Church and Mission

Books

Allen, Roland. The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church and the Causes that Hinder It. Wipf & Stock, 1997. (170 pages)

Andrews, Dave. Christi-Anarchy: Discovering a Radical Spirituality of Compassion. Oxford: Lion, 1999.

Angrosino, Michael. Talking About Cultural Diversity in Your Church. Walnut Creek, Calif.: AltaMira Press, 2000.

Ayers, Steve. Igniting Passion in Your Church: Becoming Intimate with Christ. Group, 2002.

Backman, Richard. Bible and Mission: Christian Witness in a Postmodern World. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2004. (128 pages)

Bandy, Thomas G. Fragile Hope: Your Church in 2020. Easum-Bandy Associates, 2002.

________. Road Runner: The Body in Motion. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2002. (120 pages)

________. Facing Reality: A Tool for Congregational Mission Assessment. Nashville: Abingdon, 2001.

Barna, George. The Second Coming of the Church. Nashville, TN: Word, 2001 (246 pages)

________. The Habits of Highly Effective Churches: Being Strategic in Your God-Given Ministry. Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 2000.

Beckham, William A. The Second Reformation: Reshaping the Church for the Twenty-First Century. Houston, TX: Touch Publications, 1997.

Bloesch, Donald. The Church: Sacrament, Worship, Ministry, Mission. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2002. (300 pages)

Borden, Paul D. Hit the Bullseye: How Denominations Can Aim the Congregation at the Mission Field. Cokesbury, 2004.

Bosch, David Jacoby, and Alan Neely, eds. Believing in the Future: Toward A Missiology of Western Culture. Harrisburg, Pa.: Trinity Press International, 1995. (80 pages)

________. Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts on Theology of Mission. Orbis Books, 1991, (587 pages)

Callahan, Kennon L. The Future Has Come: The Possibilities for Reaching and Growing the Grassroots. John Wiley & Sons, 2002. (240 pages)

Chadwick, William. Stealing Sheep: The Church’s Hidden Problems of Transfer Growth. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2001. (192 pages)

Clapp, Rodney. A Peculiar People: The Church as Culture in a Post-Christian Society. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996.

Clegg, Tom, and Warren Bird. Lost in America: How You and Your Church Can Impact the World Next Door. Loveland, Colo.: Group, 2001. (176 pages)

Colson, Charles. CounterCultural Christians: Exploring a Christian Worldview. Group, 2002.

Easum, William M. Unfreezing Moves: Following Jesus into the Mission Field. eBook. Cokesbury, 2002. (www.cokesbury.com/ebooks)

Finke, Roger, and Rodney Stark. The Churching of America, 1776-1990: Winners and Losers in Our Religious Economy. Piscataway, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1993.

Flett, John, ed. Collision Crossroads: the Intersection of Modern Western Culture with the Christian Gospel. DeepSight, 1998.

Glasser, Arthur F. Announcing the Kingdom: The Story of God’s Mission in the Bible. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2003. (384 pages)

Goebel, David L. Back to the Future: A Missiological Strategy of Small Group Community for a Postmodern Mainline Church. D.Min. diss. Columbia Theological Seminary, 2002. (83 pages)

Guder, Darrell L. The Continuing Conversion of the Church. (The Gospel and Our Culture). Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2000. (222 pages)

________. The Incarnation and the Church’s Witness: Christian Mission and Modern Culture. Harrisburg, Pa.: Trinity Press International, 2000.

________. Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America. (The Gospel and Our Culture): Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1998. (288 pages)

Guthrie, Stan. Missions in the Third Millennium: 21 Key Trends for the 21st Century. Paternoster Press, 2003. (256 pages)

Hammett, Edward H. The Gathered and the Scattered: Equipping Believers for the 21st Century. Smyth & Helwys, 1999. (104 pages)

Hatch, Nathan O. The Democratization of American Christianity. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1991.

