Blessed Are The Undone: Testimonies of the Quiet Deconstruction of Faith in Canada
Angela Reitsma Bick and Peter Schuurman
Canadian Christians frustrated with the Church have come ‘Undone’ and are leaving politely, almost apologetically, in what this book dubs a Quiet Deconstruction. Blessed are the Undone asks: what aspects of faith are being questioned, and why?
Weaving in church history, cultural analysis and their personal stories, Bick and Schuurman use canoe camping to illustrate the twists and turns of the spiritual journey. Whether you feel like you’re up the creek without a paddle when it comes to faith, or if people you love have lost their bearings, this book is for you.
Looking Back, Leaning Forward: Wrestling with a Church’s Story
Edited by Jon Coutts & Heather Renée Morgan
Afterword by David Fitch
Through a collection of essays and responses, Looking Back, Leaning Forward explores the context of a Canadian church by wrestling with the past story in light of the current realities.
On one hand, this book is for a denomination. It is structured in two parts; first, it revisits issues related to the “fourfold gospel” and then it offers a look at crucial conversations in this specific context. At another level, this book is for more than just a denomination. It is for those in (or on the margins of) other churches across Canada, and even for eavesdroppers beyond. The gospel is universal in scope, but this universality is not mediated by abstract principles. It is mediated by a living Lord Jesus Christ who engages with us in context.
Overlooked: The Forgotten Origin Stories of Canadian Christianity
James Tyler Robertson
An honest assessment of the spiritual ground we inhabit begins by acknowledging the criticisms many Canadians have about the church are valid. We have to admit Christianity has been used as a tool of oppression. Each generation in this land from the 1500s and on has dealt with the perceived lack of Christian influence over this place. The who, what, when, where, and why are different but the outcomes and responses were noticeably similar. Even in a country as young as Canada, there have always been those who lamented and feared the loss of time-tested Christianity…make no mistake, when it comes to the struggles of declining Christianity, Canada has been here before.
Quit Pastoring Your Church
Aaron Gerrard
Jesus is real. He is with you. He is for you. He is your pastor. And he wants to be the pastor of your church. These statements might seem obvious, but what if we all took them seriously? Aaron Gerrard did just that in his journey to plant a church in Ancaster, Ontario, Canada. In the new book, Quit Pastoring Your Church. The story of a small church making Jesus their pastor Gerrard shares candidly about his journey to start a new kind of church by allowing Jesus to be the guide and it radically impacted the story of this new congregation.
Part memoir, part church planting guide, part leadership model handbook, join Aaron Gerrard for the journey he went on in an attempt to quit pastoring his church.
Gutsy
Jared Siebert
In the last two decades a gutsy group of Canadian church planters have taken the plunge. They are not content to simply plant churches—they want to plant new kinds of churches. Churches that are responsive to the Canada that will be—not just the Canada that was. Joe Manafo, in his documentary “One Size Fits All?” sought to capture this movement and understand it. He filmed 19 Christian communities that represent a brave exploration of new and evolving forms of church in Canada. This book picks up where that documentary left off. In these pages you’ll hear the unvarnished truth about what it’s like to pioneer over the long haul. You’ll read both the good and the bad. The adventures and misadventures. In these pages are the seeds of our future and the principles we’ll need to get there. If you’re connected with or have ever considered planting a new kind of church in the Canadian context this book is for you.
Kinship in the Household of God
Cynthia Tam
This unique volume contributes a profound-autism perspective to the ongoing discussion of belonging in the church. By taking readers into two church communities, the author explores the issues of belonging from those least welcomed by the church and consider what the church should do differently. Adopting a “we” approach, she emphasizes the unity of different members in Christ. As one body in Christ, all believers share Christ’s sonship and become children of God. The household concept invites readers to reconceptualize Christian relationships as covenantal kinship. The kinship relationship is established by God’s covenantal commitment fulfilled in Christ.
Why Would Anyone Go To Church?
Kevin Makins
There are plenty of reasons to criticize, judge, and even walk away from the church. Many of us have been hurt and rejected. We may see church as insular and irrelevant. Despite this, Kevin Makins believes that the church still matters--perhaps more than ever. When Kevin was 23 and didn't know any better, he started a congregation with some friends who were on the edge of faith. Together they hoped to discover if the church was worth fighting for. In this brutally honest account, he shares their story of becoming a community of misfits, outcasts, and oddballs who would learn that, even with all its faults, the church is worth being a part of . . . and must be reclaimed for good.
Unsettling the Word: Biblical Experiments in Decolonization
Steve Heinrichs (Ed.)
For generations, the Bible has been employed by settler colonial societies as a weapon to dispossess Indigenous and racialized peoples of their lands, cultures, and spiritualities. Given this devastating legacy, many want nothing to do with it. But is it possible for the exploited and their allies to reclaim the Bible from the dominant powers? Can we make it an instrument for justice in the cause of the oppressed? Even a nonviolent weapon toward decolonization?
Churches and the Crisis of Decline
Andrew Root
This new book, related to Root's critically acclaimed Ministry in a Secular Age project, addresses the practical form the church must take in a secular age. Root uses two stories to frame the book: one about a church whose building becomes a pub and the other about Karl Barth. Root argues that Barth should be understood as a pastor with a deep practical theology that can help church leaders today.
This book pushes the church to be a waiting community that recognizes that the only way for it to find life is to stop seeing the church as the star of its own story. Instead of resisting decline, congregations must remain open to divine action. Root offers a rich vision for the church's future that moves away from an obsession with relevance and resources and toward the living God.
From the Margins to the Centre: The Diaspora Effect
Krause, Santos, Cousins (Eds.)
