Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Wipf & Stock publishes latest Crofford book December 23, 2016 Gregory Crofford discipleship, ecclesiology & sacraments, missions & evangelismpreaching, sacraments, Creation Care, Christian education, Mere Ecclesiology, Healing & Deliverance, vocation mere-ecclesiology-coverJ. Gregory Crofford, Mere Ecclesiology: Finding Your Place in the Church’s Mission (Eugene, Oregon: Wipf & Stock, 2016) Available in paperback for $ 13.60 USD at Wipf & Stock by clicking here, or at Amazon.com for $ 17.00 USD by clicking here. An Amazon Kindle e-book edition will be available in early 2017. Book synopsis Too many churches limp along with no clear sense of mission. In Mere Ecclesiology: Finding Your Place in the Church’s Mission, Dr. Crofford clarifies the purpose of God’s people through the metaphor of spiritual respiration. “Breathing in” (worship and discipleship) leads to “breathing out” (transformative service in the world). Newcomers and seasoned believers alike will be challenged to discover their calling as the Holy Spirit sends the church out on a challenging mission to heal families, communities, and creation itself. greg_photo-copy Dr. Gregory (“Greg”) Crofford, Ph.D. (University of Manchester), is a Senior Lecturer and the Ph.D. (Religion) Program Coordinator in the Religion Department at Africa Nazarene University (Nairobi, Kenya). An interview with the author What led you to write this book? Christianity is fragmented. I wondered: What are the characteristics that all churches within the Christian tradition share? Mere Ecclesiology is an attempt to identify what unites us and to celebrate it. You talk about “spiritual respiration.” What do you mean by this rather odd term? Just like the human body must breathe in order to survive, so must Christ’s body, the church. It’s a word picture. “Breathing in” represents discipleship, coming to Christ and growing in our faith, both individually and corporately. ” On the other hand, “breathing out” is the mission God gives the church in the world, impacting communities through service that transforms. A healthy church will evidence both movements of the Holy Spirit, inward and outward. Your chapter on “calling” has some surprises. Why do you present the word in such broad terms? One of the downsides of the clergy/laity divide in how we conceptualize the church is that we become like a soccer match with only a few playing on the field and the rest watching in the stands. Yet Ephesians 4:11-16 teaches that all of God’s saints (believers) have a place of service, a role to fill not only in the church but in how the church fulfills her mission for the sake of the world. It is not just clergy who have a vocation from God. We all have a calling to fulfill. This is really where the sub-title of the book comes into play: “Finding your place in the church’s mission.” Is there a reason why you placed the chapter on the Lord’s Supper before the chapter on baptism? Jesus said: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28, NIV). When the church celebrates the Eucharist, I envision Jesus himself standing at the Table with his arms outstretched to all who are gathered. For those who come to Christ for the first time during communion, they can receive instruction later and be baptized. This vision is evangelistic, making the Lord’s Supper not only a time for believers to grow in their faith but newcomers to take their first steps toward God. How did your service as a missionary in Africa affect how you wrote Mere Ecclesiology? Africa’s fingerprints are all over this book! I love how Africans begin with “we” and only then move to “I.” It’s a communal way of looking at life where the identity of individuals is wrapped up in the group. That insight has profound implications for how we do church. It is not “Jesus and me” but “Jesus and we.” And what’s fascinating to me is that Western postmodernism incorporates something of this communal outlook. Many churches have been slow to detect this worldview shift. Mere Ecclesiology sees this not as a threat but as a recovery of the New Testament vision for the people of God, without losing the balancing truth that we each must have an individual saving encounter with Christ. You include chapters on deliverance and healing. Can you tell us why? Sometimes people pit science against the supernatural yet the two worldviews are not mutually exclusive. You can’t look at the ministry of Jesus in the Gospels or the advance of the church in Acts without being struck by the powerful movement of God not only to forgive sin but to bring wholeness. Healing and deliverance are part of the holistic “breathing out” that God intends for the church. Our Gospel must be comprehensive or else it is only partial good news. You apparently think that the church has an environmental role to play. Isn’t that something of a distraction? Some might think so, but I like what Howard Snyder responds: “Salvation means creation healed.” The bottom line is that when we take care of God’s creation broadly, we take care of human beings specifically. The earth sustains us, and God’s command is for us to take care of the earth. As the church, ours is to model that kind of love for all God’s creatures. What impact do you hope Mere Ecclesiology will make? It’s written to be