Klicka på en bild för att gå till Google Book Search.
Laddar... Future of Our Faith (utgåvan 2016)av Ronald J. Sider (Författare)
VerksinformationThe Future of Our Faith: An Intergenerational Conversation on Critical Issues Facing the Church av Ronald J. Sider
Ingen/inga Laddar...
Gå med i LibraryThing för att få reda på om du skulle tycka om den här boken. Det finns inga diskussioner på LibraryThing om den här boken. Summary: Two activist evangelical leaders forty years apart pose critical questions for each other about issues facing the church, with responses from the other. It often seems, as I follow social media, that there are at least two simultaneous conversations going on within generations of the evangelical community. There are those of my age in the boomer generation who are critically concerned about the future of the church--will it carry on in doctrinal, missional, and lifestyle integrity in the face of winds of culture. Likewise, younger Christians of my son's generation are asking questions about the legacy of my generation in terms of environmental degradation, seemingly unloving treatment of LGBT people, a different kind of political engagement where the church is not captive to political parties, and more. It seems rare that we have this conversation across generations, more often just within generational cohorts. And the danger is that we become more divided from "them" rather than learning from, collaborating with, and blessing each other. And so we add to the fault lines of social class, gender, ethnicity, and doctrinal differences that divide the church the fault line of generation. Ronald J. Sider and Ben Lowe are separated by forty years in age, but share common commitments to social action arising from a deeply rooted evangelical faith. And they set out in this book to have conversations with each other around the issues that often seem to separate generations in the church. After an introduction discussing the importance of the conversation, each writer contributed four chapters raising questions for the other, followed by the other's response. Woven into the chapters were "sidebar" contributions from other evangelical leaders. The contents of the discussion are as follows: 1. Why This Conversation Part 1: Ron Sider's Chapters (with Ben Lowe's Responses) 2. Will You Remember Evangelism? 3. Will You Reaffirm Truth as You Learn from Postmodernism? 4. Will You Keep Your Marriage Vows Better Than My Generation? 5. Will You Lead the Church to a Better Stance on Homosexuality? Part 2: Ben Lowe's Chapters (with Ron Sider's Responses) 6. Will We Live More Like Jesus? 7. Will We Renew Our Political Witness? 8. Will We Reconcile Our Divisions Better? 9. Will We Recover Our Responsibility for God's Creation? Conclusion: Jesus at the Center What worked about this is that the questions of each do represent some of the issues each generation is concerned with. For example, while concerns for justice and social issues reflect ways millenials are "walking the talk" Sider raises a concern about whether "the talk" is being muted. Lowe raises issues about political witness, acknowledging both the political captivity he sees in elder generations, and the disengagement of his own generation, at times. There is a humility about the questions each asks, acknowledging the failures or struggles of each generation, rather than how one is better than another. What also works is that these two are both leaders in thoughtful, socially progressive evangelicalism. Ben's organization, Young Evangelicals for Climate Action arose out of Sider's Evangelicals for Social Action, and their environmental wing, the Evangelical Environmental Network. It was clear that both of them deeply respected the other. And that led to a conversation with a high level of agreement between the two, while articulating some generational perspectives. Some may have wished for more sparks between the two. The willingness, particularly of Sider, to acknowledge generational failures and the sincere hope that Ben's generation get it better tended to defuse whatever sparks there might be. And this may offer a model for similar conversations of the kind of humility that leads to shared understanding and mutual support across generations. At the same time, I found myself wishing for at least one chapter from each where they just didn't see eye to eye and modeled working that through. That would have been valuable. The questions at the end of each chapter are quite helpful for inter-generational discussions, which I hope this book would provoke. I would say that the sidebars just seemed a distraction and really did not add to what these two leaders, both men of deep spiritual character coupled with strong track records of deeds done in the church and in social advocacy, had to offer. These are conversations every inter-generational church needs to have and these two have given us a great starting place. ________________________________ Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” inga recensioner | lägg till en recension
Younger Christians are leaving the church in droves, frustrated and disillusioned by the track record of American Christianity. Older Christians, who still lead most churches, are concerned about this trend. But the generations don't see eye to eye on many things. Here two evangelical leaders forty years apart in age discuss some of the biggest issues challenging Christianity today and into the future, such as marriage, homosexuality, creation care, and politics. The authors model and cultivate an intentional, charitable, and much-needed intergenerational dialogue. Each chapter includes sidebar reflections from notable Christian leaders and individual and small group study questions. Inga biblioteksbeskrivningar kunde hittas. |
Pågående diskussionerIngen/inga
Google Books — Laddar... GenrerMelvil Decimal System (DDC)277.3083Religions History, geographic treatment, biography of Christianity North America United StatesKlassifikation enligt LCBetygMedelbetyg:
Är det här du? |
Sider and Lowe claim this is a book of intergenerational conversation on important issues facing the Church today (chapter subjects include Evangelism, Postmodernism, Marriage, Homosexuality, Living like Jesus, Politics, Reconciling differences, and Creation care), and write primarily to millennials.
Except, there is no real "conversation." One author says something, then the other author writes a "response" that simply affirms/repeats everything the first man said, albeit in slightly different words.
They talked about being willing to have an open, honest discussion with other Christians, particularly those from another generation, to wrestle with our differences, and not fall for the lie that we all have to believe exactly the same thing for there to be unity within the church. Sounds great and all, but it would have been a lot more convincing if they had more differences between them and there actually was a charitable conversation happening in the book.
My other big problem with the book is that it is all over the place. I like the idea of having multiple people weigh in on "big" issues facing the Church, but this book was too broad, trying to cover too many issues – and because of that, none of the issues were treated with the kind of depth and care required for a researched, respectful text.
I realize that this book was supposed to be a "conversation", but the authors wrote many of their personal beliefs as if they were well-known, proven facts, often without citing references. The rest of their writing was then imploring the Church to care about important issues based on these supposed facts. (For example, Sider believes that homosexual desire is not wrong, but only becomes an issue once a person acts on his desire. Also, he believes that God used evolution to create the world. These are stated as facts.)
There are constant plugs for the authors' other works ("I wrote a whole book on... xyz...") and a lot of self-righteous talk. (i.e., "Here's everything that I'm doing right – and while I'm at it, I may as well tell you a story of how somebody else failed to be like Jesus.")
The book was terribly disjointed and a waste of time. ( )