Hohstadt, Thomas. Prophetic Compass for the Emerging Church. eBook. Cokesbury, 2002 (www.cokesbury.com/ebooks)

________. Dying to Live: The 21st Century Church. Odessa, Tex.: Damah Media, 1999. (199 pages)

Hexham, Irving, Stephen Rost and John W. Moorehead II, eds. Encountering New Religious Movements: A Holistic Evangelical Approach. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2003. (352 pages)

Hunsberger, George R., and Craig Van Gelder, eds. The Church between Gospel and Culture: The Emerging Mission in North America. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1996.

________. Bearing the Witness of the Spirit: Leslie Newbigin’s Theology of Cultural Plurality. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1998. (344 pages)

Hunter, George. Radical Outreach: Recovery of Apostolic Ministry and Evangelism. Nashville: Abingdon, 2003. (208 pages)

Jinkins, Michael. The Church Faces Death: Ecclesiology in a Post-Modern Context. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Jones, Tony. Postmodern Youth Ministry. Grand Rapids: Youth Specialties, 2001. (239 pages)

Kallenberg, Brad. Live to Tell: Evangelism for a Postmodern Age. Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2002. (144 pages)

Kelly, Gerard. RetroFuture: Rediscovering Our Roots, Recharting Our Routes. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 2000. (228 pages)

King, Ursula, ed. Faith and Praxis in a Postmodern Age. London: Cassell, 1998.

Klass, Alan C. In Search of the Unchurched: Why People Don’t Join Your Congregation. Alban Institute, 2002.

Kraft, Charles. Christianity in Culture. Mary Knoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1979.

Larkin, William J., and Joel F. Williams, eds. Mission in the New Testament: An Evangelical Approach. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1998.

Laurie, Greg. The Upside Down Church. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 1998.

Lewis, Robert. The Church of Irresistible Influence. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 2001. (224 pages)

Linthicum, Robert. Transforming Power: Biblical Strategies for Making a Difference in Your Community. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2003. (204 pages)

London, H.B. Becoming Your Favorite Church. Ventura, CA : Regal Books, 2002.

Malphurs, Aubrey and Joe Aldrich. Planting Growing Churches for the 21st Century: A Comprehensive Guide for New Churches and Those Desiring Renewal. 2d ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2001. (352 pages)

McIntosh, Gary. Biblical Church Growth: How You Can Work with God to Build a Faithful Church. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2003. (192 pages)

McManus, Erwin Raphael. An Unstoppable Force: Daring to Become the Church God Had in Mind. Loveland, CO: Group. 2001. (224 pages)

McNeal, Reggie. The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church. San Francisco: Jossey- Bass, 2003. (151 pages)

Mead, Loren. The Once and Future Church: Reinventing the Congregation for a New Mission Frontier. Alban Institute, 1993.

Merrill, Dean. Sinners in the Hands of an Angry Church: Finding a Better Way to Influence Our Culture. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1997.

Miller, Donald. Reinventing American Protestantism: Christianity in the New Millennium. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997.

Mims, Gene. The Kingdom-Focused Church: A Compelling Image of An Achievable Future for Your Church. Broadman and Holman, 2003. (192 pages)

________ with John Perry. The Seven Churches Not in the Book of Revelation. Broadman and Holman, 2002. (121 pages)

Nash, Robert N., and Loren Mead. An 8-Track Church in a CD World: The Modern Church in a Postmodern World. Macon, Ga.: Smyth & Helwys Publishing, 1997.

Nathan, Rich. Who Is My Enemy?: Welcoming People the Church Rejects. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002. (288 pages)

Nesson, Craig L. Beyond Maintenance to Mission: A Theology of the Congregation. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1999. (128 pages)

Newbigin, Leslie. Foolishness to the Greeks: The Gospel and Western Culture. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1986. (160 pages)

________. The Gospel in a Pluralistic Society. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1989.

________. The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1995. (192 pages)

Niebuhr, H. Richard. Christ and Culture. San Francisco, CA: HarperCollins, 1986.

