The New Parish

How Neighborhood Churches Are Transforming Mission, Discipleship and Community

by Paul Sparks, Tim Soerens, and Dwight J. Friesen

The New Parish

Paperback

$24.99

Length: 208 pages
Dimensions: 5.5 × 8.25 in
Published: April 04, 2014
Imprint: IVP
ISBN: 9780830841158

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Christianity Today Award of Merit

Readers' Choice Awards Honorable Mention

Best Books About the Church from Byron Borger, Hearts and Minds Bookstore

"When . . . faith communities begin connecting together, in and for the neighborhood, they learn to depend on God for strength to love, forgive and show grace like never before. . . . The gospel becomes so much more tangible and compelling when the local church is actually a part of the community, connected to the struggles of the people, and even the land itself."

Paul Sparks, Tim Soerens and Dwight J. Friesen have seen—in cities, suburbs and small towns all over North America—how powerful the gospel can be when it takes root in the context of a place, at the intersection of geography, demography, economy and culture. This is not a new idea—the concept of a parish is as old as Paul's letters to the various communities of the ancient church. But in an age of dislocation and disengagement, the notion of a church that knows its place and gives itself to where it finds itself is like a breath of fresh air, like a sign of new life.

REVIEWS

"The New Parish offers a vision for Christian community that honors place amidst fragmentation. This book will inspire a new generation of Christian leaders who will answer the yearnings of all of us for authentic community."Tremper Longman III, Westmont College, Santa Barbara, California

"In a world of increasing mobility, fragmenting relationships and a loss of any real sense of covenant, we need learn again to attend to the various people and places where God has located us. This book is a much-needed antidote to the endemic alienation of our time. Missionary grow home!"Alan Hirsch, author, activist, dreamer

"What would it look like if God's reign were to be more fully realized in your neighborhood? In The New Parish, Tim, Paul and Dwight team up to answer this question in concrete ways. With a rich theology of place and practice, they guide us in how to have a humble posture and be a faithful presence in the neighborhood. This is a must-read!"JR Woodward, national director of the V3 Church Planting Movement, author of Creating a Missional Culture

"Quietly, beneath the purview of the dominant social systems, a revolution is taking place. The church is returning to the local. In The New Parish, three subversives plot the church's simple way back into the neighborhood. The result is flourishing, renewal of the Spirit, indeed the gospel taking on flesh! This book is your invitation to the revolution!"David Fitch, Lindner Chair of Evangelical Theology, Northern Seminary, and author of Prodigal Christianity

"In The New Parish, Paul, Tim and Dwight offer a theologically rich vision of church life intertwined with the places we inhabit. In stark contrast to the displacement and fragmentation that dominates our age, this important book calls us to slow down, become rooted, and experience a taste of the abundance and healing that God intends for all creation. Church leaders take heed, the new parish is, without question, the church of the future!"C. Christopher Smith, coauthor ofSlow Church and editor of the Englewood Review of Books

Introduction: Three Lives Transformed by Rooting and Linking Together
Part One: Why Do We Need a New Parish?
1. Dislocated: Naming the Crisis We All Create
2. Misplaced: How the Church Lost Its Place
Part Two: What Is The New Parish?
3. Faithful Presence: Ending Techniques for Renewal That Perpetuate Fragmentation
4. Ecclesial Center: How Worship Beyond the Gathering Reconfigures the Church
5. New Commons: Finding the Church in All of Life
Part Three: How Do We Practice the New Parish?
6. Presencing: Adapting to the Spirit?s Movement
7. Rooting: Growing Stability Within Your Place
8. Linking: Connecting the Church Across Places
9. Leading: Living a Life Worth Following
Conclusion: Presence in a Post-Everything Future
Gratitudes
Recommended Resources
Glossary of Terms
Notes
About the Parish Collective
About the Seattle School

Love All Our Neighbors

The Way Back to One Another

Becoming ProGrace

Undoing Manifest Destiny

Becoming God's Family

AI Goes to Church

Why I Am Protestant

You Were Never Meant to Lead Alone

The Hybrid Congregation

In Search of the Common Good

ABOUT Paul Sparks

Paul Sparks is a Parish Organizer and Social Entrepreneur. His place-based expertise and trusted friendship in neighborhoods across North America make him an indispensable consultant to faith communities, academic institutions, and community organizations. Paul speaks for strong resilient relationships within the parish, and brave collaborative links across places.Paul is the co-founder of Local Life: Coalition for Livable Communities, the Parish Collective: Rooted and Linked for Parish Renewal, and Urban Landscaping: Rapid Placeshaking Collaborations. He is also an instructor for the Leadership in the New Parish at the Seattle School of Psychology and Theology and is the co-founder of the Inhabit Conference.Paul lives in an urban neighborhood at the heart of Downtown Tacoma, Washington with his co-conspiring wife Elizabeth. They pastor a growing faith community comprised of friends, artists and entrepreneurs seeking a common life together with their neighbors.

ABOUT Tim Soerens

Tim Soerens is a pastor, social entrepreneur, and co-founding director of the Parish Collective. He is also the coauthor, with Paul Sparks and Dwight Friesen, of The New Parish. He lives in Seattle with his wife, Maria-Jose, and their twoboys.

ABOUT Dwight J. Friesen

Dwight Friesen is associate professor of practical theology at The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. He is the author of Thy Kingdom Connected.

The New Parish

How Neighborhood Churches Are Transforming Mission, Discipleship and Community