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Title: The Crux of the Matter: Crisis, Tradition, and the Future of Churches of Christ by Jeff W. Childers, Douglas A. Foster, Jack Reese ISBN: 0-89112-036-X Publisher: Abilene Christian Univ Pr Pub. Date: March, 2002 Format: Paperback List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.4 (5 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Great for Church of Christ "lifers"
Comment: I'm writing this review with 20 years of direct experience with the target audience of this book. That is, the Church of Christ "lifer", the person who was born and raised in the body of churches known as the non-instrumental Churches of Christ. This person's family history likely goes back several generations with the Churches of Christ.
This person has a lot of his/her worth as a Christian based on being part of the "heritage" of the "restoration movement". And that means being a Christian within the non-instrumental Churches of Christ.
This book is about helping these people deal with change. In particular, changes within the Churches of Christ. Apparently in decades past it was possible to walk into a Church of Christ anywhere in America and know what to expect, like ordering a hamburger at McDonalds. But things are changing now, and many in the Churches of Christ are becoming disoriented by these changes and the increasing diversity among Church of Christ congregations.
To deal with this, the author focuses the reader on the core of the Gospel and what it means to be a Chirstian. He does a great job of this throughout most of this book. The idea being that diversity is not necessarily bad as long as we focus on the crux of Christianity. Then we can be different and all get along. Sounds great to me!
Though a great read, I gave this book only three stars for the following reasons.
1. The author blames these changes on "post modernism". Blaming problems in Christian churches on "post modernism" is starting to get cliche. Change happens all the time, and the religious landscape in America has been volitle throughout most of its history. What did church leaders blame change on before "post modernism"? I forgot.
Is it possible that some of these changes in Churches of Christ are occuring because church members, like all of us, have access to more information that ever before and through their own studies have determined that some of the Church of Christ teachings are little more than traditional dogmas with little scriptural support? (To his credit, the author does sort of lead the reader to that without actually coming out and saying it.)
2. After doing a great job of focusing the reader on the crux of Christianity, the auther then decides at the end that weekly performance of the Lord's Supper is a "non-negotiable" part of being a Christian. What does "non-negotiable" mean exactly?
And, where in the New Testament is there any explicit directive concerning the frequency with which a Christian must partake of the Lord's Supper? There isn't. So after all is written and read, the author showed me that he really hadn't progessed in his thinking as far as I had thought.
Still, for the target audience this is one of the best books out there.
Rating: 5
Summary: The Crux of the Matter
Comment: The authors provide a stimulating discussion of the need for reassessment and redirection within churches of Christ. Beginning with the perceptive observation that the church most of us know came of age in the 1950's, they highlight the growing sense of disorientation felt by many in an increasingly post-modern world.
Before suggesting directions and solutions, they provide helpful perspective by taking a giant step backward and tracing our modern roots from the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century through the American Restoration Movement of the 19th century. In doing this they demonstrate that at least some of our perspectives and distinctive doctrines were influenced by people and historical forces much more recent than the first century.
After that, the authors get to "the crux of the matter," retrace the current crisis of identity, diversity, and change in the church, and attempt to offer some directions for the future. Chief among these is a call to re-focus attention on the "core" of the gospel: "the story of our creator God's actions to save us from sin and death, culminating in the life, teaching, death, and resurrection of Christ." This focus, they submit, provides the best platform for biblical interpretation, individual growth and congregational unity.
On the issue of biblical interpretation, for example, the authors contend that good interpretation acknowledges the core as a "center of gravity, allowing that core to govern both the reading of the text and its application." This approach de-emphasizes a search for "rules" and "patterns" and re-focuses on broader aspects of the text: purpose, theme, genre, context, and principle.
The authors acknowledge that the book is not intended as a fully-developed theology, but as a starting point for further thought and discussion. From that standpoint, I would highly recommend it as a very interesting and thought-provoking read.
Rating: 4
Summary: Good discussion
Comment: This is a good discussion of a complex problem in Churches of Christ. I mean, just where are we going? Where did we come from? Overall, the discussion was adequate and worthwhile. Sometimes, it seems that conclusions are reached simply to be consistent with our heritage - not that that is all bad - but sometimes other conclusions are just as valid. Worth the time to read.
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Title: Tradition, Opinion, and Truth : The Emerging Church of Christ by Fred Peatross ISBN: 0595139116 Publisher: Writers Club Press Pub. Date: 11 September, 2000 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
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Title: Reviving the Ancient Faith: The Story of Churches of Christ in America by Richard T. Hughes ISBN: 0802840868 Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Pub. Date: February, 1996 List Price(USD): $32.00 |
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Title: A Church That Flies : A New Call to Restoration in the Churches of Christ by Tim Woodroof ISBN: 0970083610 Publisher: New Leaf Books Pub. Date: 01 August, 2000 List Price(USD): $12.99 |
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Title: Come to the Table: Revisioning the Lord's Supper by John Mark Hicks ISBN: 0971428972 Publisher: New Leaf Books Pub. Date: May, 2002 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: The Jesus Proposal: A Theological Framework for Maintaining the Unity of the Body of Christ by Rubel Shelly, John O. York ISBN: 0972842551 Publisher: New Leaf Books Pub. Date: 15 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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