From Isolation to Community
- Christian Living
- Theology
- Church Leadership & Ministry
- Publisher: Baker Academic (Baker Publishing Group)
- Published: 2022
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Publisher's Description
Named One of Fifteen Important Theology Books of 2022, Englewood Review of BooksIt is no secret that isolation is one of the key ailments of our age. But less explored is the way the church as it is frequently practiced contributes to this isolation instead of offering an alternative. With the help of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, this book argues for a renewed vision of the church community as a theological therapy to cultural, moral, and sociological isolation. It offers an account of how familiar church practices, such as Scripture reading, worship, prayer, and eating, contribute to community formation in the body of Christ.
Endorsements (6)
“To say From Isolation to Community is reflective is to get it just right, but its eloquence and simplicity enhance its reflectivity. To say something is reflective and eloquent about someone so profound as Bonhoeffer was in Life Together is to give us fresh eyes to read Bonhoeffer’s classic all over again, as if for the first time. Reading Werntz’s reflections on Bonhoeffer amid isolation makes me ache for life together with my brothers and sisters in Christ.”
“For some time we North Americans have celebrated our freedom. It turns out that what we have gotten is loneliness, meaninglessness, and, in Werntz’s language, isolation. When we come to church, we just bring our isolation with us. What’s the cure? Community, carved out by Christ among his disciples, here refracted through Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s luminous witness. Werntz sees clearly what ails us and the cure God has already given.”
“Through much of the modern period, Christianity adapted itself to succor the needs of atomized individuals at the mercy of profound social change. Unwittingly, this accommodation took the state of isolation as given, and thus isolation ironically repeated itself in the solutions on offer. Whether in conservative-reactionary or liberal-progressive forms, modernized Christianity modeled identity either as the self’s assertion of sovereignty or the self’s absorption into a collectivity. But according to Werntz’s welcome construction of a theological alternative inspired by the work of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the Christian gospel is essentially about the formation of community in Christ, which interprets the state of isolation as the consequence of sinful alienation from God the Creator. Resolving this spiritual alienation, community in Christ cascades out into the world in a series of joyful exchanges on the trajectory of beloved community.”
“In a moment where we are relearning what community is and could be, Werntz offers us language for what was building our walls of isolation, even prior to pandemic pandemic quarantines and a socially distant reality. From Isolation to Community is a vital book for helping us to rediscover the promise and hope of life together.”
“There is no shortage of books on the thought of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Nor is there any shortage of books on church and ministry in our contemporary moment. But books that can put these together are few and far between. Yet here is one! From Isolation to Community does so marvelously. With dexterity and depth Werntz brings Bonhoeffer to life in a way that will help churches faithfully minister in this time. It’s a valuable read.”
“We are all specialized forms of survivors. . . . We lack what we fundamentally need and forge ahead regardless, hurriedly hiding our wounds, disguising our ineptitude, bluffing our way through our weaknesses. No one—especially not a pastor—should lose sight of that truth.”
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