Seeking Church - Emerging Witnesses to the Kingdom

"The twenty-first century global Christian fellowship is undergoing radical questioning of two theological loci: epistemology and ecclesiology. This book is about the second, the doctrine of the church. Authors Duerksen and Dyrness argue that the church is always emerging (never in final form) and in the end, like the Buddha's raft, will be eliminated when the kingdom of God reaches its fullness. They suggest that the answer to our quandary about what the church should be has more to do with eschatology than we have heretofore imagined. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in our religious future." -- Terry C. Muck, scholar of religion, comparative missiologist, and theological educator at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and Asbury Theological Seminary
"How should we understand the many diverse, emergent expressions of church across the globe today? What is the relationship between these emergent expressions of church and the vision of God's kingdom? Writing from their own deep missional engagements in Asia and the conviction of their lifelong-missiological reflections, Darren T. Duerksen and William A. Dyrness make the case for a renewed vision, critical theology, and constructive practice of being church as an emergent phenomenon, empowered by the Spirit to witness the good news of Jesus in a world marked by pluralism and diversity. Duerksen and Dyrness also break new ground by offering a comprehensive, critical, and constructive theology of emergent church that truly embraces the diversity and plurality of ways a church can be a faithful witness to the coming of God's kingdom. Seeking Church is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the future of a decolonized Christianity, where indigenous and subaltern emergent communities of faith, as well as new voices concerned with transforming church structures, are challenging us to rethink church and seek to find it in new, emergent, and hybridized forms that are able to witness faithfully to the coming of God's kingdom." -- Jonathan Y. Tan, The Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan Professor of Catholic Studies, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland
"If we Christians seek a better fulfillment of church mission in the future, we do well to better understand the church's past. Seeking Church documents how the church changed its self-understanding in response to historically changing circumstances. As a sociologist, I found this sociologically informed theological reflection of great insight and value. I recommend this engagingly written book for both individual and group study." -- Douglas Porpora, professor of sociology at Drexel University, author of Landscapes of the Soul
"In decentering the 'church' from the mission of God and in inviting cultural, even religious, norms to inform our appropriation of the biblical texts-what the authors call 'reverse hermeneutics'-Drs. Duerksen and Dyrness, former missionaries both, follow the venerable tradition of missionaries bringing radical ideas to challenge the institutions back home. So much of 'received authorities,' especially our own, are products of cultural accretions and historical contingencies. We would recognize them for what they are if only we have the humility to hold up the thriving Christian communities around the world as mirror to see ourselves." -- Sze-kar Wan, professor of New Testament at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University
"The diversity of world Christianity forces us to reevaluate our more common hermeneutic of the church. These two authors have combined theological, missiological, and social science perspectives in a fresh analysis of both the church's history and those settings where the church is presently emerging within unreached populations. It will prove to be an invaluable resource for comprehending ecclesial dynamics where social, religious, and geopolitical barriers are prevalent. Seeking Church provides a timely hermeneutic that opens us to new and innovative ways of extending the kingdom of God." -- Brad Gill, senior editor, International Journal of Frontier Missiology