A Vision for the Aging Church - by James M Houston & Michael Parker (Paperback)

About the Book

James M. Houston and Michael Parker believe now is the time for the church to offer ministry to its seniors and benefit from ministry they offer. They issue a call to reconceive the place and part of the elderly in the local congregation.

Book Synopsis

James M. Houston and Michael Parker believe now is the time for the church to offer ministry to its increasing numbers of seniors and to benefit from ministry they can offer. They issue an urgent call to reconceive the place and part of the elderly in the local congregation, showing that seniors aren't the problem--they are the solution.

Review Quotes

"A Vision for the Aging Church offers much-needed insight into the future of our aging congregations. Houston and Parker offer sage advice to both the elderly and their pastors and congregations for best practices of serving--and being served by--the seniors in our churches."

"A Vision for the Aging Church offers much-needed insight into the future of our aging congregations. Houston and Parker offer sage advice to both the elderly and their pastors and congregations for best practices of serving--and being served by--the seniors in our churches."

--Harold G. Koenig, M.D., director of the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health at Duke University Medical Center

"A Vision for the Aging Church is an impressive and valuable work for any church leader in our aging society. Houston and Parker provide many insights that society in general and churches in particular will face in the near future. . . . I personally was blessed greatly by the careful research and insightful work of James Houston and Michael Parker. The young and older reader will be blessed, and perhaps a 'new vision' for your church will emerge. I commend A Vision for the Aging Church to be carefully digested and applied in any local church's situation."

"A Vision for the Aging Church is an impressive and valuable work for any church leader in our aging society. Houston and Parker provide many insights that society in general and churches in particular will face in the near future. . . . I personally was blessed greatly by the careful research and insightful work of James Houston and Michael Parker. The young and older reader will be blessed, and perhaps a 'new vision' for your church will emerge. I commend A Vision for the Aging Church to be carefully digested and applied in any local church's situation."

--Leo Smith, Baptist Standard, June 11, 2012

"A passionate and informative call to the church to embrace, learn from, and empower our elders."

"A passionate and informative call to the church to embrace, learn from, and empower our elders."

--Sojourners, February 2012

"Houston and Parker have written a critical book for our day. They detail well how the prejudicial practice of 'ageism' by Western culture and the church has far-reaching and devastating results for our time. As one with an interest in spiritual formation, I'm grateful that we finally have someone providing a vision for the church regarding how the elderly are a potential powerhouse of spiritual depth and vitality as well as examples in life and sacrificial caring for others. Without elderly persons' profound leadership, involvement and interaction, the church, family and society are destined to become a truncated community bent on self-referential consumerism and impersonal overproductivity. God help us in opening to this timely message."

"I am distinctly honored to call James Houston and Michael Parker friends and colleagues in mission. In A Vision for the Aging Church, these two cultural 'evangelists' advocate for a paradigm shift in both church and society--one in which our elders are proudly embraced and engrafted into vibrant leadership and ministry. As a dementia neurologist, I know that most of our elders will eventually require caregivers. And caregivers need many more resources than are currently available for them. In following the call sounded forth in this fine book we should be assured that we have honored our elders, validated their unique place in church and society, and been true to the highest of all callings. Read this book and be inspired!"

"I am distinctly honored to call James Houston and Michael Parker friends and colleagues in mission. In A Vision for the Aging Church, these two cultural 'evangelists' advocate for a paradigm shift in both church and society--one in which our elders are proudly embraced and engrafted into vibrant leadership and ministry. As a dementia neurologist, I know that most of our elders will eventually require caregivers. And caregivers need many more resources than are currently available for them. In following the call sounded forth in this fine book we should be assured that we have honored our elders, validated their unique place in church and society, and been true to the highest of all callings. Read this book and be inspired!"

--Daniel C. Potts, M.D., associate clinical professor, College of Community Health Sciences, The University of Alabama School of Medicine

"James Houston and Michael Parker cast a vision of a church community where no one is 'pushed to the fringe.' Rather, we see 'intergenerational mutuality' where each person is embraced as an essential contributing member in relationship with the others, sharing in love, wisdom and common purpose. It is a vision worthy of pursuit."

