Shalom church
Subtitle: the body of Christ as social ministry
By: Craig L. Nessan.
Publisher: Fortress Press; Augsburg Fortress Publishers
Published: 2010
Place of publication: Minneapolis
Language: eng
Number of pages: 240
ISBN-13: 9780800663278
Subjects: Church -- Marks; Mission of the church; Church work
Description: "While many manuals advise clergy and congregants on tactics for church survival or thriving, few address the deepest identity, shape, and imperatives of the church in its identity in Christ and the tradition of discipling that stems from his life, work, death, and resurrection. As compelling as it is clear, Craig Nessan's important new work retrieves biblical metaphors of the body of Christ and, following Dietrich Bonhoeffer, sees church today as 'Christ existing as community.' To theological-probing Nessan then adds contextual analysis and describes the four chief imperatives that mark Christ's presence in the world today: peacemaking, justice-making, care for creation, and engagement with the other. He then unfolds the real-life implications of this paradigm of Christian community for local church structure, strategies for partnering, public witness, and interreligious engagement"--Publisher description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: For the mending of creation: the place of social ministry in the mission of God; title: Constructing ecclesiology for social ministry: body of Christ in the New Testament; title: The church as the collective person Jesus Christ: grounding the ethical character of the body of Christ; title: The body of Christ is one: the practice of reconciliation and peacemaking; title: The body of Christ is holy: the practice of justice; title: The body of Christ is Catholic: the practice of care for creation; title: The body of Christ is apostolic: the practice of respect for human dignity; title: Embodying shalom church: the praxis of the kingdom in a torn creation.