Overview

While understanding history has always been an essential task for God's people, rapid changes within the past two generations of Christianity have challenged many of our assumptions and methods for studying the past. How should thoughtful Christians-and especially historians and missiologists-make sense of global Christianity as an unfolding historical movement? Scott Sunquist invites readers to join him for a capstone course in historical thinking from a master teacher. Highlighting both the continuity and the diversity within the Christian movement over the centuries, he identifies three key concepts for framing church history: time, cross, and glory. These themes shed light to help us discern how the Jesus movement developed from the first century to the present, through an explosion of contextual expressions. Tracing these concepts through the centuries, we learn from the stories of Christians reflecting the glories of God's kingdom-and from their failures. Filled with historical case studies and stories from Sunquist's teaching around the world, The Shape of Christian History offers a framework for how to read and write church history. Even more, it demonstrates how the study of history illuminates God's mission in the world and sharpens our understanding of how to participate in that mission faithfully.

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9781514002223

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Reviews

President Scott W. Sunquist has given us a gripping book on world Christianity! Its new historiography unlocks the results of Christian preaching, thought, and practice in diverse contexts. Its rich biographical and pedagogical narratives along with their rational and passionate presentation are both informative and transformative. It recognizes the valuable contributions of indigenous Christians with their own resources to their local congregations; their lively and active Christianity manifests itself as 'cruciform apostolicity' because it addresses the local ever-changing sentiments and it also opposes the systemic evil among them. This book frees and enriches the knowledge horizon of readers, whose mindset has thus far been conditioned by Euro-American norms, assumptions, and approaches. With transformed insights they learn to discover the kaleidoscopic shapes and expressions of Christian life, their collective thought, and witnesses. Thus this book invites them to enjoy a fresh 'historical journey into the fascinating and illuminating world of Christian history.' --Daniel Jeyaraj, professor of world Christianity and the director of the Andrew Walls Centre for the Study of African and Asian Christianity at Liverpool Hope University, England

In this elegantly crafted book, Sunquist distills decades of research in the historical materials of global Christianity in order to convey the theological meaning they hold. In them, he finds the concepts of time (creation and incarnation), cross (suffering and mission), and glory (humility and hope). They inform how we tell and, more important, live the story. Rich with quotable lines and pastoral insights, Sunquist gives us a superior book that will serve as a resource for people of faith everywhere. --Grant Wacker, Gilbert T. Rowe Distinguished Professor of Christian History at Duke Divinity School President Scott W. Sunquist has given us a gripping book on world Christianity! Its new historiography unlocks the results of Christian preaching, thought, and practice in diverse contexts. Its rich biographical and pedagogical narratives along with their rational and passionate presentation are both informative and transformative. It recognizes the valuable contributions of indigenous Christians with their own resources to their local congregations; their lively and active Christianity manifests itself as 'cruciform apostolicity' because it addresses the local ever-changing sentiments and it also opposes the systemic evil among them. This book frees and enriches the knowledge horizon of readers, whose mindset has thus far been conditioned by Euro-American norms, assumptions, and approaches. With transformed insights they learn to discover the kaleidoscopic shapes and expressions of Christian life, their collective thought, and witnesses. Thus this book invites them to enjoy a fresh 'historical journey into the fascinating and illuminating world of Christian history.' --Daniel Jeyaraj, professor of world Christianity and the director of the Andrew Walls Centre for the Study of African and Asian Christianity at Liverpool Hope University, England

Author Information

Scott W. Sunquist (PhD, Princeton Theological Seminary) is president of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Previously, he was a professor and dean of the School of Intercultural Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary, taught missiology and Christian history at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, and lectured at Trinity Theological College in Singapore. Sunquist is the author of Explorations in Asian Christianity, Understanding Christian Mission, and The Unexpected Christian Century, and a coauthor of A History of the World Christian Movement.

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