Congregations at the Crossroads

by Vallet, Ronald E.

• ISBN13: 9780802843678
• ISBN10: 0802843670
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-07-01
• Publisher: Eerdmans Pub Co

Summary

The most vital question confronting the church in America at the turn of the century is whether it can, in the face of modern society, remember who it is, what it is called to do, and, especially, whose it is. In this volume Ronald Vallet explores the biblical basis for stewardship, with major emphasis on God's promises and commands, to help congregations become the households of God that he intends them to be. Vallet also deals with fantasies and fears about money in the congregation, the central role that authentic worship plays in focusing congregations on God, the proper roles of pastors and laity, and the prevailing concepts and practices of modern culture that can entangle today's churches.

Table of Contents

An Overview of the Faith's Horizons Series	ix	(3)
Foreword, by Walter Brueggemann	xii	(2)
Preface	xiv
Introduction: Forgetting or Remembering?	1	(16)
1. A Biblical Base for Stewardship	17	(30)
2. Fantasies and Fears About Money in the Congregation	47	(14)
3. Past and Prevailing Concepts and Practices of Church Giving in North America	61	(24)
4. The Church Caught in Modernity: A Household of Amnesia	85	(22)
5. Characteristics and Rules of the Household of God	107	(29)
6. Life and Work of the Congregation as a Household of God	136	(20)
7. Worship in the Household of God	156	(23)
8. Roles of the Pastor and Laity	179	(21)
9. The Household of God: A Living Household	200	(14)
Appendix One A Sermon: "Jesus: An Alternative to Bread, Circuses, and Political Power"	214	(8)
Appendix Two A Sermon: "Economic Dimensions of the Lord's Prayer"	222	(7)
Select Bibliography	229	(7)
Subject Index	236	(3)
Index of Scripture References	239