Lois Y. Barrett
Eerdmans. Series: The Gospel and Our Culture Series. 2004
ISBN: 978-0-8028-2692-3
$20
If you saw a missional church, what would it look like? What patterns of behavior and practice would you find there?
Building on the ground laid by the book Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America (Darrell Guder et al. 1998), Treasure in Clay Jars centers on case studies of nine missional congregations from across North America that are diverse in their denominational affiliations, worship styles, political stances, and socioeconomic backgrounds. The book explores eight concrete “patterns” common to these churches. Although the patterns may be different in each setting, they can be recognized in any congregation seeking to participate in God’s mission in the world.
The team that authored this book believes that “missional” says something not so much about the activities of the church as its character: “The church does not exist for itself, but for participation in God’s mission of reconciliation. . . . Mission is the character of the church in whatever context it exists.” The congregations studied here are “clay jars,” but each carries in its witness a remarkable treasure that points to God’s power and purposes.
Hierdie is een van die beste verkopers in die Missional Church-reeks waarvan Pat keifert ook deel is. In dié boek beskryf hulle die agt bedieningspatrone wat hulle waargeneem het in gemeentes wat sterk missionêr leef. Die agt patrone is:
- die besef dat hulle ‘n roeping buite die gemeente het;
- Bybelse vorming en dissipelskap;
- om bereid te wees om te waag;
- gemeentepraktyke wat God se bedoeling met die wêreld demonstreer;
- verstaan dat die erediens ‘n publieke getuienis is;
- afhanklikheid van die Helige Gees;
- wys altyd heen na die koningsheerskappy van Christus; en
- missionêre gesag.
Coenie Burger