Many congregations today focus on strategy and purpose—what churches "do"—but Cheryl Peterson submits that mainline churches need to focus instead on "what" or "who" they are—to reclaim a theological, rather than sociological, understanding of themselves. Peterson suggests that we understand the church as a people created by the Spirit to be a community, and that we must claim a narrative method to explore the church's identity—specifically, the story of the church's origin in the Acts of the Apostles. Finally, here is a way of thinking of church that reconciles the best of competing models of church for the future of mainline Protestant theology.

Many congregations today are beset by fears, whether over loss of members and money, or of irrelevancy in an increasingly pluralistic society. To counter this, many congregations focus on strategy and purpose-what churches "do"-but Cheryl Peterson submits that mainline churches need to focus instead on "what" or "who" they are-to reclaim a theological, rather than sociological, understanding of themselves. To do this, she places the questions of the church's identity and mission into a conversation with the primary ecclesiological paradigms of the past century: the neo-Reformation concept of the church as a "word event" and the ecumenical paradigms of the church as "communion." She argues that these two paradigms assume a context of cultural Christendom that no longer exists-focused on the church that is gathered-rather than the missional church that is sent out.

What in the world is postmodernity? Is it the dominant reality today? If it is, what does it mean to be a church in a postmodern world? It seems that the church had a difficult time coming to terms with a modern world, an era ruled by the claims of scientific certainty. Having done so, more or less, it is now confronted by the claims of postmodernity, which seem to reverse the whole equation, to say that certainty and objectivity are chimeras. What is truth?" Pilate asked, and postmodernity 'at least as caricatured by its opponents 'responds: "There's no such thing." Gerard Mannion, in Ecclesiology and Postmodernity, addresses the situation of the church in a postmodern world. The fundamental changes in human society and culture wrought by the twentieth century require the church to consider its response in the twenty-first century. What is the church's moral Vision, how does its practice look, what is the nature of its aspiration toward holiness in our times? Mannion believes that since Vatican II, the Catholic Church has been in a kind of limbo, awaiting a Vision of its own life for the future. Rather than focusing on specific controversies, Mannion offers concrete suggestions about how the church can create a better harmony between its own self-understanding, its ecclesiological Vision, and its day-to-day life, its ecclesial practice. Gerard Mannion, PhD, educated at King's College, Cambridge University and New College, Oxford University, is Associate Professor of Ecclesiology and Ethics in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at Liverpool Hope University, UK. He is also the director of Church In Our Times: Centre for the Study of Contemporary Ecclesiology, co-director of the Applied Ethics Initiative at Liverpool Hope, co-chair of the AAR (American Academy of Religion) Ecclesiological Investigations Program Unit and co-ordinator of the Ecclesiological Investigations International Research Network. Mannion is the author of Schopenhauer, Religion and Morality and co-editor of Readings in Church Authority 'Gifts and Challenges for Contemporary Catholicism, both published by Ashgate in 2003, and co-editor of the forthcoming volumes The Routledge Companion to the Christian Church andCatholic Social Justice: Theological and Practical Explorations. "

This book explores biblical values that critique the ecclesiology of the New Apostolic Reformation Church (NARC) and compares the ecclesiology to other missional movements in the North American context. A biblical exegesis of Ephesians 4:11-13 as well as C. Peter Wagner's conceptualization of an apostle and apostolic ministry allow the author to demonstrate the gap between the biblical perspective and Wagner's concept of an apostle. The biblical role of an apostle is to make the church missional by emphasizing the concept of sending, whereas Wagner sees the apostle as a church leader. Based upon interviews and participant observation in three NARCs, SuYeon Yoon describes the leadership and ecclesiology based on their own self-descriptions. This book then demonstrates the gap between the biblical and conceptual ideals and the reality of ecclesial practice. The author argues that the NARC serves as a charismatic manifestation of a similar cultural response to establish a relational structure for church communities that can appropriately reflect upon and identify with the contemporary context. This implies that each movement needs to be biblically sound, faithful to its conceptualization, and relevant to the context in order to cultivate its own way of being the church.

A wake-up call to anyone who still thinks church revitalization is simply a matter of doing better the things that used to come so easily. However, for the innovators whose ministries cannot fully be measured or understood by the old paradigms of members and money, Weird Church offers compelling vindication and encouragement that may cause them to stand and cheer

In Visible Church-Visible Unity Ola Tjorhom explores central questions in current ecclesiological and ecumenical debates from the perspective of an evangelical catholicity of "the Great Tradition of the Church." Tjorhom shows how the fundamental visibility of the Church and the similarly visible nature of church fellowship is a corrective cover against "invisible" perceptions of these entities. This theme of visibility is developed in view of the sacraments, the ministries, and the mission of the Church. Visible Church-Visible Unity includes "Chapter 1: Toward the End of the Reformation Project? The Riddle of Protestantism," "Chapter 2: The Great Tradition of the Church'-An Old Way Forward?" "Chapter 3: The Church-Mother of Faith and Priest of Creation," "Chapter 4: The Goal of Visible Unity-Reaffirming Our Commitment," and "Chapter 5: Life in the Spirit-Toward a 'Materialist' Spirituality."

Offering timely, relevant analysis of trends and issues, the essays in this collection address questions and concerns that will determine the shape and direction of the denomination in the next century. These essays cover policy issues and current events considerations that Russell Richey says "emerged as a priority" in sponsored conferences of the United Methodism and American Culture Project. Policy issues addressed include music, evangelism, contextual theology, urban losses, electronics & media, lay leadership roles and growth, bishopric election and leadership, the discipline of local churches, church finance, clergy compensation, and others. Contributors include Garlinda Burton, Dennis Campbell, Jackson Carroll, Ken Chalker, Meghan Froehlich, Frederick Herzog, Sarah Kreutziger, Andy Langford, William Lawrence, Priscilla Pope-Levison, Russell Richey, Kenneth Rowe, and Carol Voisin.