a practical book. I’d like to see it used by pastors who have newcomers that know little or nothing about the church. I’m also hoping the discussion questions will be a springboard for small group conversations. Even those who have been around the church for a long time will discover new things or else say: “So THAT’s why we do it this way!” Many are worried that young adults have checked-out. I think they’ll find in the pages of Mere Ecclesiology that the church’s mission is not just for the hereafter, but also for the here-and-now. Most importantly, I hope it will help them see that God has a key role for them to play in changing our world through the church. An excerpt from Mere Ecclesiology “In the face of such a dizzying array of churches, is it possible—like C. S. Lewis attempted with his Mere Christianity—to identify a ‘mere ecclesiology’ (doctrine of the church), a core motif that unites the people of God despite our incredible diversity? Some have described this twofold movement as being ‘gathered to worship and scattered to serve.’ In Mere Ecclesiology: Finding Your Place in the Church’s Mission, a similar idea is what I call ‘spiritual respiration,’ the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:12–31) breathing in and breathing out. No matter the denominational affiliation of a congregation (or none), a basic life function for any church is this inward and outward movement. The notion of spiritual respiration helps us visualize our life together as the people of God, God first transforming us (‘breathing in’) then the Holy Spirit sending us out in loving service to transform our world (‘breathing out’). A few years ago, I revisited a campground in the Catskill Mountains of New York, the same camp I frequented during summers as a boy. That Sunday morning, the preacher did what I had seen preachers do many times when I was younger. He invited people to come forward to pray. While kneeling, I sensed God speaking to me clearly: ‘Greg, prayer is just spiritual respiration. So why are you holding your breath?’ God’s gentle advice to me on that Sunday regarding prayer is also good counsel for the church. The image of ‘respiration’ reminds us as God’s people to live in the rhythm of God’s Holy Spirit. It helps us understand both our corporate encounter with God (‘breathing in’) and our service together in the world (‘breathing out’). Both are essential. Just for fun, take a minute and try only breathing in. It doesn’t take long before your lungs feel like they’re going to explode! Now try the opposite. Breathe out, pushing air from your lungs through your mouth and nose. Soon, your lungs are empty; you have no air left to exhale. You simply must take another breath or else faint. Shortly after his resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples. He breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’ (John 20:22). It may seem a bit strange at first that Jesus would do this. What did he mean? Could it be that this little group of men—a seed of the much larger church that would be born at Pentecost—needed to learn a lesson about how the Holy Spirit works through his church? Breathing indeed is a metaphor for how the church is to function in the rhythm of God’s Spirit, gathering together for worship and mutual encouragement (inhaling), then scattering for transformational service in the world (exhaling). This model of the church—to borrow the words of Clark Pinnock—is a ‘Spirit ecclesiology.’ ” -from the “Introduction,” pp. xiii-xiv Praise for Mere Ecclesiology lyon Lyon “Greg has powerfully captured the church—’God’s mission in the World’—in these brief pages. Ecclesiology is generally a subject written and discussed in academic theological circles and rarely reaches the person in the pew. But this is one for the pew and will be valued as well.” Dr. Jo Anne Lyon, Ambassador and General Superintendent Emerita, The Wesleyan Church thorsen Thorsen “In promoting a healthy church, Dr. Crofford emphasizes the need for ‘spiritual respiration.’ His conception of church health first requires a ‘breathing in’ of personal growth that is spiritual, knowledgeable, and communal. Second, spiritual respiration requires a ‘breathing out’ that is missional, ministering practically to others for their holistic salvation, societal well-being, and ecological care-giving. . . . Crofford identifies step-by-step strategies that help Christians to implement ‘spiritual respiration’ in finding their place in the church’s mission.” —Don Thorsen, Professor of Theology, Azusa Pacific University Seminary Carla Sunberg Sunberg “Crofford invites us into a discussion regarding the theology of church and the practical implications for ministry. This thoughtful overview of the formational and missional characteristics of the church mirrors Jesus’ command to love God and love others. Here, the corporate body of Christ can live in authenticity to the doctrine handed down through the ages. This work will prove useful for the church engaged in the formation of Christlike disciples.” —Carla Sunberg, President, Professor of Historical Theology, Nazarene Theological Seminary Gabriel Benjiman Benjiman “In this helpful and easy-to-read book, Crofford draws wonderfully from Scripture, the Christian faith community, and his own faith journey. He offers wisdom and understanding to all pilgrims, wherever they are on their journey. If ever the church needed a grassroots understanding to fulfill its mission in the world in this significant time, then this is the ‘back to the basics’ guide so desperately needed.” —Gabriel J. Benjamin, Church of the Nazarene, Africa Region Education and Clergy Development Coordinator middendorf Middendorf “Written from his experience as a minister, a clergy educator, and a missionary, the book covers a broad range of topics that relate to the work of the church. Easy to read and challenging to your preconceptions, the book will profit every pastor and every layperson. This is an excellent overview of the work of the church. Refreshing!” —Jesse C. Middendorf, General Superintendent Emeritus, Church of the Nazarene

