Wednesday, April 14, 2010

In Store Now - Grounded in the Gospel

I've really been anxious about the arrival of this book.  Grounded in the Gospel: Building Belivers the Old-Fashioned Way by J. I. Packer and Gary A. Parrett looks like a fascinating read.  The notion of catechesis is still very foreign to me since my background is a mixture of Bible church, Baptist and charismatic. None of these are particularly strong on the usage of catechisms.  I'm familiar with several creeds and a couple of catechisms but not in the manner in which they were intended to be instructional tools for training young believers.  This is precisely what this book is about and I'm excited to learn more.  Here are a couple of the endorsements:
"Packer and Parrett argue that recovering the practice of catechesis can go a long way toward curing anemic Christianity. The book's biblical grounding and theological structure should go a long way toward encouraging evangelicals to resurrect this ancient church practice."--Mark Galli, senior managing editor, Christianity Today
"J. I. Packer and Gary Parrett offer a diagnosis and prescription to remedy our shallow faith and practice. While the prescription might not be popular in our individualistic, do-it-yourself contemporary church culture, it's precisely the remedy needed to reverse the pandemic of narcissistic spirituality and lethargy plaguing the church."--Walt Mueller, Center for Parent/Youth Understanding
"Having been initially formed by Lutheran catechatical practices, I heartily endorse Packer's and Parrett's efforts to encourage evangelicals to adopt similar procedures for training both young and old in the foundational elements of faith. I want to prod parishes of all denominations to listen to Packer's and Parrett's cries and constructive proposals to better equip new believers. This is an urgently-needed book!"--Marva J. Dawn, author of Is It a Lost Cause? and Talking the Walk; teaching fellow in spiritual theology, Regent College
"On his eightieth birthday, Packer said that the greatest challenge for the twenty-first-century church was to re-catechize and disciple believers. These contributions from two of our best Christian thinkers help us to do precisely what Packer said is needed. It will help you to see how to make not just converts but, as Jesus tells us, disciples."--Chuck Colson, founder, Prison Fellowship
Grounded in the Gospel is from Baker Books.  It has 240 pages and sells for $16.99.

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