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Divergent Church: The Bright Promise of Alternative Faith Communities
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About Divergent Church: The Bright Promise Of Alternative
Product Description New faith communities are appearing across the U.S.. Many of thembear little resemblance—on the surface—to ‘church’ in its conventionalform. But when we look a little deeper we see striking continuity withthe most deeply rooted practices of the Christian faith in community. What are those practices? What do these unconventional, alternativefaith communities look like? How are they, perhaps, indicators of ahopeful new future for the church? And what can we learn from them?Authors Kara Brinkerhoff and Tim Shapiro spent more than a yearresearching and exploring these questions, closely examining the life ofa dozen alternative faith communities across the country. They includenew monastic communities, food-oriented communities, affinity groupcommunities, house churches, hybrid churches and others. They arecreative, ingenious, innovative, clever, dynamic and transformative. Butthey represent human expressions of activities that have always beenpart of human religious congregations: hospitality, learning,storytelling, care, leadership, worship and honoring place. This fascinating book goes beyond simply analyzing current trends. Itreveals how innovative Christians are engaging in time-honoredpractices, creating new types of communities, which will shape thechurch to come. Further, it shows us how we too might innovate whileholding true to the essential practices of our gathered faith. This isan instructive picture of Christian community, past, present and future. Book Description Innovative Christians - engaging in time-honored practices - are creating new types of communities. About the Author Tim Shapiro is President of the Center for Congregations in Indianapolis. He previously served Presbyterian churches in Indiana and Ohio. He studied family systems theory under Edwin Friedman.Kara Faris is the resource grants director at the Center for Congregations, as well as a resource consultant to congregations. She previously served for eight years as the Center's education director.Before working at the Center, Kara served First Friends Meeting of Indianapolis as associate pastor. With a degree in marketing from Butler University's College of Business Administration and a master of divinity degree from Christian Theological Seminary, Kara brings a blend of pragmatism, intuition and passion for lifelong learning to the Center.
