past, being attentive to the present in anticipation of the future. This book is an exploration of this mystery from a variety of angles and deserves a wide readership. -- Richard Chartres
Some pronouncements made by proponents of `traditional church', on the one hand, and `fresh expressions', on the other, have become across as a touch mean spirited. This admirable volume reminds us that a generous God, whom Christians proclaim, demands a generous ecclesiology. Only so will the Church fulfil its task of embodying and promoting the Kingdom. These essays are offered in a spirit of conversation. I hope and pray that they will encourage their readers to keep turning to God, and to one another, in conversation. It is, after all, no accident that the words conversation and conversion are related. -- John Inge
Generous Ecclesiology is a thoughtful and very welcome contribution to the unhelpfully polarised current debates about what the Church is, or should be. The authors of each essay address difficult questions with both clarity and theological rigour, bringing a new and refreshing depth of analysis to the questions raised by Mission Shaped Church and For the Parish. -- Miranda Threlfall-Holmes
Author Bio
The Revd Dr Julie Gittoes is a Residentiary Canon of Guildford Cathedral. The Revd Dr Brutus Green is Curate of St John's Hyde Park. The Revd Dr James Heard is Associate Vicar of St Luke's with Christ Church, Chelsea.