Exhausted with trying to "fix" the church? It's time to turn in a new direction: back to the Holy Spirit. In this insightful book, internationally renowned scholar and leader Alan Roxburgh urges Christians to follow the Spirit into our neighborhoods, re-engage with the mission of God, and re-imagine the whole enterprise of church. Joining God, Remaking Church, and Changing the World can guide any church - large or small, suburban or urban, denomination-level or local parish - to become a vital center for spirituality and mission. * Distills the best of mission wisdom for laity and clergy today * Roxburgh is a leading voice shaping church life ecumenically and globally Alan Roxburgh offers deep hope and concrete steps forward for churches struggling with life in a post-Christian culture. By entering more deeply into the stories of the Bible, our own stories, and the lives of our neighbors, we join God's life in the world. This is one of the most helpful books I have read, full of clear analysis and practical wisdom. - Dwight Zscheile, associate professor of congregational mission and leadership at Luther Seminary and author of People of the Way and The Agile Church Joining God invites you to embark on the journey you always wanted to take. In this book you will find: Courage: Alan Roxburgh is unafraid to admit the unraveling of what we've been and calls us to move into new places. Faith: The Spirit is going ahead of us into our neighborhoods. Ancient/future: The answer isn't flashy promotions but deeper discipleship and community. Hope: When we dare to move outside our walls, we'll find work to do and our calling renewed. - Philip Clayton, scholar, activist and author of Transforming Christian Theology Drawing on his years of experience with missional church theology and practice, Roxburgh outlines our attempts to end church decline and opens up fresh vision: What if the unraveling of the church is God's way of leading us out of bondage to American culture into God's new Exodus? What if God is inviting us to shift our focus and to discern and join God's presence and work in our neighborhoods? This book outlines practical steps congregations can embrace to experiment with this new/old way of living the Gospel locally. Engaging these practices will not be easy. And learning from God and neighbors how to participate in local missional experiments might actually transform both congregations and society. Don't just read this book ... gather a group to experiment with this "way" in practice! - Gordon Scruton, Retired Bishop of the Diocese of Western Massachusetts Drawing on his work as a consultant, researcher, sociologist and teacher, Roxburgh invites congregations to build bridges between their churches and their neighborhoods. He outlines a way for congregations to reclaim their apostolic roots, a process that is rooted in scripture and grounded in prayer. His is a challenge to be faithful to the Gospel and to reap the benefits of commitment and creativity. - Mark Beckwith, Bishop of the Diocese of Newark

* Speaks to the bewilderment and helplessness many churches feel in the face of current events * Practical new interpretation of changes in the West Throughout its history, the church has faced crises of meaning and identity in all kinds of changing contexts. The crises facing the churches of the western hemisphere today are no different. At their best, churches have recognized that their challenge is not their own fixing or even "reformation" but a deep engagement with the ways the gospel transforms society. This book explores how this can happen again in a radically changing western world.

Praise for "The Missional Leader"

"Alan J. Roxburgh and Fred Romanuk are two of the few people in the world today who understand how we can create an environment for the missional transformation of the church for the postmodern world. Every church leader should read this book!"
--Rev. Dr. Clark D. Cowden, Presbytery of San Joaquin, Presbyterian Church

"Discontinuous change wreaks havoc among congregations and pastors who aren't familiar with the new terrain. When it comes to navigating this new land, Roxburgh and Romanuk have my ear and gratitude. Effective, dependable, useful . . . their wisdom is helping retool our congregation for daring and robust witness. And among my students--who feel change deep in their bones, both its threats and opportunities--this book is a vital companion as they begin their ministries."
--Chris William Erdman, senior pastor, University Presbyterian Church; adjunct faculty, MB Biblical Seminary

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The burgeoning missional church movement is a sign that believers are increasingly feeling the call to impact their communities, which is a good thing. But, says Alan J. Roxburgh, these conversations still prioritize church success over mission--how can being missional grow my church? But to focus on such questions misses the point.
In "Missional," Roxburgh calls Christians to reenter their neighborhoods and communities to discover what the Spirit is doing there--to start with God's mission. He then encourages readers to shape their local churches around that mission. With inspiring true stories and a solid biblical base, "Missional" is a book that will change lives and communities as its message is lived out.

The urgent question for Christian mission in North America today has to do with churches and congregations and the crisis of their identity in the culture of modernity. Alan Roxburgh argues that the crisis is not merely one of internal identity or structures but involves the massive changes that have transformed modernity, including the shifting of the church from the center of culture to the margins. Chapter 1 reviews the marginalization of the churches and their self-under-standing of that context; chapter 2 examines Victor Turner s work on liminality (a term describing the transition process that accompanies a change of state or social position), relating it to the church s experience of marginalization; chapter 3 outlines leadership characteristics required in today s missionary congregations. Alan J. Roxburgh is Senior Pastor of West Vancouver Baptist Church in British Columbia, an adjunct faculty member of Regent College in Vancouver, and author of the recently published Reaching a New Generation.

Our world has changed dramatically in the past quarter century. People are losing faith in technology. Our society has lost consensus and is dividing into competing tribes. Rather than simply condemning these new values, Roxburgh calls the church to respond with Christian community, Christian ecology and Christian spirituality. This fresh and powerful book shows what our new world is like and how the gospel is yet again relevant and redemptive.