Books by Stuart Murray-Williams
The Naked Anabaptist
Publisher: Paternoster
RRP: £8.99
Why are Christians from many traditions discovering Anabaptism? What are they fi nding inspirational and challenging in the Anabaptist vision? How can this 500-year old voice from the margins speak to followers of Jesus today?
The Naked Anabaptist is a straightforward introduction to Anabaptism. Written out of the British and Irish context, it explains why Christians here, and in other nations adjusting to the realities of post-Christendom, are turning to the Anabaptist tradition for resources.
Planting Churches: A Framework for Practitioners
Publisher: Paternoster
RRP: £9.99
Who can be involved in church planting? Where should we plant new churches? What kinds of churches? How do we go about this? What resources do we need? What are the pitfalls? And is church planting still relevant in an era of fresh expressions and emerging churches? Stuart Murray draws on thirty years experience as a practitioner, trainer and consultant to address these and many other questions.
Planting Churches explains why church planting is crucial if we are to incarnate the gospel in a changing culture and guides practitioners through the whole process of planting a new church.
A Vast Minority
Publisher: Paternoster
RRP: £9.99
During the past century the advance of secularism, the growth of other religious communities and the decline of the churches have combined to reduce the size and influence of the Christian community. Christians are now members of a minority religious community in a plural society. How is this diminished status to be understood in a global and historical context, within the purposes of God? What institutional changes are required? What psychological and emotional adjustments are needed in communities that have a corporate memory of majority status, privilege and influence? What hopes and expectations should be encouraged? What strategies should be adopted?
A Vast Minority explores the challenges and opportunities we face.
Multi-Voiced Church
Publisher: Paternoster
RRP: £14.99
Multi-Voiced Church argues strongly and persuasively for churches in which everyone is important for the well-being and growth of the community. The New Testament indicates that the early churches were multi-voiced, participative and expectant that the Holy Spirit would speak through all members of the community. First-generation renewal movements have typically been multi-voiced, recovering this New Testament characteristic. But institutionalization (often accompanied by clericalization) has persistently reduced such diversity of participation and resulted in many aspects of church life becoming mono-voiced or restricted to only a few voices. Written with Sian Murray Williams.
Post-Christendom
Publisher: SCM
RRP: £16.99
Western societies are experiencing a series of disorientating culture shifts. Uncertain where we are heading, observers use 'post' words to signal that familiar landmarks are disappearing, but we cannot yet discern the shape of what is emerging. One of the most significant shifts, 'post-Christendom', raises many questions about the mission and role of the church in this strange new world. What does it mean to be one of many minorities in a culture that the church no longer dominates? How do followers of Jesus engage in mission from the margins? What do we bring with us as precious resources from the fading Christendom era, and what do we lay down as baggage that will weigh us down on our journey into post-Christendom? Post-Christendom identifies the challenges and opportunities of this unsettling but exciting time. In the second edition of this provocative and important book, Stuart Murray presents an overview of the formation and development of the Christendom system, examines the legacies this has left, and highlights the questions that the Christian community needs to consider in this period of cultural transition.
Beyond Tithing
Publisher: Wipf and Stock
RRP: £21.00
Tithing is biblical but not Christian So asserts Dr. Stuart Murray in this radical examination of the contemporary practice of tithing in which the author comes to some surprising conclusions. Stuart Murray clearly explains tithing in the Old Testament and in Christian history, but then probes further, asking penetrating questions such as: 'Is tithing Christian?' 'Did Jesus tithe?', 'Does tithing function as a regressive tax, burdening the poor while the rich get richer?', 'Does tithing lead to a legalistic approach that alienates us from Jesus?' The author suspects that a lot of the current lack of interest in the church stems from deep-seated memories of the church as oppressive, uncreative, and money-grabbing. In response we should therefore learn not to calculate percentages but explore creative ways of developing communities of justice and generosity that are good news to the poor.
Beyond Tithing will stimulate your thinking and challenge the dominant influence of the practice of tithing as the model for Christian stewardship