At a time in which the very word churchchurch sounds a tone of dull irrelevance, the doctrine of the church has suffered the studied neglect of many Christian leaders. The persistent demands to market, manage and grow the church and to meet the felt needs of churched and unchurched all threaten to quench theological reflection on the abiding nature and mission of the church. But few activities bear greater promise as a starting point for renewing and reshaping the Christian church than the work of theology. In this book Edmund Clowney takes up that task, addressing along the way a variety of contemporary concerns: worship, mission, church and culture, church and state, church order and discipline, the ministry of women, baptism and the Lord's Supper, tongues and prophecy, signs and wonders. He draws on decades of thinking and teaching about the church as well as from his committed leadership and ministry within the church. Biblical, historical, systematic and Reformed, The ChurchThe Church is a timely and provocative reflection on the life, order and purpose of the household of God.
Edmund Prosper Clowney Clowney was ordained in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, and served as pastor for churches from 1942 to 1946. Westminster Theological Seminary invited him to become an assistant professor of practical theology in 1952. In 1966 he became the first president of that seminary, and remained so until 1984, when he became the theologian-in-residence of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Charlottesville, Virginia.
In 1990, he moved to Escondido, California where he was adjunct professor at Westminster Seminary California. In 2001 he began a full-time position as associate pastor at Christ the King Presbyterian Church in Houston, Texas. After two years in Texas, Clowney returned to Trinity Presbyterian Church as part-time theologian-in-residence, a position he held until his death in 2005.
He is author of ten books including Called to the Ministry, Christian Meditation, The Unfolding Mystery: Discovering Christ in the Old Testament, and The Church.
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