Unfinished Business: Returning the Ministry to the People of God

by Greg Ogden

Publisher:

Zondervan

, 2010

The Reformation restored the Scriptures to the people, but the job was only halfway finished. Today the church is awakening to the truth that ministry is not just the domain of clergy, but belongs to the entire body of Christ. God is moving her to complete her unfinished business of placing the ministry back in the hands of the people.Unfinished Business has played a pivotal part in helping the church reclaim ministry at the grassroots level. First published in 1990 as The New Reformation, it has become a classic resource for church life. Expanding on and updating the original material with fresh examples and references to eight key important movements, this new edition lays foundations for the church to move from:· Passive to active· Maintenance to mission· Clergy to people of God· Teacher/caregiver to equipping enabler Pointing us back to the church as an organism, not an institution, author Greg Ogden shows how each of us is called to help finish the Reformation’s unfinished business: expressing the priesthood of every believer practically in the church, the world, and all avenues of life.

Contents

Top Highlights

“ We need to move from a pastor-centered to a people-centered ministry.” (source)

“There are three sails that need to be hoisted in order for the church to be propelled by the gale of the New Reformation. In these pages I will attempt to shape a biblical view of these sails: the church, pastoral ministry, and leadership in the New Reformation.” (source)

“It may also be called the New Reformation. Either way, through all these elements of renewal runs the radical transformation in the self-perception of every believer. Followers of Christ in this age will see themselves as Spirit-filled ministers who are a part of the ministry given to all Christians. In a word, Christians are priests, ministering the presence of God on behalf of the people of God and the lost world.” (source)

“The entire flow of the last forty years has been to wake the sleeping giant of the priesthood of all believers. In the latter half of these forty years, the waves of the Church Growth Movement, Seeker Church Movement, and New Paradigm Churches¹⁵ have washed over us.” (source)

Product Details

• Title : Unfinished Business: Returning the Ministry to the People of God
• Author: Ogden, Greg
• Publisher: Zondervan
• Publication Date: 2010
• ISBN: 9780310874119

About Greg Ogden

Greg Ogden (DMin, Fuller Theological Seminary) lives out his passion of speaking, teaching, and writing about the disciple-making mission of the church after spending twenty-four years in pastoral ministry. Most recently Greg served as executive pastor of discipleship at Christ Church of Oak Brook in the Chicago western suburbs. From 1998-2002, Greg held the position of director of the Doctor of Ministry program at Fuller Theological Seminary and associate professor of lay equipping and discipleship.

Greg is the author of several books such as Unfinished Business, Discipleship Essentials, Transforming Discipleship, Leadership Essentials (with coauthor Daniel Meyer), and The Essential Commandment. He is a partner in the Global Discipleship Initiative (GDI), which trains, coaches, and inspires pastors and Christian leaders to establish indigenous, multiplying, disciplemaking networks, both nationally and internationally. Greg and his wife, Lily, have been married more than forty-five years and have one adult daughter and two grandchildren.