MA (Edinburgh), MA, BSc, DPhil (Oxford)
A Vision for the Aging Church: Renewing Ministry for and by Seniors
James M. Houston & Michael Parker
Publisher : IVP Academic
Publication date : October 10, 2011
Edition : First Edition, First Printing
Language : English
Print length : 279 pages
ISBN-10 : 0830839488
ISBN-13 : 978-0830839483
Item Weight : 15.2 ounces
Dimensions : 6 x 0.9 x 9 inches
About the Book
Are we ready for the opportunities and challenges facing the aging church?
Now is the time for the church to offer ministry to its increasing numbers of seniors and to benefit from ministry they can offer. In this book James M. Houston and Michael Parker issue an urgent call to reconceive the place and part of the elderly and seniors in the local church congregation.
Confronting the idea that the aging are mostly a burden on the church, they boldly address the moral issues relatedto caring for them, provide examples of successful care-giving programs and challenge the church to restore broken connections across the generations.
Cowritten by a noted theologian and an expert in the fields of social work and gerontology,this interdisciplinary book assesses our current cultural context and the challenges and opportunities we face. The authors show us that seniors aren't the problem. They are the solution.
What Others Say About the Book
Daniel C. Potts, M.D.,
Associate Clinical Professor,
College of Community Health Sciences,
The University of Alabama School of Medicine
Tom Tickner,
Interpretation,
April 2014
Leo Smith,
Baptist Standard,
June 11, 2012
Richard M. Allman, M.D.,
Professor of Medicine and Director of the Center for Aging and Division of Gerontology, Geriatrics, and Palliative Care at The University of Alabama at Birmingham
Hugh M. Lee,
Director,
Elder Law Clinic, University of Alabama School of Law
"I am distinctly honored to call James Houston and Michael Parker friends and colleagues in mission. In A Vision for the Aging Church, these two cultural 'evangelists' advocate for a paradigm shift in both church and society--one in which our elders are proudly embraced and engrafted into vibrant leadership and ministry. As a dementia neurologist, I know that most of our elders will eventually require caregivers. And caregivers need many more resources than are currently available for them. In following the call sounded forth in this fine book, we should be assured that we have honored our elders, validated their unique place in church and society, and been true to the highest of all callings. Read this book and be inspired!"
"This is a resource that provides fresh insight for ministry to and with senior adults. Houston and Parker challenge both pastors and congregations to see their senior members as a 'living curriculum' for the generations that follow. They also challenge the church to be present as a resource for seniors and their caregivers. Pastors and church leaders would do well to engage this book as a resource for planning and enriching ministry in a local setting. . . . This insightful and thought-provoking book is both a theological and a sociological gift to the church that promises to renew ministry for and by seniors."
"A Vision for the Aging Church is an impressive and valuable work for any church leader in our aging society. Houston and Parker provide many insights that society in general and churches in particular will face in the near future. . . . I personally was blessed greatly by the careful research and insightful work of James Houston and Michael Parker. The young and older reader will be blessed, and perhaps a 'new vision' for your church will emerge. I commend A Vision for the Aging Church to be carefully digested and applied in any local church's situation."
"James Houston and Michael Parker provide a wake-up call to the church in A Vision for the Aging Church. Despite biblical commands to honor and care for older adults, the church has failed to value the lives of the rapidly increasing numbers of older members by excluding them from ministry and failing to provide help for them and their caregivers when it is needed. This book challenges older adults to embrace their important God-given roles as leaders and elders in the modern church.Every church leader and seminary student needs to read this book and heed the call to let the elders enlighten them. This book makes it clear that rejecting ageism not only offers hope for spiritual renewal within the church but also for society asa whole."
"With A Vision for the Aging Church, Drs. Houston and Parker challenge the church to reimagine its ministry by and to seniors, encouraging the church to embrace and honor the contributions that can be made by its senior members while moreeffectively ministering to their needs. The book provides an important bridge between the scriptural imperatives which must drive the church's senior mission and the realities of aging in the United States at the start of the twenty-first century. To be effective in ministry, church leaders must understand the basic medical, social, legal and spiritual issues facing our aging population. The authors have effectively identified many of the issues to be addressed by the church and have provided the scriptural inspiration to move churches forward."
Julia Hindmarsh, R.N., B.S.N., M.P.H., instructor,
Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, Department of Public Health, retired
"James Houston and Michael Parker cast a vision of a church community where no one is 'pushed to the fringe.' Rather, we see 'intergenerational mutuality' where each person is embraced as an essential contributing member in relationship with the others, sharing in love, wisdom and common purpose. It is a vision worthy of pursuit."