Robert Webber, Ancient-Future Time: Forming Spirituality through the Christian Year (Ancient-Future Series). Baker, 2004.
Prequels:
- Ancient-Future Faith: Rethinking Evangelicalism for a Postmodern World (1999)
- Ancient-Future Evangelism: Making Your Church a Faith-Forming Community (2003)
Sequel:
Referenced in:
LifeandLeadership.com Summary
As the title of the series suggests, Webber suggests that the path for the church’s future, or the effectiveness of the church as it transitions from the modern to the current era, is to go through the past. And by the “past,” he means ancient paths of the first few centuries of Christian faith and practice, often referred to as classical or historic Christianity. Webber suggests that going back to these roots of the Christian faith helps guard against the polarizing reactionary tendencies of our time that either hold tenaciously to the remnants of modernism or surrender entirely to the postmodern ethos.
Webber reflects the thinking of many Younger Evangelicals who seek points of contact between classical Christianity and postmodern thought. The church during this ancient period, he argues, was less conditioned by accommodating to culture (which evangelicals have tended to do), but was more interested in presenting a biblical alternative way of life. As such, the wisdom of the ancients is uniquely suited to equip the postmodern church to succeed, “not by watering down the faith, but by being a counter cultural community that invites people to be shaped by the story of Israel and Jesus.” Webber draws from ancient writers, and also garners insights from all the major epochs and Christian traditions – Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, evangelicals, etc. – to address the challenges of our era.
The four books of the Ancient-Future series translate wisdom from these ancients into four areas of ministry: faith, worship, ministry, and spirituality. Follow the links to each of the other volumes in the series:
- Ancient-Future Faith: Rethinking Evangelicalism for a Postmodern World (1999)
- Ancient-Future Evangelism: Making Your Church a Faith-Forming Community (2003)
- Ancient-Future Worship: Proclaiming and Enacting God’s Narrative (2008)
From the Publisher
God’s people have always celebrated his work by retelling the stories of his mighty deeds of salvation. In a time when the church’s memory sometimes seems short, many are rediscovering the value of using the Christian year to pattern our celebrations around the essential truths of the faith. In Ancient-Future Time, Robert Webber draws from this church tradition by introducing and exploring biblical themes and liturgical traditions for each season of the Christian calendar. He offers pastors, church leaders, and those of the “younger evangelical” mind-set practical steps to help achieve this end, including preaching texts and worship themes for Lent, Easter, Pentecost, Advent, and Christmas.
Helpful charts, prayers, reflection questions, and resource lists are provided for those planning church worship or seeking old, yet new, paths to spiritual growth through a deeper understanding of the Christian year.
About the Author
Before his death in 2007, Robert Webber was the William R. and Geraldyn B. Myers Professor of Ministry at Northern Seminary in Lombard, IL. He was also the President of the Institute for Worship Studies and Professor of Theology Emeritus at Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL. Dr. Webber authored or edited more than forty books on worship and other ministry-related subjects.
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