Until spring 1999, Clapp was senior editor for academic and general books at InterVarsity Press. He was formerly
an associate editor for Christianity Today, and he has served on the editorial boards of The Journal of Family
Ministry and Marriage Partnership. His essays have appeared in a variety of publications, including Christianity
Today, Regeneration Quarterly and Books and Culture. Clapp is now an editor with Brazos Press, a new imprint of
Baker Book House.
Review
"Here is a wake-up call for accommodated, acculturated North American Christendom. Through this wonderful
book, we are offered the possibility to recover the joyful sense of being peculiar in the name of Jesus."
-- WILLIAM H. WILLIMON, coauthor of Resident Aliens
"Drawing on and making connections between history, theology, Scripture and social analysis, Clapp challenges
Christian communities to recognize and actualize their unique missions and message. A must read for clergy and
concerned laity seeking to proclaim and embody God's Good News for a broken and hurting world."
-- INAGRACE DIETTERICH, director of theological research, The Center for Parish Development
"In an era of polarization and name-calling among persons of faith, Rodney Clapp's clear and critical vision
of the church calls us to a new perspective which transcends our divisions and unites us in a culture of resurrection
and hope. This is an important book for contemporary Christian meaning-making."
-- FRANK T. GRISWOLD, bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Chicago
"I love this book. Engagingly written, philosophically competent, theologically profound. This self-proclaimed
'postmodern neo-Anabaptist, plebian Christian' provides sound teaching and good advice for the whole church."
-- NANCY MURPHY, author of Beyond Liberalism and Fundamentalism: How Modern and Postmodern Philosophy Set the
Theological Agenda
"In a wonderfully engaging manner, Rodney Clapp displays why faithful Christians are a peculiar people: distinctive,
sometimes odd, yet also (in another definition of peculiar) God's own possession. Equally at home in theology and
popular American culture, Clapp persuasively argues that Christians need to reclaim and embody the practices of
church as a way of life. His book is a joy to read and deserves a wide audience."
-- L. GREGORY JONES, author of Embodying Forgiveness
"Rodney Clapp has marshaled a wonderfully broad synthesis of postmodern theological perspectives that illumine
pressing issues of Christian culture and identity in our time. His urgent reminders concerning the nature of Scripture,
evangelism, liturgy and community prod us toward serious reflection on the future of the American churches as we
approach the beginning of the new millennium."
-- CHERYL J. SANDERS, author of Saints in Exile and Empowerment Ethics for a Liberated People
Inter Varsity Press Web Site, October, 2000
Summary
Christians feel increasingly useless, argues Rodney Clapp, not because we have nothing to offer a post-Christian
society, but because we are trying to serve as "sponsoring chaplains" to a civilization that no longer
sees Christianity as necessary to its existence. In our individualistic, technologically oriented, consumer-based
culture, Christianity has become largely irrelevant.
The solution is not to sentimentally capitulate to the way things are. Nor is it to retrench in an effort to regain
power and influence as the sponsor of Western civilization. What is needed is for Christians to reclaim our heritage
as a peculiar people, as unapologetic followers of the Way. Within the larger pluralistic world, we need to become
a sanctified, subversive culture that develops Christian community as a truly alternative way of life. Christians
must learn to live the story and not just to restate it.
Writing inclusively with considerable verve, Clapp offers a keen analysis of the church and its ministry as we
face a new millennium.
FEATURES & BENEFITS
A 1997 Christianity Today Book Award winner!
analysis of the church and its ministry
shows why Christianity is perceived as irrelevant by postmodern culture
provides an alternative to capitulation or out-and-out battle
encourages Christians to reclaim their heritage as "peculiar people"
examines what the goals of the church should be in the coming millennium
advocates development of Christian community as a truly alternative way of life
emphasizes living the gospel in addition to preaching it
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Where I'm Writing From
1. The Church as Unchurch: How Christians Became Useless
2. The Church as Private Club: Irrelevant for Constantine's Sake
3. The Church as Nation-State: Why America Is Not the Issue
4. The Church as Type: Why Christians Should Thank God for the Culture Wars
5. The Church as Church: Practicing the Politics of Jesus
6. The Church as Worshiping Community: Welcome to the (Real) World
7. The Church as Parade: The Politics of Liturgy
8. The Church as Listening Community: The Performance of Scripture
9. The Church as World: On the Faithfulness of Pagans
10. The Church as Mission & Message: Evangelism After Constantine
11. The Church as a Way of Life: Liturgy After the Liturgy
12. The Church as a Community of Friends: About Beginning Where We Already Are
