Growing Up into the Children of God: Exploring the Paradoxes of Christian Maturity
Ebook
A strong, mature faith is vital for Christians and for the life of the Church.
Reflecting on his own faith journey and nearly 40 years of ministry in the Church of England, David Newman offers ways of thinking about and experiencing faith which equips individuals in their growth as people and as Christians.
The book offers a dialogue between some of the easily polarized groups in the Church, such that the energy and wisdom of each might benefit the other and the whole. At a time when the Church is increasingly demarcated and even divided by age, theological outlook and styles of worship Christians need to create frameworks of understanding that enable then to be credible witnesses in today’s complex and fragmented world.
This book aims to tease out the many paradoxes that hinder us in achieving Christian maturity. This, Newman feels, is often hindered by the idea that ‘churches will only grow’ when the generations are catered for in different settings, and ‘flies in the face of a biblical vision for a multicultural, intergenerational church’. The author makes many interesting points about how we achieve Christian maturity particularly in not being disappointed when things go wrong, or worrying when ‘God’s plan’ does not work out as we had hoped. Whilst the author draws on the wisdom of a wide range of Christian Tradition, it is clear that he is heavily influenced by his evangelical beginnings. Conversely, he is not afraid to criticise some of the things said by, often prominent, evangelicals, in their selective use of scripture, and in not wanting those who are not of their way of thinking in their churches. Although sometimes a little contradictory in his arguments, Newman’s book will be a good starting point for discussion about how we become mature Christians in mature intergenerational churches.
This is a useful and intriguing little book, which speaks to one of the greatest dilemmas facing the contemporary Church: how is the Church to grow while retaining its increasingly elderly core? … There are useful insights here, not least that a genuine interdependence between youth and experience is not only possible, but also necessary and creative. … This would be a good volume for informal study, especially in church communities that are seeking a new way to handle challenges from the past and future. Each chapter ends with probing questions for further thought and discussion.
In this honest, warm-hearted and generous book, David Newman seeks to lead those whose faith was found and nurtured in evangelical, Pentecostal or charismatic fellowships gently towards a Christianity that is perhaps a little more self-aware, inclusive and open to doubt. Sharing the fruits of many years of biblical study, and integrating them with reflections on practical ministry and lessons learnt in prayer, he shows how he has moved away from an inevitably self-defeating perfectionism to seeing life as a redemptive adventure. Tracing a journey of faith which begins in belief with a capital B and moves on to Trust with a capital T, it shows how faithful people become more and more hopeful and joyful as they face more and more reality, including the reality of disappointment and change. Although ostensibly about becoming more childlike, this is a work of genuine maturity.
Growing doesn't happen by accident. To be truly, deeply and faithfully alive takes time, honesty and attentiveness. David Newman offers a book of profound and gentle wisdom for this task. He writes as a fellow traveller who knows the terrain, can guide through bewilderment and who traces the elusive pathways that lead to life. Here is a companion and guide for those who know their need in distracting and confusing times.
- Title: Growing Up into the Children of God: Exploring the Paradoxes of Christian Maturity
- Author: David Newman
- Publisher: Sacristy Press
- Print Publication Date: 2019
- Logos Release Date: 2023
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781789590227, 9781789590203, 1789590205, 9781789590210, 1789590213, 1789590221
- Resource ID: LLS:9781789590227
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2023-07-20T09:47:56Z
David Newman is Warden of Launde Abbey, the retreat house for the dioceses of Leicester and Peterborough, and former Archdeacon of Loughborough.