Emmaus Road

by Sinclair, Donna

• ISBN13: 9781551454856
• ISBN10: 1551454858
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-04-01
• Publisher: Wood Lake Books

Summary

"We had hoped." So much of church life these days seems to be wrapped up in that phrase. The church is changing and many of these changes have left us feeling lost, confused, and grieving, like the disciples on the Emmaus Road. The surprise ending to the Emmaus Road story, of course, is the re-discovery of the very hope the disciples thought they had lost. In their encounter with the risen Christ on that road, and later in the broken bread of a common meal, their eyes are opened to a new vision, to a new reality that changes their lives and their ministries forever. In Emmaus Road: Churches Making Their Way Forward, Donna Sinclair and Christopher White show us how we are heirs to that same hope - for the risen Christ is still with us, walking beside us and encouraging us toward new possibilities. This book is a sequel to Jacob's Blessing: Dreams, Hopes, & Visions for the Church, which explored alternatives to the mega-church and faithful-remnant models. Emmaus Road, in turn, discusses the role of the church in the new world, but with a strong conviction that congregations are once again waking up to the power and potential for the good they have within themselves. This power is not accessed through "magic formulas" or instant solutions. Rather, Sinclair and White draw us to the qualities of character displayed by those first disciples - alertness, hospitality, open-mindedness, and perseverance, to name a few. Those qualities enabled the disciples to move into the future with confidence. Likewise today, they are the building blocks out of which we can build the church of the future. For, above all else, the church is meant to go on walking its own Emmaus Road - encountering hope along the way. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Donna Sinclair is a senior writer with The United Church Observer Christopher White is the minister of Westminster United Church in Whitby, Ontario. He is a regular contributor to The United Church Observer, and has written both for newspapers and magazines. He has contributed to, or appeared on a wide variety of CBC radio programs

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	9	(2)
Introduction	11	(162)
Chapter 1 The Inventive Congregation
Facing the World's Complexity	17	(20)
Chapter 2 The Vigilant Congregation
Walking When We Cannot See	37	(10)
Chapter 3 The Comprehending Congregation
Listening to Others	47	(12)
Chapter 4 The Prophetic Congregation
Walking with the Outcast	59	(16)
Chapter 5 The Caring Congregation
Looking after Others	75	(14)
Chapter 6 The Hospitable Congregation
Embracing New Understandings	89	(10)
Chapter 7 The Life-Giving Congregation
Leading for Others	99	(16)
Chapter 8 The Obedient Congregation
Walking with the Artist	115	(10)
Chapter 9 The Curious Congregation
Learning from Others	125	(10)
Chapter 10 The Generative Congregation
Walking with Our Elders	135	(10)
Chapter 11 The Visionary Congregation
Building for Others	145	(18)
Chapter 12 The Contemplative Congregation
Walking with the Spirit	163	(10)
Epilogue	173	(4)
Endnotes	177