Thinking about church architecture has come to an impasse. Reformers and traditionalists are talking past each other. In Theology in Stone ; Richard Kieckhefer seeks to help both sides move beyond the standoff toward a fruitful conversation about houses of worship. Drawing on a wide range of historical examples with an eye to their contemporary relevance; he offers refreshing new ideas about the meanings and uses of church architecture.
#379476 in Books 2013-06-28Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 6.40 x 1.30 x 9.40l; 1.49 #File Name: 0195326458400 pages
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Great read about how Christianity evolvedBy kristofuhAn absolutely fascinating account of the Jesus movement that still brings forth much about the history of today's Christian culture. The event set in motion would become a generation of evangelicals who would change church life; set a foundational model for youth ministry and would become today's Christian music. The "Jesus Revolution" began a frenzy of youth conversions to Christianity in a counter culture of sex; drugs and rock-n-roll that reached its peak in 1969. A "hippified" Christianity made an appearance in the famed (or infamous) San Francisco Haight Ashbury district in 1967 and spread across the nation to Seattle; Oregon; upstate New York; Fort Lauderdale; Detroit and anywhere the youthful hippies were headed and settled into. [1] It would be marginalized and fringe pastors such as Calvary Chapel's Chuck Smith in Costa Mesa; California who would join in supporting the "Jesus People". It would be in this little California church that the first Christian rock band - "Love Song" - would play for a youth group and set in motion a new genre of music. [2] This music would evolve into the Contemporary Christian Music Industry (CCMI) and forever change Church worship in most conservative Protestant assemblies around the world. Today; Calvary Chapel is still very much involved in youth ministry and locally supports those who are incarcerated at youth camps. [3] Chuck Smith's approach to supporting the Jesus People youth of the movement founded a youth ministry model that is duplicated in churches all across the faith. The evangelistic "Distinctives" tend to come under fire as too liberal while at the same time epitomize Christ's loving acceptance of everyone regardless of who you are or what you have done reflected in the motto; "Come As You Are". I believe it is misunderstood to mean condoning behaviors contrasting scriptural imperatives when in fact it is simply welcoming everyone into Christ's love; redemption and salvation. Everyone is offered that – the difference is in the individual acceptance. The younger leaders of the movement became the underlying structure for the future generations of evangelistic acceptance in this broken world of today.References:[1] Eskridge; Larry. God's Forever Family. (Oxford; NY: Oxford University Press; 2013); 2.[2] Smith; Chuck Jr. Chuck Smith: A Memoir Of Grace. (Costs Mesa; CA: The Word For Today; 2009); 185.[3] Eskridge; Larry. God's Forever Family. (Oxford; NY: Oxford University Press; 2013); 269-270.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A Readable and Inspiring AccountBy GregGod's Forever Family is a well organized history of the Jesus People movement in America. Larry Eskridge provides a readable account from the movements' inception in San Francisco to its outgrowth nationwide. Nearly any city of any size would come to have a Jesus People inspired coffee house.The movement began as a hippie-Christian counter to the secular counter-culture; from which many of the hippie-Christians were recent converts. As the movement grew and the secular counter-culture declined; the Jesus People turned inward and became a ministry to evangelical youth. Eskridge is especially good in showing the interaction (and friction in some cases) between the hippie-Christians and their "straight" counterparts within the evangelical church.Eskridge also shows how the movement declined due to economic hardship in the mid-1970s; leadership struggles; and due to the participants in the movement getting older and moving into married life. Despite its decline; the movement would have long-term consequences on evangelical church life and secular culture in the form of contemporary worship and the social conservatism of the pro-life movement.The energy and enthusiasm of the Jesus People; especially their zeal for in-person evangelism; is something the church needs today. This book shows us why.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Fascinating history of the Jesus PeopleBy Fred ProvencherThis is a tremendous book; a great work of recent history and a fascinating tale of the merger of evangelical faith and hippy culture. There are so many things to appreciate about Eskridge’s book. It is well written; thoroughly researched and insightful. The narrative starts in the Haight-Ashbury section of San Francisco as young Jesus followers started to share the gospel with hippies. These early evangelists motivated only by a love for people and deep devotion to Jesus found a population of young people hungry for meaning and tired of the drug scene. They believed; started to live together in community and shared everything they had. They went out into the street and told the good news to anyone they could find; drug addicts; drifters; drop outs and starving artists. They dropped acid and saw Jesus. They smoked pot until they stopped. They wrote new music about God in a style that had never been seen in the church before. The movement spread indirectly; organically from San Francisco to Southern California; from Chicago and the mid-west; to New York state and even Paramus NJ. They set up drop in centers and sponsored coffee shops with bands cycling in and out. They held rallies and wrote broad sheet newspapers. It was a wild scene that eventually caught the public eye. Eskridge does more than just chronicle the past nostalgically. He shows how this youth culture affected the church and how the gospel found expression in baby boomer drop outs. He shows how movements became institutions and how those institutions imploded; exploded; crumbled or succeeded. He makes the case that the Jesus People was an important and authentic Christian movement that rose in 1968 and was gone by 1976 but that nonetheless marked the evangelical church forever. It is fascinating; inspiring and entertaining; a must read for anyone who lived through it or who wonders how the contemporary; praise-singing; casual-dressing; bible-believing; youth-absorbing church of today got that way.
