[easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”0830841148″ locale=”us” height=”333″ src=”http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/614vjqnMfQL.jpg” width=”222″ alt=”Slow Church” ]Many of you know that I have been co-writing a book with John Pattison, entitled:
SLOW CHURCH: Cultivating Community in the Patient Way of Jesus.
(IVP / Praxis Books / June 2014)
I haven’t said much about the book here, so thought I would fill you in on a few things.
The book is now available for pre-order (ships after Memorial Day):
[ Amazon ] [ Intervarsity Press ]
IVP has put together a brief description of the book:
Fast food. Fast cars. Fast and furious. Fast forward. Fast . . . church? The church is often idealized (or demonized) as the last bastion of a bygone era, dragging our feet as we’re pulled into new moralities and new spiritualities. We guard our doctrine and our piety with great vigilance. But we often fail to notice how quickly we’re capitulating, in the structures and practices of our churches, to a culture of unreflective speed, dehumanizing efficiency and dis-integrating isolationism. In the beginning, the church ate together, traveled together and shared in all facets of life. Centered as they were on Jesus, these seemingly mundane activities took on their own significance in the mission of God. In Slow Church, Chris Smith and John Pattison invite us out of franchise faith and back into the ecology, economy and ethics of the kingdom of God, where people know each other well and love one another as Christ loved the church.
We also got our first brief endorsement (i.e., blurb) of the book yesterday:
“Chris and John have done a fantastic job of envisioning a wholesomely sustainable, spiritually alluring, and thoroughly kingdom-centric church that is simply fulfilling its purpose of witnessing to Jesus in the rhythms of God’s grace. I just have to join in! An inspiring read.” – Alan Hirsch
And also this one:
“The internet providers have persuaded us that ‘fast’ is better…about everything. As a result, ‘slow’ is a deeply subversive counter-cultural notion in a culture of ‘fast.’ This thoughtful, discerning book advocates ‘slow’ in faith and in life. This advocacy is a recognition that faith is a practice of relational fidelity that cannot be reduced to contractual or commodity transaction.
The authors ponder and reflect on this summons with both pastoral sensitivity and missional passion. Readers eager for an evangelically paced life will pay close attention to this advocacy.”
-Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary
John and I have been keeping a blog related to the book on the Patheos Interfaith Portal… (Be sure to connect with that, if you haven’t already.)
And finally, mark these dates on your calendar, APRIL 3-5, 2014 (Thursday evening to Saturday mid-day). Englewood Christian Church will be hosting a conference on Slow Church. The speakers will include myself and John, and a number of the theologians whose work we are deeply indebted to. More details and registration will hopefully be available by the end of the month.
C. Christopher Smith is the founding editor of The Englewood Review of Books. He is also author of a number of books, including most recently How the Body of Christ Talks: Recovering the Practice of Conversation in the Church (Brazos Press, 2019). Connect with him online at: C-Christopher-Smith.com
 Reading for the Common Good From ERB Editor Christopher Smith "This book will inspire, motivate and challenge anyone who cares a whit about the written word, the world of ideas, the shape of our communities and the life of the church." -Karen Swallow Prior Enter your email below to sign up for our weekly newsletter & download your FREE copy of this ebook! |
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