Western societies are experiencing a series of disorientating culture shifts. Uncertain where we are heading, observers use "post" words to signal that familiar landmarks are disappearing, but we cannot yet discern the shape of what is emerging. One of the most significant shifts, "post-Christendom," raises many questions about the mission and role of the church in this strange new world.
What does it mean to be one of many minorities in a culture that the church no longer dominates? How do followers of Jesus engage in mission from the margins? What do we bring with us as precious resources from the fading Christendom era, and what do we lay down as baggage that will weigh us down on our journey into post-Christendom?
Post-Christendom identifies the challenges and opportunities of this unsettling but exciting time. In the second edition of this provocative and important book, Stuart Murray presents an overview of the formation and development of the Christendom system, examines the legacies this has left, and highlights the questions that the Christian community needs to consider in this period of cultural transition.
Industry Reviews
"You will find this well-written and compellingly-argued work to be as challenging as it is insightful, and as exciting as it is encouraging." -- Greg Boyd, Senior Pastor, Woodland Hills Church, Maplewood, Minnesota
"What an illuminating read! Its clear-eyed analysis of how Christians got so tragically off course is a must-read for all those ready to rediscover Jesus, reimagine church, and live into hope for a more just, gentle world." -- Sara Wenger Shenk, President, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Elkhart, Indiana
"I read the first edition of Post-Christendom when it came out fourteen years ago and have returned to it regularly since. Stuart Murray's plea for us to disavow Christendom and rediscover Jesus-centered mission from the margins of contemporary society is no less a clarion call today than it was back then." -- Michael Frost, Morling College, Sydney
"I used to recommend the first edition to all the leaders, pastors, church planters, and students I could. I will now require the second edition for all I work with. This is a crucial read." -- Cam Roxburgh, Senior Pastor of Southside Community Church, National Director of Forge Canada
Christ's followers were accused of turning the world upside down (Acts 17:6). Murray explores Church and mission in this second expanded edition. Christians in the Christendom years, he argues, failed in key ways to turn the world upside down: from Constantine's befriending of the faith to the 1960s. Rather, they teamed up with the powers-that-be; focused too much on the Old Testament; neglected the Gospels, moved Jesus out from the centre; practised a coercive style of mission instead of learning from the language and culture of their `victims'; and were warlike and vicious to their `enemies' within the faith. Christendom is dying but in Post-Christendom `a new and dynamic Christianity could arise from its ashes'. Our past shapes our present and may jeopardise our future unless we come to terms with it. Murray begs us to be humble and work willingly on the margins of society, with the poor and other minorities; to be countercultural, questioning the status quo; and truly radical and imaginative towards the majority in the western world who reject the faith. He has turned my understanding of church history upside down, and made me think again, especially about preaching and its current limitations. -- Jeremy Harvey * The Reader, Winter edition *
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