Theology in Overalls   "An excellent summary of Wesleyan theology" by Gregory Crofford
Mark Maddix and Diane LeClerc have done it again. Just two years after collaborating as co-editors of Essential Church: A Wesleyan Ecclesiology (Beacon Hill, 2014), they've overseen the production (also by Beacon) of Essential Beliefs: A Wesleyan Primer (2016), a welcome volume that will fill an important niche for those desiring a concise but comprehensive introduction to Wesleyan theology.
The term "primer" is well-chosen. Each of the 19 chapters in the 159 page book serves as an introduction to an important doctrinal topic. Organized in a traditional format, the five sections move the reader from 1) the sources and method of theology, to 2) God as theology's subject, then 3) creation/humanity/sin, followed by 4) the nature of forgiveness and sanctification, and ending with 5) the church's "meaning, purpose, and hope," i.e. ecclesiology and eschatology. By book's close, the careful reader will have taken in the panoroma of Wesleyan theology and - thanks to the suggestions for further reading at the end of each chapter - confidently be able to double back to pursue smaller trails that fork off from the main path.
The editors assigned the writing of chapters out to a crop of younger, emerging scholars, both male and female (Essential Beliefs, 16). This was a good decision, giving the book a freshness and sensitivity to more recent emphases, including a relational reading of sanctification. Also commendable is that not all writers were from North America, with solid chapters contributed by an Austalian, Zimbawean, Brit, and Filipino.
Mark Maddix's chapter on spiritual growth contains a sentence that caught my attention. Referring to Communion, he observes: "Christians recognize that as they breathe in through participation in Word and Table, they are healed, empowered, and equipped to breathe out in God's mission in the world" (Essential Beliefs, 122). This is a powerful metaphor that applies not only to Eucharist but to many other discipleship aspects of church life, including Christian education, preaching, and participation in small groups. Not having read Essential Beliefs until this week (December 2016), it's fascinating that his breathing in/breathing out image is exactly what I have developed at greater length in Mere Ecclesiology: Finding Your Place in the Church's Mission (Wipf & Stock, 2016) as the concept of "spiritual respiraton." Maddix's sentence is a confirmation that the Holy Spirit is always speaking to the church in sundry locations, yet somehow moving us together in the same direction.
Read more of this postParticularly well-done is the chapter on sin by Diane LeClerc. I didn’t expect to read anything new on the topic, yet she manages to breathe new life into an old subject. Likewise, Sarah Whittle’s follow-up chapter on systemic evil is effective, even touching upon spiritual warfare from the perspective of Ephesians 6 and an assortment of other New Testament passages. It is refreshing to see a Western scholar take malevolent spiritual realities seriously. Systemic evil proves to be the right venue to broach the subject, particularly for Western readers who may be inclined to dismiss such things as “superstition.”
While there are many good things to say about Essential Beliefs, one inaccuracy is found in Gift Mtukwa’s essay, “What Makes Ethics Christian?” (chapter 14). In an otherwise strong piece, Mtukwa erroneously follows a well-worn misinterpretation of John Wesley’s term “social holiness,” relating it to “reforming the nation” (Essential Beliefs, 111). Certainly, Wesley had a social conscience and was involved in many efforts, including poverty relief, the provision of education to young children from the lower classes, and lending his voice to the anti-slavery efforts of abolitionist parliamentarian William Wilberforce. However, the oft-quoted 1739 phrase – “no holiness but social holiness” (Essential Beliefs, 113) is not a reference to engagement in social causes. Rather, it refers to Wesleyan connection, i.e. the importance of small groups of Methodists meeting together for mutual encouragement and spiritual growth, as Kevin Watson explains. Since Wesley’s time, as Watson points out, some Methodists have nearly equated “social holiness” with social justice. Admittedly, one may argue that in so doing they have improved upon Wesley, but it must be acknowledged that this is a subsequent expansion of the more narrow meaning that John and Charles Wesley ascribed to the phrase.
