Reclaiming the Church Family
A Solution to the Corporate-Church Crisis
- Church Leadership & Ministry
- Publisher: Wipf and Stock
- Published: 2022
FritzSearch.com earns a commission on purchases made through Bookshop.org links.
Publisher's Description
Why bother with church? Can't I follow Jesus on my own? Christians young and old struggle to answer these questions, believing Scripture says little about church life. But the Bible is far from silent. The New Testament envisions a vibrant church of devoted brothers and sisters adopted into God's family. The biblical image of the church family has the power to reshape everything our local churches do--the ways pastors lead, how members engage one another, what worship leaders sing, and much more. Now is the time to reclaim a biblical vision of the church as a family and reject the prevailing corporate-church paradigm assumed by church growth gurus. The church that thinks of itself as a family will learn to build meaningful relationships and show the unbelieving world how good church life can be.
Endorsements (5)
“A breath of fresh air. Kimbrough graciously provides a beautiful reorientation for the church, pulling our gaze off of business as a model and off of self to see God’s intention for his people to function as a family. Throughout the book, he contextually grounds his points within the biblical text, showing practical ways we can collectively rediscover and live out God’s design. This book is a must-read for the church today.”
“Are you troubled by the superficial nature of the corporate model of ministry that characterizes so much of American church life? Take heart! There is a wonderful alternative. The title of Kimbrough’s challenging and refreshing new book says it all: Reclaiming the Church Family. I warmly commend this book to all who are weary of church as a business and who long for a biblical alternative that puts relationships back at the center of church life and ministry.”
“Pushing against modern depictions of the church as ‘corporation,’ Kimbrough invites readers to reclaim the New Testament’s ‘family’ imagery. Readers will discover how such a shift in language can change our churches for the better. Anyone training for or tasked with leading a church will benefit from exploring these implications in Reclaiming the Church Family.”
“Reclaiming the Church Family is simply practical. Kimbrough has a pastor’s heart for the local church, a professor’s passion for biblical ecclesiology, and a parishioner’s concern for the church family. His metaphor of the family is both helpful and timely for the church as we regather in the post-pandemic era.”
“Reclaiming the Church Family will take you on a journey of discovery as you consider the ways in which the modern church has become more corporate than Christ-like and more business than body. Without calling for a wholesale abandonment of current practices, Kimbrough does call us back to a view of church in which we treat others as brothers and sisters in Christ.”
See something wrong on this page? Report a problem