Product Description
Where are the Disciples going in the first twenty years of the new millennium, and how will they get there? In this book, the General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) shares his vision for his denomination, lifting up three marks of a faithful church: a deep Christian spirituality, true community, and a passion for justice. ... 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
In a style reminiscent of earlier literary writers, Dr. Sutherland portrays the astonishing life of Mary of Magdala. The petulant and beautiful 18-year-old, seeking the meaning of her dream, encounters the mysterious and mystical Essenes and learns their secret teachings. In her exuberance she enters into collaboration with the Zealots, encounters a Roman Tribune and becomes influenced by the darkness of error. The healing by Jesus initiates her life as favored disciple and mystical leader of the others who followed him. It is Mary's penetrating discernment, which allows her mastery of Jesus' teachings. During her ministry, she understands that Jesus is from another realm attempting again to tell humankind its true nature and purpose. She repeatedly explains what others do not understand. Though confrontations with Peter begin a never resolved schism, Mary Magdalene was indeed, the Beloved Disciple of Christ. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Great historical novel
Sutherland weaves together tantalizing hints from the Gnostic gospels and the New Testament gospels to create a new portrait of one of the great women of the Bible.From these fragmented sources, Mary Magdalene is revealed as a woman of passion, intelligence and faith, and a new perspective is provided on some of the enigmatic teachings of Jesus.Through vivid descriptions and characterizations, the ancient past is brought into the present as Mary Magdalene is revealed as a powerful member of Jesus's band of disciples and the spread of Christianity.I highly recommend this book to others interested in the mysteries of faith and the place of women in the Bible.

Great historical novel
Sutherland weaves tantalizing hints from the Gnostic gospels as well as New Testament gospels to create a new portrait of one of the great women of the Bible.As she spins her tale from fragmented sources, the author brings to life Mary Magdalene as a woman of intelligence, passion, and faith, and creates a new perspective on enigmatic Biblical teachings.This highly readable story brings the ancient past into the present with vivd descriptions and characterizations.Mary Magdalen is revealed as a powerful member of Jesus' band of disciples and the spread of Christianity.I highly recommend this book to others interested in the mysteries of faith and the place of women of the Bible.

The Best Mary Magdalene Book Ever !
This is an excellent historical novel.I don't normally read historical novels, but I was devouring this one whenever I had a spare minute.I became very involved in many of the characters in the book and couldn't wait to see what happened to them.The characters and settings are described in such a way as to create pictures of them in your mind while you are reading.This book gave me an outstanding view of the life and teachings of Jesus and Mary Magdalene and taught me things about both that I had never learned elsewhere.I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in a glimpse of the past.

Imagining Mary Magdalene
Dr. Sutherland has done a masterful job of combining myth, legend, and imagination in this novel about the life of Mary Magdalen. She starts with Mary Magdalene in her family home and takes us through to well after the death of Christ. Drawing from biblical teaxts and the Nag Hammadi Library to create the dialoge and action surrounding Mary Magdalene, Dr, Sutherland creates a vivid image of MM as she might have been. Mary Magdalene is portrayed as a strong, independent woman, given to visions and gifted with a unique understanding of the teaching of the Savior. She is a woman worthy of our respect and attention for her own merits, not how she is used by others. If your are ready for a new image of Saint Mary Magdalene, I highly recommend this book to you. It is highly readable yet contains much information on Gnostic thought as well as the land and times of Mary Magdalene. ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishings Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the worlds literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
Are you ready to go higher in your spiritual walk with Christ? Are you serious about becoming a disciple for Christ? If so, this is the handbook for you! Various topics (16) are gathered together in this one book to help believers in Christ grow to their God given potential. Topics consist of, with scriptural references, Forgiveness, Communion, the Holy Spirit, Discipleship, Tithes, Evangelism and much more. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
The book has no illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from the publisher's website (GeneralBooksClub.com). You can also preview excerpts of the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Original Publisher: Cleveland, Ohio : Reading Course Committee; Publication date: 1897; Subjects: History / General; ... Read more

Product Description
When Christ's disciples finally ask Him how to pray, He gives them the same model of prayer that they heard in the Sermon on the Mount and in every town and village where the Lord preached. This model prayer, commonly called the Lord's prayer, should be called the disciples' prayer. This is how Jesus said that we should pray; not by reciting this prayer repetitiously, but by communing and communicating with God according to the heavenly truths the Lord Jesus reveals. ... Read more