Nixon, Paul D. Fling Open the Doors: Giving the Church Away to the Community. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2002.

Olson, Mark A. Moving Beyond Church Growth: An Alternative Vision for Congregations. Fortress Press, 2001. (128 pages)

Osborn, Lawrence. Restoring the Vision: The Gospel and Modern Culture. Oxford: Mowbray, 1995.

Payne, Bishop Claude E., and Hamilton Beazley. Reclaiming the Great Commission: A Practical Model for Transforming Denominations and Congregations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2001. (288 pages)

Ramachandra, Vinoth. The Recovery of Mission: Beyond the Pluralist Paradigm. Currently out of print.

Regele, Mike and Mark Schulz. Death of the Church. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996. (292 pages)

Reno, R.R. In the Ruins of the Church: Sustaining Faith in an Age of Diminished Christianity. Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2002. (208 pages)

Riddell, Mike, Mark Pierson, and Cathy Kilpatrick. The Prodigal Project. Reading, U.K.: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2001. (168 pages)

________. Threshold of the Future: Reforming the Church in the Post-Christian West. Dulles, VA: International Publishers Marketing, 1998. (160 pages)

Roxburgh, Alan J. The Missionary Congregation: Leadership and Liminality. Harrisburg, Pa.: Trinity Press International, 1997. (64 pages)

Sacks, Jonathan. The Persistence of Faith: Religion, Morality and Society in a Secular Age. London, UK: Weidenfeld and Nicholson, 1991.

Sanneh, Lamin. Translating the Message: The Missionary Impact on Culture. [American Society of Missiology Series, no. 13]. Maryknoll, NY : Orbis Books, 1989. (255 pages)

Schaller, Lyle. The New Reformation: Tomorrow Arrived Yesterday. Nashville: Abingdon, 1996.

________. What Have We Learned? The Best Thinking on Congregational Life. Nashville: Abingdon, 2001.

Schmidt, Alvin J. Under the Influence: How Christianity Transformed Civilization. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001.

Schwartz, Christian A. Natural Church Development: A Guide to Eight Essential Qualities of Healthy Churches. Carol Stream, IL: ChurchSmart Resources, 1996.

Shibley, David. The Missions Addiction. Charisma House, 2001. (256 pages)

Shenk, Wilbert. The Changing Frontiers of Mission. Orbis, 1999.

Snyder, Howard A. and Daniel V. Runyon. Decoding the Church: Mapping the DNA of Christ’s Body. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002. (208 pages)

________. Models of the Kingdom. Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 1991.

Sweet, Leonard I. Carpe Manana: Is Your Church Ready to Seize Tomorrow? Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2001. (208 pages)

________. The Dawn Mistaken for Dusk: If God So Loved the World, Why Can’t We? [e-book] Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001.

________. Postmodern Pilgrims: First Century Passion for the 21st Century Church. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2000. (224 pages)

________. Aquachurch: Essential Leadership Arts for Piloting Your Church in Today’s Fluid Culture. Loveland, Colo.: Group Publishing, 1999. (269 pages)

________. The Evangelical Tradition in America. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 1997.

Stamps, Dennis L., and David Ford, eds. Essentials of Christian Community: Essays for Daniel W. Hardy. Herndon, Va.: T & T Clark, 2000. (380 pages)

Taber, Charles R. To Understand the World, To Save the World: The Interface Between Missiology and the Social Sciences. [Christian Mission and Modern Culture series]. Trinity Press International, 2000.

Tomlinson, Dave. The Post-Evangelical. Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 1998 (160 pages)

Van Engen, Charles. Mission on the Way (Issues in Mission Theology). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1994.