An additional weakness in Essential Beliefs is the lack of an index. This is unfortunate, particularly since the book is likely to be used in undergraduate classrooms or in small group congregational settings where such an apparatus would prove helpful.
These weaknesses aside, readers will find much to commend in Essential Beliefs. In a publishing world dominated by Calvinistic perspectives and presuppositions, this little volume lives up to its name of being a Wesleyan primer, consistently bringing to bear Wesleyan distinctives – including prevenient grace – to a diversity of topics. I highly recommend this book for those wanting to learn about Christian doctrine as seen through the lenses of the ecclesiastical descendants of the Wesley brothers.
———-
Essential Beliefs: A Wesleyan Primer (Kansas City, Missouri: Beacon Hill Press, 2016) is available in both paperback and e-book editions at NPH.com and Amazon.com.
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Friday, December 23, 2016
Categories: book reviews
J. Gregory Crofford, Mere Ecclesiology: Finding Your Place in the Church's Mission (Eugene, Oregon: Wipf & Stock, 2016)
Available in paperback for $ 13.60 USD at Wipf & Stock by clicking here, or at Amazon.com for $ 17.00 USD by clicking here. An Amazon Kindle e-book edition will be available in early 2017.
Book synopsis
Too many churches limp along with no clear sense of mission. In Mere Ecclesiology: Finding Your Place in the Church’s Mission, Dr. Crofford clarifies the purpose of God’s people through the metaphor of spiritual respiration. “Breathing in” (worship and discipleship) leads to “breathing out” (transformative service in the world). Newcomers and seasoned believers alike will be challenged to discover their calling as the Holy Spirit sends the church out on a challenging mission to heal families, communities, and creation itself.
Dr. Gregory ("Greg") Crofford, Ph.D. (University of Manchester), is a Senior Lecturer and the Ph.D. (Religion) Program Coordinator in the Religion Department at Africa Nazarene University (Nairobi, Kenya).
An interview with the author
What led you to write this book?
Christianity is fragmented. I wondered: What are the characteristics that all churches within the Christian tradition share? Mere Ecclesiology is an attempt to identify what unites us and to celebrate it.
You talk about "spiritual respiration." What do you mean by this rather odd term?
Just like the human body must breathe in order to survive, so must Christ's body, the church. It's a word picture. "Breathing in" represents discipleship, coming to Christ and growing in our faith, both individually and corporately. " On the other hand, "breathing out" is the mission God gives the church in the world, impacting communities through service that transforms. A healthy church will evidence both movements of the Holy Spirit, inward and outward.
Your chapter on "calling" has some surprises. Why do you present the word in such broad terms?
One of the downsides of the clergy/laity divide in how we conceptualize the church is that we become like a soccer match with only a few playing on the field and the rest watching in the stands. Yet Ephesians 4:11-16 teaches that all of God's saints (believers) have a place of service, a role to fill not only in the church but in how the church fulfills her mission for the sake of the world. It is not just clergy who have a vocation from God. We all have a calling to fulfill. This is really where the sub-title of the book comes into play: "Finding your place in the church's mission."
Read more of this post
Wipf & Stock publishes latest Crofford book
Friday. December 23, 2016
J. Gregory Crofford, Mere Ecclesiology: Finding Your Place in the Church’s Mission (Eugene, Oregon: Wipf & Stock, 2016)
Available in paperback for $ 13.60 USD at Wipf & Stock by clicking here, or at Amazon.com for $ 17.00 USD by clicking here. An Amazon Kindle e-book edition will be available in early 2017.
Book synopsis
Too many churches limp along with no clear sense of mission. In Mere Ecclesiology: Finding Your Place in the Church’s Mission, Dr. Crofford clarifies the purpose of God’s people through the metaphor of spiritual respiration. “Breathing in” (worship and discipleship) leads to “breathing out” (transformative service in the world). Newcomers and seasoned believers alike will be challenged to discover their calling as the Holy Spirit sends the church out on a challenging mission to heal families, communities, and creation itself.
