The Beautiful Community - by Irwyn L Ince (Paperback)

About the Book

The church is at its best when it pursues the biblical value of unity in diversity. Pastor and theologian Irwyn Ince boldly unpacks the reasons for our divisions while gently guiding us toward our true hope for wholeness and reconciliation. To heal our fractured humanity, we must cultivate spiritual practices that help us pursue beautiful community.

Book Synopsis

Outreach Resource of the Year
The Gospel Coalition Book Award

The church is at its best when it pursues the biblical value of unity in diversity.

Our world has been torn asunder by racial, ethnic, and ideological differences. It is seen in our politics, felt in our families, and ingrained in our theology. Sadly, the church has often reinforced these ethnic and racial divides. To cast off the ugliness of disunity and heal our fractured humanity, we must cultivate spiritual practices that help us pursue beautiful community.

In The Beautiful Community, pastor and theologian Irwyn Ince boldly unpacks the reasons for our divisions while gently guiding us toward our true hope for wholeness and reconciliation. God reveals himself to us in his trinitarian life as the perfection of beauty, and essential to this beauty is his work as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The gospel imperative to pursue the beautiful community-unity in diversity across lines of difference-is rooted in reflecting the beautiful community of our triune God. This book calls us into and provides tools for that pursuit.

Review Quotes

"Dr. Ince provides all Christians in the American context, and the churches in which they serve, an accessible and clear biblical and theological vision to help them work toward the unification of all things and all people in Christ. The book is grounded in a succinct and accessible biblical, theological, and historical vision for the 'beautiful community' and written with the prose of a concerned pastor who longs to see the people of God reach their redemptive potential in matters related to ethnic unity and racial conciliation. Readers might not agree with everything Ince says in this book, but they will certainly be challenged to consider carefully the biblical and theological imperative of pursuing what he calls the 'beautiful community.'"

"In John 17 Jesus prayed that the church would be one, just as he and the Father are one. The Beautiful Community is a clarion call to the church to image our triune God in both our unity and diversity-to see and cherish the beauty of a diverse and unified body of Christ. The church needs this book more than ever, and I'm thankful Irwyn Ince has written it."

"Irwyn Ince is a ministry-minded, biblically grounded Christian leader with equal passion for the unity and diversity of the body of Christ. In this historically informed, culturally relevant, and theologically astute book, Ince grounds his fresh vision for the beautiful people of God in the holy beauty of the triune God. I recommend this guide for anyone who is open to understanding the deeper reasons why racial reconciliation is essential to living out the gospel."

About the Author

Irwyn L. Ince Jr. is the interim lead pastor at Grace Mosaic Church in Washington, DC. He also serves as adjunct professor of pastoral theology for Reformed Theological Seminary. He is the author of The Beautiful Community and Hope Ain't a Hustle.