Customer Reviews (2)

The best Disciples history book available
Toulouse organizes the history and current identity of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) around four principles that have shaped the movement from the beginning: Interpretation, Restoration, Ecumenism, and Eschatology. The revised edition adds the chapter on eschatology and fills in the gaps left wide open by previous accounts of the movement's history.

I've used this book as the basis for teaching Disciples history, polity and identity with clergy and laity alike, and have found it thorough, challenging, and rewarding. As one of the pre-eminent American church historians of the past two decades, Toulouse captures the essence of the movement in ways that connect the past to the present. He also offers excellent summaries of the transitions that have taken place from mission to missions and from elders to clergy.

I'd recommend that any Disciple who wants to know more about our current identity and contribution to the church world-wide should have this book in his or her library.

New DOC disciple
I thought was through and interesting and for me coming into the DIsciples faith. The only chapter I thought was a little dry was the Eschatological chapter, otherwise, it is a wonderful primer to know about the Disciples of Christ. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Awesome, careful, and insightful study
This is a fine analysis of Jesus' work in making disciples. Anyone interested in making disciples should read this careful study which is full of insight on how Jesus formed character and understanding in his followers.
- Dennis McCallum, author Organic Disciplemaking: How to promote Christian leadership development through personal relationships, biblical discipleship, mentoring, and Christian community

A top notch book!
I think every Christian and church leader ought to read this, period.It is foundational to how to do ministry and what kind of an outlook to have regarding people.

A must read. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Faith We Affirm
This book gave me access to Disciples' faith and thinking in such a way that I can, and want to, attest such faith and thinking is my own. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good Start
I found this to be very helpful in understanding how the CCDOC formed in the context of western expansion in the United States.This is not a complete history, but an excelent overview, and can be used as a starting point for anyone wanting to explore the CCDOC history.It is a lengthy book, but it is easy to get through.I have heard rumors of a new history of the CCDOC in the works, but it will be difficult to do a better job explaining the information that this book covers while keeping the information managable.Despite the value of this book, an update covering the past half century will be welcomed. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Visionary in a Sea of Nostalgia
I had never heard of the Disciples of Christ denomination until a couple years ago. I have never been particularly religious but my lover and I were looking for a gay friendly spiritual community and came accross a local DOC church and liked their liberal interpretation of theology and welcoming attitude to gay people. At the time we started attending, the congregation had already dwindled down to about 20 or so core congregants and most of those were white, over fifty and most of them were long term members.

Although the theology was liberal, the service was very traditional, formal, Euro-centric and nostalgic of the 1950s which was lost on most visitors. The worship was geared toward the comprehension level, biases and preferences of long term Christians that had grown up in a Euro-centric Christian culture and spoke that language and this level of worship was almost incomprehensible to the vast majority of multicultural, secular American "seekers" that do not have the same esoteric language, symbol associations and experience of DOC insiders and old timers. It was frustrating to see a congregation with such great theology dying and Richard Hamm's book was helpful in clarifying some of the issues involved.

Richard Hamm probably summed it up for me best when he said in chapter one that "many of our congregations and related institutions remain firmly rooted in the 1950s." He asks, "How do we go from being a church that is, is some ways a church of the 1950's to a faithful and growing church for the world that is becoming?"

His answers to those questions are often broad, vague and generalized but they open the door for further discussion. I progressed through that conversation over the next year or two with books by Norman Peart, Kimon Sargeant, George Barna, William Easum and others. It seems tragic to me that it is often the churches with the most conservative, fundamentalist theology are the ones that have made the effort to communicate with seekers and often are the ones that present worship services in the most modern and interesting ways while churches with relatively liberal theologies tend to cling to old fashioned, conservative worship services that most seekers don't relate to. There is often a confusing of content with presentation. I think Richard Hamm understands that if a congregation is going to grow, that worship styles must cross age and cultural barriers. What good is the message if one can not communicate it in a language and style that has meaning for seekers? If the message is only communicated in a language and style appealing to the biases and preferences of "mature" Christians and ignores the needs of seekers, the church will die out with those "mature" Christians.