Dr. Gregory (“Greg”) Crofford, Ph.D. (University of Manchester), is a Senior Lecturer and the Ph.D. (Religion) Program Coordinator in the Religion Department at Africa Nazarene University (Nairobi, Kenya).An interview with the author
What led you to write this book?
Christianity is fragmented. I wondered: What are the characteristics that all churches within the Christian tradition share? Mere Ecclesiology is an attempt to identify what unites us and to celebrate it.
You talk about “spiritual respiration.” What do you mean by this rather odd term?
Just like the human body must breathe in order to survive, so must Christ’s body, the church. It’s a word picture. “Breathing in” represents discipleship, coming to Christ and growing in our faith, both individually and corporately. ” On the other hand, “breathing out” is the mission God gives the church in the world, impacting communities through service that transforms. A healthy church will evidence both movements of the Holy Spirit, inward and outward.
Your chapter on “calling” has some surprises. Why do you present the word in such broad terms?
One of the downsides of the clergy/laity divide in how we conceptualize the church is that we become like a soccer match with only a few playing on the field and the rest watching in the stands. Yet Ephesians 4:11-16 teaches that all of God’s saints (believers) have a place of service, a role to fill not only in the church but in how the church fulfills her mission for the sake of the world. It is not just clergy who have a vocation from God. We all have a calling to fulfill. This is really where the sub-title of the book comes into play: “Finding your place in the church’s mission.”
Is there a reason why you placed the chapter on the Lord’s Supper before the chapter on baptism?
Jesus said: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28, NIV). When the church celebrates the Eucharist, I envision Jesus himself standing at the Table with his arms outstretched to all who are gathered. For those who come to Christ for the first time during communion, they can receive instruction later and be baptized. This vision is evangelistic, making the Lord’s Supper not only a time for believers to grow in their faith but newcomers to take their first steps toward God.
How did your service as a missionary in Africa affect how you wrote Mere Ecclesiology?
Africa’s fingerprints are all over this book! I love how Africans begin with “we” and only then move to “I.” It’s a communal way of looking at life where the identity of individuals is wrapped up in the group. That insight has profound implications for how we do church. It is not “Jesus and me” but “Jesus and we.” And what’s fascinating to me is that Western postmodernism incorporates something of this communal outlook. Many churches have been slow to detect this worldview shift. Mere Ecclesiology sees this not as a threat but as a recovery of the New Testament vision for the people of God, without losing the balancing truth that we each must have an individual saving encounter with Christ.
You include chapters on deliverance and healing. Can you tell us why?
Sometimes people pit science against the supernatural yet the two worldviews are not mutually exclusive. You can’t look at the ministry of Jesus in the Gospels or the advance of the church in Acts without being struck by the powerful movement of God not only to forgive sin but to bring wholeness. Healing and deliverance are part of the holistic “breathing out” that God intends for the church. Our Gospel must be comprehensive or else it is only partial good news.
You apparently think that the church has an environmental role to play. Isn’t that something of a distraction?
Some might think so, but I like what Howard Snyder responds: “Salvation means creation healed.” The bottom line is that when we take care of God’s creation broadly, we take care of human beings specifically. The earth sustains us, and God’s command is for us to take care of the earth. As the church, ours is to model that kind of love for all God’s creatures.
What impact do you hope Mere Ecclesiology will make?
It’s written to be a practical book. I’d like to see it used by pastors who have newcomers that know little or nothing about the church. I’m also hoping the discussion questions will be a springboard for small group conversations. Even those who have been around the church for a long time will discover new things or else say: “So THAT’s why we do it this way!” Many are worried that young adults have checked-out. I think they’ll find in the pages of Mere Ecclesiology that the church’s mission is not just for the hereafter, but also for the here-and-now. Most importantly, I hope it will help them see that God has a key role for them to play in changing our world through the church.
