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THE CHURCH OF THE PERFECT STORM
Copyright © 2008 by Abingdon Press
All rights reserved.
No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission can be
addressed to Abingdon Press, P.O. Box 801, 201 Eighth Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37202-0801, or emailed
to permissions@abingdonpress.com.
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The church of the perfect storm / Leonard Sweet, editor.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-687-65089-7 (binding: pbk.: adhesive perfect : alk. paper)
1. Church. 2. Christianity—Forecasting. I. Sweet, Leonard I.
BV600.3.C49 2008
270.8’3—dc22
2007045481
All scripture unless otherwise noted is taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright
1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States
of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture noted as ASV is taken from the American Standard Version of the Bible
Scripture noted as KJV is taken from the King James or Authorized Version of the Bible.
Scripture quotations from THE MESSAGE. Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000,
2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group
Scripture texts in this work noted as NAB are taken from the New American Bible with Revised New Testament and
New Psalms © 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in
any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Scripture noted as NIV taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright ©
1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission
of International Bible Society.
Scripture noted as NKJV is taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson,
Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations noted as NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
Scripture noted as REB is taken from the Revised English Bible © Oxford University Press and Cambridge
University Press 1989.
Scripture noted as TNIV is taken from the Holy Bible, TODAY’S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.
Copyright © 2001, 2005 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of the International Bible Society.
08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17—10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ix
Introduction: Born in a Storm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xi
LEONARD SWEET (United States)
Chapter 1: Outstorming Christianity’s Perfect Storm . . . . .1
LEONARD SWEET (United States)
Chapter 2: Man Overboard! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
GREG GLATZ (Canada)
Chapter 3: In Sync with Jesus and the First Perfect
Stormers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
STEPHAN JOUBERT (South Africa)
Chapter 4: Seasoned Sailors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
ALAN JAMIESON (New Zealand)
Chapter 5: Exposing Our Murky Motives . . . . . . . . . . . .62
DRIES LOMBAARD (South Africa)
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Chapter 6: Reorienting the Church of the
Twenty-first Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72
YOUNGLAE KIM (South Korea)
Chapter 7: The Perfect Storm as a Paradigmic Theory . .82
EARL J. PIERCE (United States)
Chapter 8: Mid-storm Equations for the
Emerging Church . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89
BILL EASUM (United States)
Chapter 9: The Tides Are Turning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99
MICHAEL BLEWETT (United States)
Chapter 10: The Relationships of Winds and Waves . .109
MARK BATTERSON (United States)
Chapter 11: Between Spirit and Culture . . . . . . . . . . . .119
THOMAS G. BANDY (Canada)
Chapter 12: Celestial Storms: Dreaming of Novae . . . .139
PETER J. WALKER (United States)
Chapter 13: Manual and Chart Notes for Stormy Seas .144
LEONARD SWEET (United States)
List of Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .165
© The United Methodist Publishing House. All rights reserved.