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"One of the best books that I have read on the reshaping of the church for mission in our changed cultural context. Highly recommended."
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How will the western church negotiate the demise of Christendom? Can it rediscover its primary calling, recover its authentic ethos and regain its nerve?If churches are to thrive or even survive disturbing questions need to be confronted and answered. In conversation with Christians who have left the church and with those who are experimenting with fresh expressions of church, Stuart Murray explores both the emerging and inherited church scenes and makes proposals for the development of a way of being church suitable for a post-denominational, post-commitment and post-Christendom era. With chapters on mission, community and worship, Church After Christendom offers a vision of church life that is healthy, sustainable, liberating, peaceful and missional.
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8 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Murray is an Anabaptist and it shows in his dislike of Christendom and what he calls its residual toxins in the church. He is looking for a prescription for church in the post-modern era. Some of his prescriptions are good. Church must be effective in mission and community and have discipline. Other parts are more questionable. He gives no primacy to preaching and seems totally pragmatic in terms of church government. If you are of a Reformed tradition and believe in Scripture regulating all of life you will not be happy with a book which is short on "Thus saith the Lord".
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2 reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
A Useful book
15 Oct 2005
Format:Paperback
Church after Christendom is the second installment of Paternoster Press' After Christendom Series. It really is a sequel to the first book of this series "Post-Christendom" (by the same author) and to be honest I think readers would greatly benefit from reading this first. Without doing so some of the context would be lost on readers.
At its basic level though Murray asks that given the increasing social decline of Christianity in the UK (which is certainly not a negative move) how will the church survive (if indeed it will) given the ever decreasing pool of converts (those still impacted by the influence of late christendom). Written in accessible language the author poses some very tough questions both to the inherited churches (established denominations - including new churches) and the emergent churches.
This book will be difficult reading for many in the inherited churches because Murray forces us to face the facts of church decline. Murray does this by adopting the secularisation thesis as presented by Steve Bruce. In my opinion Murray appropriates this far too uncritically although this is not crucial to his argument; the fact remains that whether the social influence of the churches has been lost to largely apolitical individualistic spirituality or has just dissipated does not matter, the key issue is that the christendom mindset is in terminal decline.
With the demise of christendom Murray arues that the post-christendom must look to the history of the dissident tradition in the church's past. While these movements were mention in his first book and the book is peppered with positive examples from anabaptism some more sustained demonstration of this would have been useful.
However, overall Stuart Murray has offered some very probing questions that ultimately force us to answer the question: what is the church? In this time of change the way we answer that question will have a significant impact on how effectively the church church witnesses to the counter-cultural grace of Christ. This is probably not an enjoyable read because it prompts us to ask difficult questions, it is however a necessary one.
At its basic level though Murray asks that given the increasing social decline of Christianity in the UK (which is certainly not a negative move) how will the church survive (if indeed it will) given the ever decreasing pool of converts (those still impacted by the influence of late christendom). Written in accessible language the author poses some very tough questions both to the inherited churches (established denominations - including new churches) and the emergent churches.
This book will be difficult reading for many in the inherited churches because Murray forces us to face the facts of church decline. Murray does this by adopting the secularisation thesis as presented by Steve Bruce. In my opinion Murray appropriates this far too uncritically although this is not crucial to his argument; the fact remains that whether the social influence of the churches has been lost to largely apolitical individualistic spirituality or has just dissipated does not matter, the key issue is that the christendom mindset is in terminal decline.
With the demise of christendom Murray arues that the post-christendom must look to the history of the dissident tradition in the church's past. While these movements were mention in his first book and the book is peppered with positive examples from anabaptism some more sustained demonstration of this would have been useful.
However, overall Stuart Murray has offered some very probing questions that ultimately force us to answer the question: what is the church? In this time of change the way we answer that question will have a significant impact on how effectively the church church witnesses to the counter-cultural grace of Christ. This is probably not an enjoyable read because it prompts us to ask difficult questions, it is however a necessary one.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Transforming churches
9 Jan 2007
Format:Paperback
In this book Stuart Murray shows how changes in society from modern to postmodern is walking parallel to changes in christianity, from christendom to postchristendom. He pleads for an emerging church which hold on to a centered set of beliefs and not a boundary set which excludes people. It is an inspiring book for anyone who wants to work in a transforming church because he shows possibilities of a new christianity. It is preferred to read his book postchristendom first. Together with the book emerging churches is this volume profitable for churchbuilders and churchplanters.
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