Finding Our Voice: Searching for renewal in the mainline church

by Neil Glover

Overview

Beneath all the anxieties about church decline and strategies to reverse that, this book speaks to a problem that has not been addressed – why is it that mainstream churches, Anglican, Methodist, Baptist and Presbyterian have been particularly affected by the secular age? And how might they be renewed? It argues that these churches need to focus less on restructuring and closures and instead recover a sense of authenticity – in the gospel they believe, in their vision of human flourishing, their diversity, their passion for justice and their unique ability to connect with local communities. Too often mainline churches are perceived as worthy but also profoundly unexciting. This book explores the centuries-old roots of this perceived boredom, and how the church can more often become a place of inspiration and of encounter with God. “Finding Our Voice" calls on all kinds of resources that can help refresh the church’s self-expression - in engagement with the scriptures, with art, music and poetry, in searching for a better language that remains true to the church’s core identity and resonates with contemporary culture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781800830516
Publisher:	Hymns Ancient & Modern
Publication date:	04/30/2024
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	5.38(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.48(d)

About the Author

NEIL GLOVER is a Church of Scotland minister and has broadcast on radio and television, co-hosted a podcast for the Scottish Bible Society (‘The Outspoken Bible) and reached wide audiences with Youtube videos during the Covid pandemic. For four years he convened the Church of Scotland’s Ministries Council.

Editorial Reviews

'NEIL GLOVER has written a courageous book: an attempt to understand and to find creative responses to “the precipitous decline of the Church of Scotland” ... One of the most compelling sections of this book is the exploration of the search for authenticity. Glover believes that this is about learning to express ourselves courageously in our response to God. There can be no falling back on the platitudes of the past. Finding our voice means to 'speak the word we have been given, to transform worlds, to be alive. This is what resurrection looks like'.

Church Times - The Rt Revd David Chillingworth

"Integrity is the spine of Neil Glover’s witness to faith. In public, in language, in integrity and intellect, I’ve seen him consider the examined life — with heart and mind — and demonstrate faithfulness, courage and truth."

Pádraig Ó Tuama

"Come, all you who are weary in the mainline church. Come all you who are seeking solutions, come if you have lost hope. In the struggling congregations of the mainline churches there is a need for refreshment, re-enchantment and renewal. Neil Glover shows us what we know, deep down, that the wells are deep, that the yoke is easy, that the burden is light. Beginning with encountering the God who is with us, with prayer and worship, with salvation, and ending in stillness, this book shows that we have everything we need, and that we have enough to move from solutions to transformation. Each page is redolent with story, experience, belief and hope. The voice is clear and insistent and will not give up. It’s a must-read for congregations finding their way, turning again, and considering the future."

Alison Phipps

"Those within the mainline denominations are not surprised to learn about church decline for it pervades the conversations among church leadership. This has inevitably stirred up a compulsion to seek resources and experts to save us. Herein this book reveals that the guidance and solace we seek may be something we've always had from our origins but lost sight of amidst our anxious flurry. This is the book that can guide us back to that which we've always known but have forgotten."

Lydia Sohn