Towards a Theology of Church Growth

Concern about church growth and decline is widespread and contentious, yet theological reflection on church growth is scarce. Reflecting on the Bible, dogmatic theology and church history, this book situates the numerical growth of the church within wider Christian theology. Leading international scholars, including Alister McGrath, Benedicta Ward and C. Kavin Rowe, contribute a spectrum of voices from evangelical, charismatic, liberal and anglo-catholic perspectives. All contributors unite around the importance of seeking church growth, provided this is situated within a nuanced theological framework. This book offers a critique of 'decline theology', which has been influential amongst theologians and churches, and which assumes church growth is impossible and/or unnecessary. The contributors provide rich resources from scripture, doctrine and tradition, to underpin action to promote church growth and to stimulate further theological reflection on the subject. The Archbishop of Canterbury provides the Foreword.

Autorentext

David Goodhew

Inhalt

Part I Introductory Questions; Chapter 1 Towards a Theology of Church Growth, David Goodhew; Chapter 2 Dialogue, Proclamation and the Growth of the Church in Religiously Diverse Societies, David Marshall, William Glass; Part II Church Growth and the Bible; Chapter 3 The Kingdom of God and Church Growth in the New Testament, Mark Bonnington; Chapter 4 The Ecclesiology of Acts, C. Kavin Rowe; Part III Church Growth and Doctrine; Chapter 5 Theology, Eschatology and Church Growth, Alister McGrath; Chapter 6 Incarnation and Church Growth, Martin Warner; Chapter 7 The Prodigal Spirit and Church Growth, Graham Tomlin; Part IV Church Growth; Chapter 8 Church Growth in the Early Church, Ivor J. Davidson; Chapter 9 Verbum et exemplum docere, Benedicta Ward Sr; Chapter 10 Growing the Medieval Church, Miranda Threlfall-Holmes; Chapter 11 Divine Allurement, Ashley Null; Chapter 12 New Affections, Dominic Erdozain; Conclusion Transformed, not Conformed, David Goodhew;