________. God’s Missionary People. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1991. (192 pages)

Van Gelder, Craig. The Essence of the Church: A Community Created by the Spirit. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2000. (207 pages)

________, ed. Confident Witness—Changing World: Rediscovering the Gospel in North America. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1999. (313 pages)

Walls, Andrew F. The Cross-Cultural Process in Christian History: Studies in the Transmission and Appropriation of Faith. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2002. (284 pages)

Wagner, E. Glenn, and Steve Halliday. Escape from Church, Inc. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999. (256 pages)

Ward, Edward. Missional Evangelism: Reaching the Generations Contextually. D.Min. diss. Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, 2000.

White, James Emery. Rethinking the Church. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1997.

Wiehe, Philip. Ten Dumb Things Churches Do and How to Avoid Them. Alban Institute, 2001.
(128 pages)

Wilkes, Paul. Excellent Protestant Congregations: The Guide to Best Places and Practices. Westminster John Knox, 2001. (272 pages)

Wright, Tom. New Tasks for a Renewed Church. London, UK: Hodder & Stoughton, 1992.

Yancey, Philip. Soul Survivor: How My Faith Survived the Church. New York: Doubleday, 2001. (319 pages)

Yoder, John H., et al, eds. Authentic Transformation: A New Vision for Christ and Culture. Nashville: Abingdon, 1996.

Journals

Amaladoss, Michael. “Mission in a Post-Modern World: A Call to be counter-Cultural.” Mission Studies 13, no. 1-2 (1996): 68-79.

Breuninger, Christian B. “Creating a Culture of Mission in the Church.” Covenant Quarterly 56, no. 2 (1998): 15-22.

Bria, Ion. “Postmodernism: An Emerging Mission Issue.” International Review of Mission 86 (October 1997): 417-23.

Campbell, Jonathan. “Postmodernism: Ripe for a Global Harvest—But Is the Church Ready.” Evangelical Missions Quarterly 35, no. 4 (October 1999): 432-37.

Davy, Keith. “Advancing Side by Side: Evangelism Trends Among Parachurch Organizations.” Journal of Academy for Evangelism in Theological Education 13 (1998): 59-66.

Franks, Martha. “Election, Pluralism, and the Missiology of Scripture in a Postmodern Age.” Missiology 26, no. 3 (July 1998): 329-43.

Goheen, Mike. “Toward a Missiology of Western Culture.” European Journal of Theology 8 no. 2 (1999): 155-68.

Günther, Wolfgang. “Postmodernism.” International Review of Missions 86 (October 1997): 425-31.

Hertig, Paul, and Young Lee Hertig. “The Christian Mission and Modern Culture: Trinity Press International Series.” Missiology 27, no. 2 (1999): 261-71.

Hesselgrave, David J. “Challenging the Church to World Mission.” International Journal of Frontier Missions 13 (January-March 1996): 27-31.

Inbody, Tyron, ed. “The Gospel as Global Good News.” Journal of Theology 97 (1993): 4-58.

Jenson, Robert W. “How the World Lost Its Story.” First Things, no. 36 (October 1993): 19-24.

Kraus, Norman. “An Intrusive Gospel?: Christian Mission in a Postmodern World.” Anvil: An Anglican Evangelical Journal for Theology and Mission 17, no. 2 (2000): 152-53.

“Postmodernism, the Western Church, and Missions.” Evangelical Missions Quarterly 35, no. 4 (October 1999): 426-29.

Powell, Ron. “The Ministry of Presence: An Ancient Strategy to Reach a Post Modern Generation.” Eastern Journal of Practical Theology 11 (fall 1997): 7-18.

Van Engen, Charles. “Mission Theology in the Light of Postmodern Critique.” International Review of Mission 86 (October 1997): 437-61.

Van Gelder, Craig. “A Great New Fact of Our Day: America as Mission Field.” Missiology 19, no. 4 (1991): 409-18.
Visser, Hans. “Reflections on Missions in the Post-Modern Context.” International Review of Mission 87 (April 1998): 257-63.

Zacharias, Ravi. “Reaching the Happy Thinking Pagan: How Can We Present the Christian Message to Postmodern People?” Leadership 16 (spring 1995): 18-27.