"James Houston and Michael Parker provide a wake-up call to the church in A Vision for the Aging Church. Despite biblical commands to honor and care for older adults, the church has failed to value the lives of the rapidly increasing numbers of older members by excluding them from ministry and failing to provide help for them and their caregivers when it is needed. This book challenges older adults to embrace their important God-given roles as leaders and elders in the modern church. Every church leader and seminary student needs to read this book and heed the call to let the elders enlighten them. This book makes it clear that rejecting ageism not only offers hope for spiritual renewal within the church but also for society as a whole."

"James Houston and Michael Parker provide a wake-up call to the church in A Vision for the Aging Church. Despite biblical commands to honor and care for older adults, the church has failed to value the lives of the rapidly increasing numbers of older members by excluding them from ministry and failing to provide help for them and their caregivers when it is needed. This book challenges older adults to embrace their important God-given roles as leaders and elders in the modern church. Every church leader and seminary student needs to read this book and heed the call to let the elders enlighten them. This book makes it clear that rejecting ageism not only offers hope for spiritual renewal within the church but also for society as a whole."

--Richard M. Allman, M.D., professor of medicine and director of the Center for Aging and Division of Gerontology, Geriatrics, and Palliative Care at The University of Alabama at Birmingham

"This book challenges pastors, lay leaders, and congregations to embrace healthy attitudes and actions toward aging adults, for the sake of themselves, for the future of the church, and for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ."

"This book challenges pastors, lay leaders, and congregations to embrace healthy attitudes and actions toward aging adults, for the sake of themselves, for the future of the church, and for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ."

--Sue Edwards, Bibliotheca Sacra, April-June 2012

"This is a resource that provides fresh insight for ministry to and with senior adults. Houston and Parker challenge both pastors and congregations to see their senior members as a 'living curriculum' for the generations that follow. They also challenge the church to be present as a resource for seniors and their caregivers. Pastors and church leaders would do well to engage this book as a resource for planning and enriching ministry in a local setting. . . . This insightful and thought-provoking book is both a theological and a sociological gift to the church that promises to renew ministry for and by seniors."

"This is a resource that provides fresh insight for ministry to and with senior adults. Houston and Parker challenge both pastors and congregations to see their senior members as a 'living curriculum' for the generations that follow. They also challenge the church to be present as a resource for seniors and their caregivers. Pastors and church leaders would do well to engage this book as a resource for planning and enriching ministry in a local setting. . . . This insightful and thought-provoking book is both a theological and a sociological gift to the church that promises to renew ministry for and by seniors."

--Tom Tickner, Interpretation, April 2014

"With A Vision for the Aging Church, Drs. Houston and Parker challenge the church to reimagine its ministry by and to seniors, encouraging the church to embrace and honor the contributions that can be made by its senior members while more effectively ministering to their needs. The book provides an important bridge between the scriptural imperatives which must drive the church's senior mission and the realities of aging in the United States at the start of the twenty-first century. To be effective in ministry, church leaders must understand the basic medical, social, legal and spiritual issues facing our aging population. The authors have effectively identified many of the issues to be addressed by the church and have provided the scriptural inspiration to move churches forward."

"With A Vision for the Aging Church, Drs. Houston and Parker challenge the church to reimagine its ministry by and to seniors, encouraging the church to embrace and honor the contributions that can be made by its senior members while more effectively ministering to their needs. The book provides an important bridge between the scriptural imperatives which must drive the church's senior mission and the realities of aging in the United States at the start of the twenty-first century. To be effective in ministry, church leaders must understand the basic medical, social, legal and spiritual issues facing our aging population. The authors have effectively identified many of the issues to be addressed by the church and have provided the scriptural inspiration to move churches forward."

--Hugh M. Lee, director, Elder Law Clinic, University of Alabama School of Law

About the Author

James M. Houston (D.Phil., Oxford) is founding principal, former chancellor and emeritus professor of spiritual theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. He is the author of some forty books.

Michael Parker (Ph.D./DSW, LCSW, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army Retired [AMEDD]) is associate professor in the School of Social Work and at the Center for Mental Health Aging at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and adjunct associate professor in the Division of Geriatric Medicine Palliative Care and Center for Aging, also at the University of Alabama.