Emerging Churches

View other editions of Emerging Churches.
View books by Eddie Gibbs, Ryan Bolger.

Emerging Church Sympathetically and Authentically Portrayed - Rated
An excellent book. Gibbs and Bolger very firmly identify emerging churches with postmodern church and then offer nine areas which they have in common. The book is based on a five-year project in which they interviewed 50 emerging church leaders in UK & US. A feature of the book is the mini-autobiographies of those leaders, which gives added depth to the work.

Gibbs & Bolger identify three core practices: identifying with the life of Jesus; transforming secular space; and commitment to community as a way of life. These lead to six other shared areas: welcoming the stranger; serving with generosity; participating as producers; creating as created beings; leading as a body; and taking part in spiritual activities. The book is enlivened throughout by frequent quotes from the practitioners.

The treatment is sympathetic and perceptive and offers excellent theological reflection, noting, for instance, a shift from a 'gospel of salvation' to a 'gospel of the kingdom' in emerging churches - fuelled in part by N. T. (Tom) Wright's work, particularly in "Jesus and the Victory of God".

If you want to 'get' emerging church, read both this and Doug Pagitt's "Reimagining Spiritual Formation" and you'll have a pretty good sense of it.

Terrific introduction to the subject - Rated
I'm amazed this one hasn't had a slew of reviews - perhaps people are busily digesting its content!

This is the best introduction to the subject of the emerging church around, and - believe me - I've read a few. Eddie Gibbs has been around long enough to know what he's talking about and together with Ryan Bolger have produced a book that is both weighty and readable. Based on personal interviews with around fifty emerging church leaders from around the globe (mainly from the USA and UK to be fair) it is liberally sprinkled with helpful quotes and anecdotes from the 'coal face' of the emerging church movement.

So what you get are not only well thought through theology from Gibbs and Bolger, but really great life-experience from the likes of Brian McLaren, Doug Pagitt, Jonny Baker and loads of other familiar names from emerging church websites and blogs - with a special mention to my mate Anna, one of few women to be interviewed (a surprising oversight)

Passionate about Jesus and the Kingdom, visionary about community and leadership, and open minded about structures and worship forms - this is a book that deserves to be read by a wide audience within the Church.