Publisher's Synopsis
What is the nature and purpose of the church for a twenty-first-century world? What is the church's calling in an age of globalization? Twenty-one pastors and theologians in the Reformed tradition offer insightful perspectives by bringing into conversation the treasures of liturgical and missional theology. These authors see the church's essential character to be as worshipping-witnessing communities, gathered and sent by the triune God. Topics that are explored include the relationship between worship and mission, baptism and the Eucharist, the formative role of community, the catholicity and ecumenicity of the church, multiculturalism, and hymnody. ""A welcome text! Liturgical-Missional not only addresses a gap within missional church literature, but offers practical wisdom to guide a liturgy that nourishes and sends. . . . Liturgical-Missional draws on the richness of the tradition, biblical reflection, and contemporary context to deliver a vision of the church essentially reformed and missional. --John Flett, Associate Professor of Mission Studies, Pilgrim Theological College, Melbourne, Australia ""The 1980s saw vastly increased interest in the doctrine of the Trinity but their work remained largely academic. A generation later, the contributors to this volume . . . are using this Trinitarian material to redraw the classic Reformation marks of the Church. Proclamation of the Word, appropriate administration of the sacraments, and the exercise of discipline are no longer enough to identify Christ's body. Such a body must also be missional, as this volume so effectively shows."" --Iain R. Torrance, President Emeritus of Princeton Theological Seminary, former Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Neal D. Presa is Associate Pastor at the Village Community Presbyterian Church in Rancho Santa Fe, California, and Extraordinary Associate Professor of Practical Theology with the North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa. He most recently served as Moderator of the 220th General Assembly (2012) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A).
