Your Church Is Too Small: Why Unity in Christ's Mission Is Vital to the Future of the Church - Hardcover

Armstrong, John H.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 031032114X ISBN 13: 9780310321149

Publisher: Zondervan, 2010

Synopsis

I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. Too often, these words of Jesus from John 17:20-21 seem like an unreachable ideal. But in Your Church Is Too Small, John Armstrong shows that Jesus vision of Christian unity is for all God s people across social, cultural, racial, and denominational lines. With attention to his own pilgrimage and growth in ecclesial awareness, John Armstrong explores here the evangelical heart and ecumenical breadth of churchly Christianity. I am encouraged by his explorations and commend this study to all believers who pray and labor for the unity for which our Savior prayed. Timothy George, senior editor, Christianity Today. Dr. Armstrong s irenic approach should make it easy for Christians whether Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant to engage the challenging thesis of the book, while recognizing that there remain points of doctrine between them which will require further clarification. Anyone concerned about either evangelism or Christian unity should read this book, and take seriously its call for both mission and ecumenism. Fr. Thomas A. Baima, Provost, University of Saint Mary of the LakeJohn Armstrong is one of those Evangelical theologians may their tribe increase and the valley abound with their tents who know that full obedience to Christ embraces the historical transmission through which we know him. This book refuses to scale down the bearer of that tradition the historical church, that is or reduce the authority of its voice. Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon, senior editor, Touchstone It's a must for anyone who has grown weary with Christian divisiveness and schism and longs to discover ways of strengthening the bonds that unite us in the Spirit of Christ. Chuck Colson

About this title

About the Author

John H. Armstrong is president of ACT 3 in Carol Stream, Illinois and served as a pastor for more than twenty years. He is an adjunct professor of evangelism at Wheaton College Graduate School. His online commentaries regularly appear at www.Act3online.com. He holds degrees from Wheaton College, Wheaton Graduate School, and Luther Rice Seminary. He is the author or editor of a number of books including The Catholic Mystery, Five Great Evangelists, Understanding Four Views on the Lord’s Supper, and Understanding Four Views on Baptism

From the Back Cover

Your Church Is Too Small gives voice to a gnawing sense many believers share: the contentious nature of differences among Christians cannot be pleasing to God. Jesus' prayer in John 17, May they be one as we are one, seems like a dream possible only occasionally at best. Minister and teacher John Armstrong tells the story of how his own passion for Christian unity was ignited, shares his vision of individuals and churches united in the mission of God, and gives direction for how this vision can become a reality for God's people.
However, such unity will not happen by sheer willpower or denying the real differences among believing communities. Armstrong encourages Christians to rely on God--Father, Son, and Spirit--to build the worldwide church. Such reliance entails both a deeper experience in the triune life of God and a connection to the church's past. More specifically, the history, belief, and practice of early Christians form the roots that today's church requires to chart a unified path for the future.

Edition details

• Publisher: Zondervan
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 031032114X
• ISBN 13: 9780310321149
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 224