Scattering Seeds: Cultivating Church Vitality

by Stephen Chapin Garner author of "Getting into C, Jerry Thornell (With)

Overview

In Scattering Seeds: Cultivating Church Vitality, Stephen Chapin Garner and Jerry Thornell share the story of their home congregation, the United Church of Christ in Norwell, MA. This average congregation has approached congregational life in a not-so-average way. Each congregant is seen as a minister, bringing the good news of Christ to the community; the church has moved away from boards and committees, instead utilizing the people to form ministry teams; and they have revitalized the way they approach and practice worship and education. Garner and Thornell don't claim to have the secret to church growth and vitality, but in sharing the story of their simple church in New England, they give hope and innovative ideas to congregations in regions all over the country.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781566996259
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	01/27/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	174
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Stephen Chapin Garner is the pastor of the United Church in Christ in Norwell, Massachusetts. He teaches preaching and pastoral studies at Boston University School of Theology. His books include Getting into Character: The Art of First-Person Narrative Preaching, Lost in the Middle? Claiming an Inclusive Faith for Christians Who Are Both Liberal and Evangelical, and Found in the Middle! Theology and Ethics for Christians Who Are Both Liberal and Evangelical. Jerry Thornell is a graduate of Northeastern University, has been a member of the United Church of Christ in Norwell, Massachusetts for over 30 years, and currently is a staff member serving as Financial Administrator and Gifts and Call Coordinator. He was employed by the Polaroid Corporation for 36 years in various financial management positions.

Editorial Reviews

Scattering Seeds does a great job of offering a renewed way of doing church, one of which many churches (including ours) have followed and grown spiritually and numerically as a result. It follows a simple but profound idea: listen for and follow the Holy Spirit, and watch what God can do. This book, through stories and testimonials, leads us step-by-step through a process of wonderful transformative possibility.

N. Graham Standish

I can hardly believe this book exists. The church growth and vitality bookcase is stuffed with offerings that permute a few common themes, inspiring delusions of grandeur among eager pastors before crushing them with despair, and promoting forms of Christianity that exchange its edgy prophetic message for smooth harmonization with cultural expectations. At last, here is a book about church vitality that is scrupulously honest, free of pastoral self-deception, sociologically realistic, and packed with reasons to be hopeful about the future of the Christian church.

Wesley J. Wildman

The religious landscape of our country today is a picture of general decline, but with pockets of vitality—dynamic congregations energized by the Holy Spirit in ways that are inspiring and instructive. They play the role the abbeys played during the Dark Ages, preserving the tradition and building upon it. Chapin Garner serves just such a faith community. There is so much we can learn from him and from the congregation he leads.

Martin B. Copenhaver