Reclaiming the Reformation - by Magnus Persson (Paperback)

About the Book

The Church's current state of deformation steers some into hopeless resignation while others try to solve it with frantic and creative innovation.
But the real cure is a thorough reformation that rediscovers the true treasures of Christ's Church, reclaiming what has been lost, restoring what has fallen, and reviving what is withered. Retrieving the true marks of the Church centers around the return to the message of Christ crucified for you and the revitalization of a community where Christ is given to you.

Book Synopsis

What treasures of the reformation can pastors, Christians and the church make use of today when trying to navigate burnout and scandal? What should a person look for in a church? Magnus Persson examines his own journey from popular preacher where church was a party, to the Lutheran faith and a pastor in the Church of Sweden where he relishes the liturgy nourished by historic roots using Luther's book "On Council's and the Church" to answer this question and explain his journey.

Originally titled Christ's Church, On the Marks of the Church Magnus shows the influence of Bo Giertz but also draws on many different influences from within and without the Lutheran tradition to explain how everything the church does needs to be focused on Christ crucified for you. Church is about communicating the forgiveness of sins Christ won for you on the cross to you. The church does this through the word, the liturgy, and the sacraments. Through these means the soul is nourished and matured to handle the distress and tribulation with which the world harries the church and her people. Here true rest is found for the souls of pastors battered by the pressure to be the next biggest church in town before they burnout and check out with scandal.

From the Back Cover

For what does it profit the church if she wins the whole world but loses her own soul?

Today, the news is replete with stories of scandal and burnout within the church as giants fall and leave wreckage in their wake. Huge churches pop up and explode with popularity before imploding upon themselves, revealing a lack of the solid foundation, leaving their followers cold, confused, and empty.

Magnus Persson, once a popular charismatic preacher, today an Evangelical-Lutheran pastor, has done the journey and traveled down the fast lane of church innovation that ended up in deformation. This is his theological account of redirection and reformation. In Reclaiming the Reformation, Magnus Persson shares the faith "once and for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3) in such a way as to discern direction from Scripture for those who are seeking renewal in the church and rest for their souls.

Review Quotes

I am proud of being the original publisher of this important book. It was very well received in Sweden, in most branches of the whole universal Church, from Catholics to the neo-charismatics. But most of all, it hit a nerve in the Lutheran churches, reviving our great legacy. The book points to the gospel as the true center of the church, and at the same time, in a very pedagogic matter, explains the nature of the church and what defines her. Not so surprisingly the book has made an impact among non-denominational churches, maybe not only due to its important message but because it is also entertaining. -- Johan Ericson, Libris, CEO

Persson's personal journey reflects the pilgrimage of many as they seek the authentic life that flows from God's Word in Holy Scripture. His encounter with the truly catholic understanding of the Holy Spirit's use of the gospel of Jesus Christ as it is embedded in the theology of Luther, Melanchthon, and their followers, as well as the catholic tradition of the church, informs these pages. Persson calls all Christians back to the center of the faith in trusting Christ, who died and rose for our justification, through his presentation of the Word as it comes to us in oral, written, and sacramental forms. A delightfully faith-deepening conversation awaits readers in these pages.

Through Rev Persson's sharp analysis this rich theological heritage is coming to life for a season marked by confusion and low self-esteem, with a biblical, Christ-centered, sacramental, and Charismatic response. This book has the potential of encouraging wide groups of preachers, evangelists, missionaries, and others to withstand the pressure from more shallow-founded influences, and instead standing on solid ground, building congregations and churches equipped to serve humanity with the saving Gospel of the crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ. -- Rev. Erik Johansson, International Mission Director of the Swedish Evangelical Mission (SEM)

About the Author

Magnus Persson is a onetime entrepreneurial pastor who started a large contemporary congregation in Malmö, Sweden, with an international church planting network. Today, he serves as an Evangelical-Lutheran pastor in the Church of Sweden. He works for EFS, an evangelical movement within the Church of Sweden, seeking to revive and restore the message and mission of the Reformation.
Bror Erickson currently serves as pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Farmington New Mexico where he lives with his wife, Laura. He graduated from Concordia University, Irvine, in 2000 where he studied apologetics under Dr. Rod Rosenbladt. Subsequently, he attended Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne Indiana, and graduated in 2004. He has translated many works by Bo Giertz, but he also enjoys hunting upland game and ducks with his dog, Grinner.