This book is a collection of essays written to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Tyndale Intercultural Ministry (TIM) Centre (1998-2018). Each chapter is written by a reflective practitioner engaged in ministry to, through and beyond the diaspora. They write, not as leaders who have all the answers, but as servants of God who are “building the bridge as they walk on it.” We are living in a changing cultural context where the proven solutions of the past no longer relate to the questions being raised in the present. This book challenges us to be aware of the assumptions we bring to our ministry context and to be willing to evaluate them as we engage the global community that now resides in our neighbourhoods.
The Meaning of Sunday: The Practice of Belief in a Secular Age
Joel Thiessen
Fewer Canadians identify with a religion, believe in a god, or attend weekly religious services than in past decades. What explains higher and lower levels of religiosity? Is secularization a myth or reality? What impact does religiosity or secularity have on a society’s social and civil fabric? In The Meaning of Sunday, Joel Thiessen addresses these questions by weaving together narratives from interviews with members of both religious and secular communities.
The Church In Exile: Living in Hope After Christendom
Lee Beach
Drawing on a close engagement with Old Testament and New Testament texts, The Church in Exile offers a biblical and practical theology for the church in a post-Christian age. Beach helps the people of God today to develop a hopeful and prophetic imagination, a theology responsive to its context, and an exilic identity marked by faithfulness to God's mission in the world.
Soul Coats: An Adult Coloring Book with Bible Scenes & Verses
Rohadi
Inspirational adult coloring book. 64 pages of professionally illustrated scenes from the Bible like you’ve never seen before!
Thrive
Rohadi
Christianity in North America has been pushed to the margins. Society is less religious, church attendance is mostly stagnant, and now we’ve learned we can do without a Sunday service. In this context, leaders are struggling to find answers knowing we can’t go back in time, but unsure how to move forward with new ideas and vision. Thrive will outline new ways of thinking and methods to re-imagine movement, change, and leverage new ideas in your church or community.
The Bees of Rainbow Falls
Preston Pouteaux
What if we could imagine living in our neighbourhoods in a way that transformed our whole outlook on faith, hope, and love? Preston Pouteaux writes about how an unlikely journey into beekeeping changed how he saw his neighbors. The Bees of Rainbow Falls reminds us that we matter to our community, that goodness is found all around us, and that new life emerges out of the small and sublime. With the quirky curiosity of a beekeeper and the thoughtful care of a pastor, he gently welcomes readers to step into their own neighbourhoods. What if the very best gift was waiting for you just beyond your front door?
ReInvention
Mark Whittall
In ReInvention: Stories from an Urban Church, Mark Whittall shares the insights and wisdom he and a small-but-dedicated team gained as they worked to establish a new congregation in St. Albans Church, the second oldest Anglican parish in Ottawa. The challenges the team faced were not small: the renovation of the original building, negative reaction from the community to the placement of a day program for the homeless, creating new liturgies and a new kind of church experience, and learning how best to reach out to and involve people with little or no prior church involvement.
Letters to the Future Church
edited by Chris Lewis
Soul of the City
edited by Len Hjalmarson
How do we get to know our cities? How do we identify the spirit of a place? What theological and social frameworks will contribute to our understanding? As a church we have lagged far behind in our understanding of the city. We have gathered thirteen theological practitioners to reflect on the spiritual topography of their city. These writers each contribute one chapter of five thousand words on the place they live.
Listening to the Echo
Tom Sherwood
Why do so few young people attend church? Why are Jewish and Muslim millennials so disenchanted with religion? Why are young adult Catholics so angry? How can parents, grandparents, and religious leaders understand the younger generation's widespread rejection of institutional religion? Sherwood conducted a national research project in which 722 young adults from across Canada offered their perspectives on such topics as religion, spirituality, sexuality, the environmental crisis, family, God, gods, suffering and the sacred. Listening to The Echo reports the responses of the participants in their own words.
Thy Geekdom Come
edited by Allison Alexander
Do you dream of dragons, understand Klingon, or consider Pocky your favourite snack? Do you wish there was a book that mashed your faith and fandom together? Delving into the worlds of superheroes, science fiction, anime, fantasy, and video games, Thy Geekdom Come—written by a group of authors and pastors from a variety of Christian backgrounds—relates these tales to an almighty, loving God who is ever present in our beloved franchises. From Doctor Who to The Lord of the Rings, stories impact our lives and can point the way to what is holy if we dare to look. Writers who contributed to this anthology: Allison Alexander, Matt Civico, Casey L. Covel, Kevin Cummings, Caitlin Eha, Victoria Grace Howell, Kyle Rudge, Charles Sadnick, Dustin Schellenberg, Jen Schlameuss
Evangelism for Normal People
John Bowen
Noted author and teacher John Bowen takes a unique look at what it means to witness to one's faith. Evangelism is something that all Christians can do as a normal part of being a follower of Jesus. Witty, wise, and biblically grounded, the book challenges in a gentle way. Includes study questions for congregational use.
Growing Up Christian: Why Young People Stay in Church, Leave Church, and (Sometimes) Come Back to Church
John Bowen
Young people who grow up in church seem to offer great potential for the future of Christianity. Yet often that potential goes unfulfilled. Some give up on Christian faith altogether. Many more give up on church. Others persevere with both faith and church. And yet others return after a time away. So what makes the difference?
John Bowen suggests some of the answers to such questions. He has surveyed several hundred young people who "grew up Christian," and retells their stories about how growing up and leaving home affected their faith-stories that are often poignant, sometimes hilarious, and always insightful.
This book offers helpful lessons for pastors, youth workers and parents who want to know how to help their young people to stay in church and in faith. What kind of church--and what kind of Christianity--do young people want and need? And can the existing church provide it?