Thursday, 29 September 2016

Didache 16, 2 (2016) on Exile


The latest issue of Didache (sponsored by the International Board of Education of the Church of the Nazarene) carries essays on ‘A Pilgrim People Living in Exile’, flowing out of a conference on that theme.

As the Editorial notes:

‘Exile reflects a change in perspective for many evangelical and “mainstream” congregations... The feeling of exile surfaces in the face of cultural diversity, shifting assumptions of the world around the church (often associated with postmodernity as a cultural and intellectual shift), and the loss of social capitol on the part of the church due to many recent perceived failures... Yet the church remains called to be God’s people, even if congregants often feel they now represent a “pilgrim people” on a journey through unknown territory. Is Exile a helpful image for us, and what does it mean to lead theologically and pastorally in the face of these changes?’

The below essays are available from here.

Tim Green and Roger Hahn 
Peril and Promise of Exile: Biblical Narrative Speaking to us Today

Kathy Mowry
Only One Foot in Exile: Marginalization without Dispossession in North American Congregations 

Timothy R. and Shawna Songer Gaines
Being the Pilgrim People of God: Called to Identity, Mission and Ministry

Dan Boone
Eschatalogical Travelers: Practices of Discernment and Formation for and with Congregations

Gordon Smith
Formation for Ministry in a Secular Age: Equipping Clergy and Laity for the Church in Exile

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