An excerpt from Mere Ecclesiology“In the face of such a dizzying array of churches, is it possible—like C. S. Lewis attempted with his Mere Christianity—to identify a ‘mere ecclesiology’ (doctrine of the church), a core motif that unites the people of God despite our incredible diversity? Some have described this twofold movement as being ‘gathered to worship and scattered to serve.’ In Mere Ecclesiology: Finding Your Place in the Church’s Mission, a similar idea is what I call ‘spiritual respiration,’ the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:12–31) breathing in and breathing out. No matter the denominational affiliation of a congregation (or none), a basic life function for any church is this inward and outward movement. The notion of spiritual respiration helps us visualize our life together as the people of God, God first transforming us (‘breathing in’) then the Holy Spirit sending us out in loving service to transform our world (‘breathing out’).
A few years ago, I revisited a campground in the Catskill Mountains of New York, the same camp I frequented during summers as a boy. That Sunday morning, the preacher did what I had seen preachers do many times when I was younger. He invited people to come forward to pray. While kneeling, I sensed God speaking to me clearly: ‘Greg, prayer is just spiritual respiration. So why are you holding your breath?’
God’s gentle advice to me on that Sunday regarding prayer is also good counsel for the church. The image of ‘respiration’ reminds us as God’s people to live in the rhythm of God’s Holy Spirit. It helps us understand both our corporate encounter with God (‘breathing in’) and our service together in the world (‘breathing out’). Both are essential.
Just for fun, take a minute and try only breathing in. It doesn’t take long before your lungs feel like they’re going to explode! Now try the opposite. Breathe out, pushing air from your lungs through your mouth and nose. Soon, your lungs are empty; you have no air left to exhale. You simply must take another breath or else faint.
Shortly after his resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples. He breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’ (John 20:22). It may seem a bit strange at first that Jesus would do this. What did he mean? Could it be that this little group of men—a seed of the much larger church that would be born at Pentecost—needed to learn a lesson about how the Holy Spirit works through his church? Breathing indeed is a metaphor for how the church is to function in the rhythm of God’s Spirit, gathering together for worship and mutual encouragement (inhaling), then scattering for transformational service in the world (exhaling). This model of the church—to borrow the words of Clark Pinnock—is a ‘Spirit ecclesiology.’ ”[from the “Introduction,” pp. xiii-xiv]
Praise for Mere Ecclesiology
Lyon“Greg has powerfully captured the church—’God’s mission in the World’—in these brief pages. Ecclesiology is generally a subject written and discussed in academic theological circles and rarely reaches the person in the pew. But this is one for the pew and will be valued as well.”
Dr. Jo Anne Lyon, Ambassador and General Superintendent Emerita, The Wesleyan Church
Thorsen“In promoting a healthy church, Dr. Crofford emphasizes the need for ‘spiritual respiration.’ His conception of church health first requires a ‘breathing in’ of personal growth that is spiritual, knowledgeable, and communal. Second, spiritual respiration requires a ‘breathing out’ that is missional, ministering practically to others for their holistic salvation, societal well-being, and ecological care-giving. . . . Crofford identifies step-by-step strategies that help Christians to implement ‘spiritual respiration’ in finding their place in the church’s mission.”[Don Thorsen, Professor of Theology, Azusa Pacific University Seminary]
Sunberg“Crofford invites us into a discussion regarding the theology of church and the practical implications for ministry. This thoughtful overview of the formational and missional characteristics of the church mirrors Jesus’ command to love God and love others. Here, the corporate body of Christ can live in authenticity to the doctrine handed down through the ages. This work will prove useful for the church engaged in the formation of Christlike disciples.”[Carla Sunberg, President, Professor of Historical Theology, Nazarene Theological Seminary]
Benjiman“In this helpful and easy-to-read book, Crofford draws wonderfully from Scripture, the Christian faith community, and his own faith journey. He offers wisdom and understanding to all pilgrims, wherever they are on their journey. If ever the church needed a grassroots understanding to fulfill its mission in the world in this significant time, then this is the ‘back to the basics’ guide so desperately needed.”[Gabriel J. Benjamin, Church of the Nazarene, Africa Region Education and Clergy Development Coordinator]
Middendorf“Written from his experience as a minister, a clergy educator, and a missionary, the book covers a broad range of topics that relate to the work of the church. Easy to read and challenging to your preconceptions, the book will profit every pastor and every layperson. This is an excellent overview of the work of the church. Refreshing!”[Jesse C. Middendorf, General Superintendent Emeritus, Church of the Nazarene]
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Gregory Crofford
Friday, December 23, 2016
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