Reconciling Mission - by Alastair McKay & David Brubaker (Hardcover)

About the Book

Reconciling Mission provides a vision of Christian community engagement which places God's reconciling work at the center. Chapters address the full spectrum of how congregations engage their communities-from meeting felt needs, to raising awareness, to advocating for change, to organizing with organizational partners and community residents.

Book Synopsis

How does the local church rise to the community engagement challenges of the current context, as we face major socio-cultural change, accelerated by the global pandemic, amidst deeply polarized societies? Just asking the same old "church questions," such as how to fill empty pews, is no longer enough. We have to ask the "God questions," such as how God is already at work in our local neighborhoods.

What does it take for local churches to engage in more mutually respectful ways with our neighbors and local organizations? This book offers theoretical and theological reflections, distils wisdom from recent research and connects this with local case studies-which tell powerful stories drawn from both the US and UK.

The authors provide a vision of Christian community engagement which places God's reconciling work at the center. Successive chapters address the full spectrum of how congregations engage their communities-from meeting felt needs, to raising awareness, to advocating for change, to organizing with multiple organizational partners and community residents. This book resources congregational and non-profit leaders, in rural, suburban, and urban settings, to listen more deeply to the people in their local context, and to unearth new treasure together.

Review Quotes

"In recent years there has continued to be much talk about church growth, not least in response to a narrative of decline in church attendance. However, growth is not all about numbers - it is about the flourishing of interdependent individuals of all ages and backgrounds in an adventure of encounter, rooted in Jesus Christ. We are created for relationship and community, and this book focuses on the growth of the local church's engagement with neighbours and community organisations. Through deepening those relationships and finding ways to work collaboratively in partnership with people and organisations of peace, there is exciting potential to see more of God's reconciling kingdom being made real in our local communities. This book offers encouragement, practical insights and hopeful examples in the adventure of joining in with God's kingdom transformation. I am delighted to commend this book." --Rt. Rev. Rachel Treweek, Bishop of Gloucester and Anglican Bishop for HM Prisons

"The future of churches in the western world rests on their ability to create a two-way flow across their boundary with whatever people they discern are their "community". McKay and Brubaker know this and offer us in this excellent book sound theological and biblical foundations for making the move into being an "open system" which expands the reign of God. Reconciling Mission is also a deeply practical work, you will read here of churches on both sides of the Atlantic who have sought out God beyond themselves in the fine (and often fraught) detail of the craft of working in partnership. Study and digest this book, and then work out what reconciling mission will look like in your place; I can guarantee it won't look like any of the initiatives described here, but you can be sure from what is written here that it is entirely possible." --Rev. Canon Dr. Nigel Rooms, Anglican Priest, Missiologist, and Practical Theologian; Coordinator of Partnership for Missional Church UK, Church Mission Society, UK

"McKay and Brubaker shift our focus away from fear of decline in our churches, to noticing the signs of God at work beyond, sometimes in places and among people we least expect. In this missionary movement outwards, we shouldn't be surprised that we will find Jesus, working in and through the angels that we entertain. These angels can often take the shape of apparent strangers outside the church. The authors re-open our eyes to ways that God's Kingdom is breaking in all around us. In so doing, they help us to know and grow the beautiful blessing of God upon our local neighbourhoods." --Rt. Rev. Anna Eltringham, Bishop of Ripon, UK

In recent years there has continued to be much talk about church growth, not least in response to a narrative of decline in church attendance. However, growth is not all about numbers - it is about the flourishing of interdependent individuals of all ages and backgrounds in an adventure of encounter, rooted in Jesus Christ. We are created for relationship and community, and this book focuses on the growth of the local church's engagement with neighbours and community organisations. Through deepening those relationships and finding ways to work collaboratively in partnership with people and organisations of peace, there is exciting potential to see more of God's reconciling kingdom being made real in our local communities. This book offers encouragement, practical insights and hopeful examples in the adventure of joining in with God's kingdom transformation. I am delighted to commend this book.
Bishop of Gloucester and Anglican Bishop for HM Prisons

McKay and Brubaker shift our focus away from fear of decline in our churches, to noticing the signs of God at work beyond, sometimes in places and among people we least expect. In this missionary movement outwards, we shouldn't be surprised that we will find Jesus, working in and through the angels that we entertain. These angels can often take the shape of apparent strangers outside the church. The authors re-open our eyes to ways that God's Kingdom is breaking in all around us. In so doing, they help us to know and grow the beautiful blessing of God upon our local neighbourhoods.
Bishop of Ripon

The future of churches in the western world rests on their ability to create a two-way flow across their boundary with whatever people they discern are their "community". McKay and Brubaker know this and offer us in this excellent book sound theological and biblical foundations for making the move into being an "open system" which expands the reign of God. Reconciling Missionis also a deeply practical work, you will read here of churches on both sides of the Atlantic who have sought out God beyond themselves in the fine (and often fraught) detail of the craft of working in partnership. Study and digest this book, and then work out what reconciling mission will look like in your place; I can guarantee it won't look like any of the initiatives described here, but you can be sure from what is written here that it is entirely possible.
Anglican Priest, Missiologist, and Practical Theologian; Coordinator of Partnership for Missional Church UK, Church Mission Society, UK

About the Author

Alastair McKay is the founding Director of Reconciliation Initiatives, a not-for-profit organization resourcing clergy and their churches for missional engagement with local communities. He is the author of Bridgebuilding: Making Peace with Conflict in the Church (2019).

David Brubaker is Professor Emeritus of Organizational Studies at Eastern Mennonite University, an organizational consultant, and author of numerous publications, including When the Center Does Not Hold: Leading in an Age of Polarization (2019).