Web-based Resources

http://www.servantevangelism.com/matrix/matrix.htm
A great list of servant evangelism resources and ideas from the Cincinnati, OH (USA) Vineyard.

http://www.in-b-tween.com
Web page for Gene Breitenbach, evangelist to postmoderns for Chi Alpha, the ministry of the Assemblies of God to secular campuses.

www.alpha.org.uk
The Alpha program provides a fellowship-based evangelistic outreach that combines relationship, apologetics and food in a unique way. This model is spreading around the world.

http://www.gospelcom.net/guide/web-evangelism.html
The Guide to Web Evangelism is the best product I know of on this and other communication issues. Be sure to get their email newsletter. Also features Online Training for Online Evangelism.

http://www.newwway.org/
A site that features lots of material on how to communicate the gospel creatively. For my money they have the best collection of articles on the net in this topic area. Includes the arts, the Net, research methodology, and just about anything else. Heavy missions emphasis.

http://www.e-vangelism.com/
Andrew Careaga’s Web site focused on electronic evangelism.

http://www.brigada.org/today/articles/web-evangelism.html#content1
A Web-evangelism site that packs more resources than just about anyone else out there. Terrific E-mail newsletter. Don’t be without it.

http://www.webpronews.com/2001/0910.html
Home of Web Pro News. Advice and insight on how to write for the Internet. It’s different, you know. Has to be concise, one idea per page, etc.

http://www.preachingplus.com/whatis.htm
A site devoted to worship service resources. For $9.95 per month you get access to everything they have. Resources range from sermons, to film clip ideas, to statistics and illustrations.

www.postmodernpreaching.net
Dr. Dave Teague’s website “for those who want to think deeply about preaching in postmodern times.” Based on his D.Min. project on same.

http://www.watershedonline.org/
Watershed is a San Diego ministry with a website that works on an aquatic theme. Cell groups are referred to as cell “pools.” A Cell manual is available on line. The Sunday evening service features “Candles, Creeds, Communion, and Connections.”

http://www.thekristo.com/
A high-flash evangelistic presentation online. Uses multimedia to present a fairly conventional gospel message. Follow-up is handled by email.

http://www.off-the-map.org/
Off the Map is “a community focused on supporting Christian thinkers.” Focused on evangelism by “ordinary attempts.” OTC says it is a “catalyst consulting group and event creation team focused on developing fresh approaches to doable evangelism.” Free newsletter and archives. Video clips of interviews with “lost” people are also available. This one looks really promising.

http://www.whoisJesus-really.org
Evangfelistic site featuring the “Who Is Jesus?” min-CD business card, and a “Tough Questions” FAQ list.

http://www.greatcom.org
Evangelistic site focused on the question, “Who is Jesus?” Sponsored by Campus Crusade. Excellent multi-language capability.

http://www.mostimportantthing.org
“ The Most Important Thing website is a space on the internet that Oklahoma’s Christians can use to share their personal experience of knowing Jesus.” Sponsored by The Baptist General Council of Oklahoma. Nice gallery of video clips, in one of the better traditional evangelistic sites I’ve seen.

http://www.hereshope.net
An animated evangelism site that leads you through the “plan of salvation” by way of a cartoon road trip. A must-see. (SBC North American Missions Board under the hood.)

http://www.thegoodnews.org
Evangelistic site sponsored by the SBC North American Missions Board. Many features, traditional content.

http://www.saddleback.com/home/yourpurpose.asp
Check this link to see a video of Rick Warren presenting an evangelistic message focused on the theme of finding your life purpose.

http://strategicnetwork.org/index.asp?loc=kb&fwo=POSTMODERN
Strategic Network has fine database of full-text articles on postmodern ministry with an outstanding international and missional perspective. Need to check this one out for sure.

http://www.mislinks.org
The Network for Strategic Missions has one of the basic internet sources on missiology. Major linkage. Some good articles, too. Lots for free. $20 per year for lots more. Best feature: international worship music online.