Forming Multicultural Partnerships: Church Planting in a Divided Society

Inspirational and challenging, a breath of fresh air regarding the Christian mission.

very good

This is a really good book, which deserves 4.5 stars (but you can't award that). It is full of clarity of thought, analysis and theology, as well as practical suggestion. If you're a church planter or just committed to mission, an annotated copy should be on your 'working shelves'. Knowing three (of the 4) cover commendees, I fully endorse their comments:'This work offers an insightful analysis of the emerging situation and explores ways in which the church can embrace and celebrate differences''The authors... offer many practical suggestions to encourage partnership and multicultural initiatives''A timely and rare contribution to a growing debate'The key issue I have with this work is its unresolved tension about 'reclaiming secular space' for God. God is already there but not recognised by those who are secularists. How much is it a Christendom desire to seek to re-occupy the 'public square' for Christ? The authors strongly argue that we live in a post-modernist, post-Christendom west but need to be more explicit as to how competing 'faith voices' and worldviews can enter the debates of the 'public square' in peaceable dialogue, trusting that their [the writers] understandings of Christ's Lordship would prevail. If they had resolved this more clearly, this would be a five star book!Please note: I was given a copy of this book in exchange for a free and fair review (what you now have), but this book is a keeper and will remain, with many highlights and notes, on my 'working missional shelf'

Andy Hardy and Dan Yarnell have written an ambitious and wide-ranging book on the multicultural church in England. It is written for those in church leadership, yet would be of interest to others in pastoral or evangelistic roles within churches. It is an insightful and challenging book, which explores topics such as the challenges faced by reverse missionaries and migrant children, the training of cross-cultural leaders and an analysis of the different ways in which churches of different background approach spiritual warfare. It is about multiculturalism in the broadest sense of the word - not just about the mixing of Christians from different ethnic backgrounds for missional purposes but also considers 'postmoderns' as a cultural group. Occasionally, I felt that the book was trying to cover too much ground and is written in an academic style that might be inaccessible for some readers, but is definitely a book to return to in order to read specific chapters again to gain a deeper understanding.I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Wonderful purchase and a well recommended read.