Craig van gelder biography

The missional church project endeavored to reconnect ecclesiology and missiology and identified the key convictions that undergirded the church in a post-Christendom, pluralistic world. In the years since, the term 'missional' has been adopted by a wide variety of traditions and attached to many add-on programs. This book brings much-needed clarity to a confused picture. It is no rehash of familiar material but rather breaks new ground and leaves the reader with an appetite for more!
--Eddie Gibbs, Fuller Theological Seminary

The Missional Church in Perspective is the most precise, informed, and uncompromising parsing to date of the history of the concept of 'missional' both as a sensibility and as a form of praxis. Like all good historical analyses, this book provides not only a basis for understanding where we have been but also a well-honed tool for considering where we may need and want to go next.
--Phyllis Tickle, author, The Great Emergence

Concertgoers are familiar with the cacophonous roar that precedes great orchestral performances. Confusing and competing noises spill out of the orchestra pit as musicians tune and warm up their instruments. When the conductor takes the stand, however, these same instruments--now focused on a musical score--produce music. The Missional Church in Perspective provides sheet music for all those who want to participate in the missional symphony. The book's scholarship and synthesis qualify it to be a common score for us all.
--Reggie McNeal, Leadership Network

This book is a veritable morphology of the term 'missional.' As such it provides both conceptual tools with which to assess the impact of missional ideas on the Western church and a map that helps us chart possible future trajectories of what is clearly one of the most important movements in our times. Whether one fully agrees with the analysis or not, it certainl

Craig Van Gelder, The Essence of the Church: A Community Created by the Spirit. Baker Books, 2000.

Sequels:

Referenced in:

LifeandLeadership.com Summary

A Field Guide for the Missional Congregation

Other works by Van Gelder such as The Missional Church in Context (2007),The Missional Church and Denominations (2008),The Missional Church and Leadership Formation (2009), while entitled in a way that may attract the interest of congregational leaders, are designed primarily for those who train church leaders on a college/seminary level.

Although not all of Van Gelder’s works are officially part of the Gospel and Our Culture Series, each is certainly of that ilk. Van Gelder is recognized as one of the most outstanding strategists in the missional conversation.

Summary: This volume provides the theological grounding for the rest of Van Gelder’s works. He begins by describing the state of the twenty-first century church in North America. This includes a succinct description of the various ways churches have tired to regain ground.

1. The Church is the Solution: A Functional Approach – e.g. seeker-sensitive, purpose-driven, small groups, user-friendly, seven-day-a-week, church for the 21st century (21)

2. The Church is the Problem: An Organizational Approach – e.g. denominational cultures, congregational studies, church growth and decline, reinventing denominations, quality evaluations, systems management (22)

While both approaches have accomplished considerable good, they can lead to a number of problems.

Defining the church functionally – in terms of what it does – can shift our perspective away from understanding the church as a unique community of God’s people. In place of this, the church tends to become a series of ministry functions such as worship, education, service, and witness. Defining the church organizationally – in terms of its structures &

Biography

Craig Van Gelder served as tenured professor of congregational mission at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN, having taken this position in 1998 following ten years as professor of domestic missiology at Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, MI.  This field of study aims to help students understand trends in American society, changing contexts in which congregations function, factors contributing to church health and decline, and the dynamics of organizational change and development.

Ordained as a minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in 1984 and the Christian Reformed Church in 1990, Van Gelder combines a practical and academic interest in helping congregations engage in mission.  Much of his practical interest stems from working as a consultant for over two decades in assisting congregations in strategic planning and processes of organizational change.  He continues to engage in some consulting work in addition to his teaching responsibilities.

He is a member of the American Society of Missiology, the Gospel and Our Culture Network, the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, and the Urban Affairs Association.

After earning a bachelor of arts degree from Georgia State University in 1970, Van Gelder received the master of divinity degree from Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, MS in 1978.  He received the Ph.D. degree in missions from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX in 1982, and the Ph.D. in administration in urban affairs from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1985.

He is author of The Essence of the Church: A Community Created by the Spirit (2000), is editor of Confident Witness-Changing World: Rediscovering the Gospel in North America (1999), is a contributing author of Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church