In Search of the Church

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Xulon Press, 2007 - 212 pages
What did Jesus intend church to be? Whether you are a seasoned veteran of doing church or a postmodern seeker of spirituality, In Search of the Church will inspire you to settle for nothing less than an authentic experience of church the way Jesus intended it to be. Filled with humorous and sometimes heart-rending stories that will help you rethink the meaning of church. Asks foundational questions about how we have historically done church to cause you to refocus on answering the "why" question. Offers specific ideals of what church could be, to exhort you to reconsider how you might reform church in the future. Presents an honest examination of the affects of church on the author's journey, to encourage you to re-examine your own pilgrimage into the church. In Search of the Church will revive your hope for the church Jesus intended. Douglas A. Hagey studied at Eastern Pentecostal Bible College, Peterborough, Ontario; Central Bible College, Springfield, Missouri; and Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California. For forty years he has sought practical answers to the question, "What is the church?" He planted his first church in Hanover, Ontario in 1968, developed a youth ministry in Fresno, California during the Jesus People Revolution, and started Wellspring Christian Center in Dinuba, California in 1980. He participated in missions with YWAM in Europe, directed practical projects in Mexico, taught pastors' conferences in India and helped establish YWAM's Gleanings For The Hungry in California. For seven years he has taught the ecclesiology course, Concepts of the Church, at Pacific Life Bible College in Surrey, British Columbia. Doug and his wife, Ellie, have been involved in the Emergent Church movement with a house/café church in Canada. They are currently participating in an incarnational-missional faith community in Shoreline, Washington.
 

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Contents

Introduction What is the church?
ix
Preface The Journey
xv
Lets Take A Trip
19
About the Other Cheek
21
Mothers Fathers
27
Theres a Train a Coming
37
Calling
41
Information or Formation?
47
Survival
95
Death and Dying
99
Burnout
119
Expired ShelfLife
125
Return to Hockeyland
129
Is This the Destination?
139
Cowboys and Indians
141
Farmers and Funerals
145

Jesus People
53
Tent Tea
61
Saturday Night Live and Beyond
69
The Wellspring Experiment
73
Are We There Yet Dad?
89
Family Ties
91
Gender Gap
149
What Did Jesus Say?
157
Prototype
167
Next Rest Stop 50 Miles
205
On the Road Again
207
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