Looking in the Other Direction
The Story of the Believers Church Conferences
- History & Biography
- Publisher: Pickwick Publications (Wipf and Stock)
- Published: 2023
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Publisher's Description
In this study, Teun van der Leer tells the story of the Believers' Church Tradition, a tradition, mainly rooted in the so-called Radical Reformation, which prefers to be called a movement, or rather a renewal movement. Its name is a program, a vision, and a way of being church. Based on extensive source research, this book describes and analyzes the defining characteristics of this so-called "third type of church" and investigates its ecumenical value. With an extensive description of its nature of faith, the church, hermeneutical discernment, and mission, this book colors a movement within the church landscape that has never been mapped in such detail before. As such, the book provides an in-depth introduction to this ecumenically important but still a bit underexposed movement and makes a substantial contribution to the ecumenical ecclesiological debate about the church and its future.
Endorsements (4)
“As a scholar who has been an active participant in the Believers’ Church Conferences for over three decades, I was delighted to read Teun van der Leer’s excellent study on the topic. This work is the only study of its kind and offers an important history and theology of this unique ecclesiological and ecumenical movement within the Free Church, Anabaptist, and ‘Believers’ Church’ traditions. I heartily recommend it.”
“As supervisor of the dissertation of Teun van der Leer, reading the growing chapters of his research project was an exciting experience of getting acquainted with an until-then unknown movement. Van der Leer’s outstanding analysis of the history of Believers Church Conferences offers not only a fascinating reading, but it will also become the standard reference work for the Believers Church Movement.”
“Looking in the Other Direction is a fitting title for a book which takes the reader on a fascinating, unexpected, and deeply enriching theological journey. The book breaks new ground and provides a deeply challenging counterpoint to much ecumenical ecclesiology. It is meticulously researched, full of real theological gems, and yet highly readable by its clear thematic approach. I particularly appreciated its final advocacy of a pneumatological ecclesiology; the church is indeed ‘a people of the Spirit.’”
“This work contains a great deal of original research on an area that is not often well understood (that of the Believers’ Church Tradition), but which is of great significance in understanding the landscape of faith communities. Van der Leer has amassed a significant amount of material, and his analysis is important in enabling those who are part of the tradition to understand their own story, trace the contours of the community, and identify both strengths and weaknesses.”
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