The Once and Future Church: Reinventing the Congregation for a New Mission Frontier
Loren B. Mead
Mead takes a broad look at past and present changes in the church, and postulates a future to which those changes are calling us. Denominations, once structured to deliver resources to far-off lands of foreign mission, now encounter the mission field in the layperson’s workplace and the community surrounding the local congregation. In a post-Christendom era, the old assumptions don't work, and our institutions are breaking down. Thus, the church needs to be—and in fact is becoming—reinvented for the new mission. But the new era is not yet clear. What do we do in the meantime? Mead provides a fascinating look at where we may be headed and how some of us are already working to get there.
A study guide is included at the end of the book.
Praise for the Book
“I would be hard pressed to name an American religious leader who has been as persistent an advocate of the importance of local congregations to the future of American religion as Loren Mead. With a very few others, Loren Mead and the Alban Institute have recognizes that our religious future is being shaped in thousands of local settings around the United States. This is Loren Mead's most radical book and most important. If you have turned to Loren Mead for help in planning a sabbatical, if you have dealt with a congregational conflict, if you have asked questions about clergy authority or lay ministry, then you need to read The Once and Future Church. This is a book that will challenge everything you are doing, but will also give you clues for the future.” —William McKinney, Dean of Hartford Seminary
“Loren Mead, who has spent almost forty years working in, with, and for Christian congregations, has now distilled his experience into a single volume, The Once and Future Church. The book is full of vintage Mead—sharp insights to quote and provocative opinions to contest. Even better, it contains something new: Loren Mead's vision of congregational mission in the next century. Anyone who cares about the future of the church should read this book.” —Barbara Wheeler
About the Author
Loren B. Mead is president emeritus of the Alban Institute, which he founded in 1974. Since his retirement in 1993, he has continued to consult with congregations, lecture, and write. He has written many books, including The Once and Future Church: Reinventing the Church for a New Mission Frontier (Alban, 1991).
ISBN# 1-56699-050-5
Alban No. AL129
paper, 92 pages
1991
In stock
$14.00
($10.50 for members)
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