Foreword by Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove
Introduction
1 A Theological Vision for Slow Church
FIRST COURSE: ETHICS
2 Terroir: Taste and See
3 Stability: Fidelity to People and Place
4 Patience: Entering into the Suffering of Others
SECOND COURSE: ECOLOGY
5 Wholeness: The Reconciliation of All Things
6 Work: Cooperating with God?s Reconciling Mission
7 Sabbath: The Rhythm of Reconciliation
THIRD COURSE: ECONOMY
8 Abundance: The Economy of Creation
9 Gratitude: Receiving the Good Gifts of God
10 Hospitality: Generously Sharing God?s Abundance
11 Dinner Table Conversation as a Way of Being Church
Conclusion
Acknowledgments
Recommended Reading
Notes
Chris Smith is editor of The Englewood Review of Books and a member of the Englewood Christian Church community on the urban Near Eastside of Indianapolis.
Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove (M.Div., Duke Divinity School) is director of the School for Conversion in Durham, North Carolina, where he is a member of the Rutba House new monastic community. He is the author of To Baghdad and Beyond and coauthor of Inhabiting the Church: Biblical Wisdom for a New Monasticism. He is also the coeditor of School(s) for Conversion: 12 Marks of a New Monasticism. Catch up with him at newmonasticism.org.
John Pattison is managing editor of CONSPIRE magazine. Previously he served as deputy editor of the Burnside Writers Collective. A member of the National Book Critics Circle, he is the coauthor of Besides the Bible.
"The authors write clearly and persuasively; each section of the
book offers a theoretical and scriptural basis for the ideas
discussed and practical suggestions for their implementation."
*Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW, April 14, 2014*
"Slow Church is a manifesto and handbook rolled into one. Unlike
most manifestos, it is beautifully written, blending historical
analysis, personal narrative, and scriptural exegesis into prose
that is languid, incisive, and eloquent. It reads like what it is:
the long, patient fruit of two men deeply rooted in a particular
place, among neighbors they know, love, and serve. . . . No matter
the size of our church body or the kind of neighborhood we live in,
we would all do well to slow down and examine ourselves in the
clearest light available—the light of history, the light of
Scripture, and the light of Christ himself—rather than the
fluorescent light of business models and burger joints. Make haste,
then. Run, do not walk, to your favorite bookstore, buy a copy, and
set your church table for a feast."
*Leslie Leyland Fields, Christianity Today, September 2014*
"Slow Church explores being church in a way that emphasizes deep
engagement in local people and places, quality over quantity, and
in all things taking the long view—understanding individuals and
congregations as participants in the unfolding drama of all
creation. . . . The strength of this book is in its consistent
encouragement to reorient ourselves through prayer, scripture, and
practice to God's abundant gifts and wellspring of possibilities,
even in broken places and circumstances. While the generative
imaginative space this creates doesn't work miracles (remember,
we're talking slow) on tight church budgets, neighbors struggling
with an exploitative landlord, or conflict in community, it does
open us up to material and spiritual resources we might otherwise
overlook and remind us that transformation, though it may be a long
time coming, is promised to us and all creation. . . . For
inspiration you may find yourself returning to this gracefully
written ode to God's wonders close at hand, with its vision for
individuals and faith communities to savor that goodness and more
fully incarnate Christ's love, wherever we have been called to
be."
*Julie Polter, Sojourners, September/October 2014*
"The final chapter of Slow Church envisions, quite biblically and
appropriately, church as a shared meal; a 'dinner table
conversation as a way of being the church.' Questions that arise
during the course of planning a meal—What will we eat? Who will do
which tasks? Where will we buy the food and who is invited to the
table—reflect many of the same questions raised throughout the book
about the way communities of worship think about and implement
their way of being in the world. They are questions worth lingering
over, even for those who are content with their current ways of
being a part of the church, for they invite everyone to a deeper
enjoyment of and engagement with the often-strange experience that
is church."
*Rachel Marie Stone, Books Culture, September/October 2014*
"Inspired by the 'slow food' movement and disheartened by the
'fast' church trends, Smith and Pattison are advocating for
'reimagining what it means to be communities of believers gathered
and rooted in particular places at a particular time.' Slow Church
promises something richer and more substantive than quick
fixes."
*Relevant Magazine, May/June 2014*
"Slow Church offers a layered challenge for congregations to trust
that God calls them to be fully present with their community, that
God equips them to be instruments of God's gracious hospitality and
that God sends them to embody God's love in open conversation with
church and community members alike."
*Felipe N. Martinez, Presbyterian Outlook, August 19, 2014*
"Smith and Pattison do a fantastic job presenting an imaginative
vision for what the church could be if it chose to reject the fast
and McDonaldized views of our culture and exchanged it for a more
intentional, organic, communal way of being God's people in this
world."
*Christopher G. Woznicki, Themelios, April 2015, 40:1*
"Those who are questioning (or despairing over) the temptation of
successful, efficient and fast modes of doing church—being part of
the 'fast food' culture—will find in this book a helpful way to
think about ethical orientations, environment and finances in light
of the call of the Gospel. What I think may be particularly helpful
is Smith and Pattison's exploration of our understanding of work
and the ways Christian communities can encourage people to
discriminate between 'good' (meaningful, creative) and 'bad'
(depersonalized, isolating) work."
*Lina Toth, Regent Reviews, April 2015, 6.2*
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