House Church and Mission: The Importance of Household Structures in Early Christianity
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
For nearly three hundred years, early Christians met almost exclusively in private homes built originally only for domestic use. In House Church and Mission, Roger Gehring investigates both theological and socio-historical aspects of the missional significance of house churches from the time of Jesus through Paul.
The development of early Christian ethics, the emergence of leadership structures, and the growth of ecclesiological concepts were all noticeably influenced by the households in which believers lived and gathered. In the last twenty-five years this early century house church phenomenon has generated a great deal of interest among New Testament scholars and church practitioners. This research has focused primarily on the implications of the social and theological effects of the house church on the early church.
House Church and Mission offers scholars the first comprehensive summary of evidence concerning home churches in the New Testament and supplies pastors and lay leaders with a well-crafted discussion of the nature of "church" that explores the practical implications of house churches for outreach.
From the Inside Flap
Christians worshipped in private homes for the first three hundred years of the early church. In House Church and Mission, Roger Gehring explores the missional significance of these house churches from the time of Jesus through Paul.
"Massive erudition deployed with a deceptively light touch. Gehring connects the emerging twenty-first-century church with the apostolic first-century church in significant and revealing ways."
-Leonard Sweet, Drew University
"If 75 percent of U.S. churches are declining and only 1 percent are growing by converting the "unchurched," it is time to rethink how we do church. Gehring gives a broad and deep foundation for this reassessment. Panoramic in coverage of the literature, exegetically rich, archaeologically informed, socio-scientifically alert-this fine work should bump discussion of the nature and mission of the church to a new level. By taking such careful stock of history, Gehring is in a position to shed light on practical concerns faced by pastors, church planters, missionaries, and others involved in church growth in our analogous current setting. His close attention to relevant academic debates ensures that this volume will be welcomed by New Testament specialists as well."
-Robert W. Yarbrough, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
"This is far and away the most comprehensive survey of the role of the house-and household-according to the New Testament. It demonstrates persuasively their centrality for both church and mission in early Christianity. While, at a few points, modern assumptions may affect the author's interpretation of the evidence, these are exceptions to his fine handling of the evidence. In a final chapter he also argues for the relevance of house and household for ecclesial life and Christian outreach today."
-Robert Banks, Macquarie Christian Studies Institute, Australia
House Church and Mission: The Importance of Household Structures in Early Christianity
House Church and Mission: The Importance of Household Structures in Early Christianity,Roger Gehring,Hendrickson Publishers,1565638123,Bible - Study - New Testament,Biblical teaching,Christianity - History - General,Church,Church history,General,Primitive and early church, ca,Primitive and early church, ca. 30-600,Religion,Religion - Biblical Studies,Religion - Church History
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