Do you see what I see...
Richard Hamm is the recently retired General Minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), a position he held for about a decade.He recently described his role in that position not so much as an administrator or dogmatic leader, but rather as someone who is called to provide a vision for the denomination into the future.

Vision is a word bandied about by corporate types and organisational theorists, but often remains murky in definition and application.The first two chapters of this text develop the most important part of a foundation for valid vision - the context and present situation.Hamm explores the context of the church, from within and within a broader society.He also sets the context for what vision involves - spiritual renewal, institutional renewal, and ultimate transformation.The vision not only sees, it has intention, the intention of being made real.

Hamm called for primary elements of this vision to fall along the lines of developing true and faithful community, a deepening spirituality, and a passion for justice.All of these sound wonderful, but become difficult to put into practice.For example, what constitutes justice to one person or one congregation may not be the same for another.All three aspects - community, spirituality, justice - require people to leave their comfort zones and embrace a higher ideal.As church folk, that should be part and parcel of the call from baptism and membership, right?

The second primary section deals with `getting from here to there'.The first chapter calls upon people to be agents for change, but with careful intention and proper discernment.Discernment is a specific process that involves all voices in the community, and does not arrive at easy answers or simple majority-rule decisions.Hamm draws on modern ideas of leadership theory and tempers this with spiritual practices for ministers and others in the church.The second chapter in this section carefully shows the physical projections (charts with age of clergy, etc.) and incorporates the principles of vision (I see the church as...) to make the case for Hamm's vision.

There are two appendices - one on denominational questions generally (the Disciples having a strong ecumenical history often concerns itself with general questions about denominationalism), and one on polity issues.These bring up important questions for discussion as the vision of the church continues to grow.

This is a very accessible book, an interesting read for Disciples in particular, but also more generally for those interested in the ideas of Christian direction and polity in North America in the coming years.

Excellent read
I agree with Diana that the book well written and gives a sobering account of the future of Proestants and the Disciples of Christ, in particular. Not a hard read at all!

A view into the 21st century in mainline Protestantism
This is a readable book that is hard to put down if you are interested in the future of Christianity. Hamm helps us understand the differences in how various generations approach organized religion. He states that North America is the area of the world most in need of missionary work at this time. Even though his focus is the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), I think most of the book is relevant to all the mainline Protestant denominations. I am a lay person interested in this topic and found the book quite understandable. ... Read more

Product Description
This book describes the journey of a true Christian. Each chapter will unfold the stages, struggles and surprises of pursuing Jesus Christ passionately. Enjoy special sections called SOUL SOAKS--a way to meditate, letting your soul soak up all that God has for you to experience. It does not matter what you struggle with in your life today. God's love is irresistible. He will captivate your heart. Each stage of your journey will prepare you to reign with the King and draw you into greater intimacy with our Bridegroom. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Wonderful
This is a great book.I thoroughly enjoyed it - I received it from a friend and felt that Joy really knows how to get you pointed toward God.This book is all about your relationship with God and how you can deepen that relationship.She is not out to fix you - but that is what will happen if you focus on God.This book helped me grow and taught me how to begin to love God.Most books tell you to focus on God but don't explain how that is done.
This book also had great uses of scripture and was a tremendous blessing to me. ... Read more

Book Description
New believers often have a lot of questions about their faith.They need help understanding the fundamental truths that lead to a solid foundation in Christ.Even seasoned believers sometimes need help fostering growth in their relationship with God. So This Is Faithis a compelling resource that guides believers through their journey of faith to a deeper understanding of God and a more balanced, authentic relationship with Him.Designed to build on the basic questions of faith and then move to a deeper understanding of what it means to live as a Christian,So This Is Faithcan be used for group or individual study.The beginning chapters explain the foundational truths of the Bible and explore who God is and the relationship He intended us to have with Him.Later chapters discuss the role Christ plays in reconnecting us to God and show how we can move beyond knowing about God to truly knowing Him.The book concludes by looking at the ways God chooses to restore His image in us.Through the use of scriptures, questions, illustrations, and insights,So This Is Faithilluminates what a truly blessed life looks like and disciples believers as they grow and flourish in their faith. ... Read more