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Synopsis
Is the congregation a kind of machine? This metaphor is implicit in those studies that assume congregations operate by rational cause-effect principles, have certain outcomes given certain inputs, and can be made more "productive" if these principles are understood and the inputs controlled. Hopewell proposes that we study congregations under an entirely different metaphor. He says we should think of a congregation as a conversation, a discourse, an exchange of symbols through which meaning is both expressed and created. Hopewell means by this something more intricate than simply that people talk to each other in church and the subject matter of this talk ought to be analyzed. That's part of it, but he suggests that all the interactions that go on in congregations (including the rituals and gestures of both daily and formalized life together as well as the architecture and artifacts of the physical space in which they take place) "say" something, "mean" something, are symbolic expressions. Furthermore, each such expression is responsive to and dependent upon other expressions, to the point that no symbolic expression stands alone. In other words, the symbolic discourse is patterned-and in different ways in different congregations. These patterns are basic to the identities of particular congregations. Hopewell's hunch is that if you can discern the patterns in and through the constant flow of symbolic discourse, you can hear who a congregation is and understand what it is all about.
from a review in Perkins Journal by Craig Dykstra
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About the Author
James F. Hopewell at the time of his death in 1984, was Professor of Religion and the Church and Director of the Rollins Center for Church Ministries at the Candler School of Theology, Emory University.
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Congregation: Stories and Structures
Published by
Fortress Press (edition ), 1987
ISBN 10: 0800619560
ISBN 13: 9780800619565
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Congregation: Stories and Structures
Published by
Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 1987
ISBN 10: 0800619560
ISBN 13: 9780800619565
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Paperback
Seller: World of Books Inc, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
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Paperback. Condition: Good. After serving as a missionary in West Africa early in his career, with a training in comparative religion and especially Islamic studies, James Hopewell became interested in the nature of the local Christian congregation, its dilemmas and its strengths. He read widely on the subject, but the literature did not satisfy him, so he spent a sabbatical year in two local churches, like an anthropologist in a primitive village. As time went on he arrived at the brilliant insight which forms the heart of this book: church congregations can only be understood on the basis of the storiesmembers tell of themselves and their community as they struggle for survival and meaning. Or, to put it more technically, congregational culture is a coherent system the structural logic of which is narrative. It is when one understands the story of a congregation one can see why some changes are accepted by it, some are not; why it is strong in some areas and weak in others. Only if that basis has been discovered is it possible really to work with a local church. James Hopewell's book also contains much valuable information about how to analyse congregations. James Hopewell did not live to finish his book; he died of cancer in 1984. His own story, of coping with that cancer, is bravely and movingly woven into the stories of congregations. The result is one of the seminal books of the decade. James Hopewell was Professor of Religion and the Church at the Candler School of Theology, Emory University. His book was posthumously edited by Barbara Wheeler, President of Auburn Theological Seminary, New York. With a Foreword by John Bowden. Seller Inventory # CIN0800619560G
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Congregation: Stories and Structures
Published by
Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 1987
ISBN 10: 0800619560
ISBN 13: 9780800619565
Used
Paperback
Seller: World of Books Inc, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. After serving as a missionary in West Africa early in his career, with a training in comparative religion and especially Islamic studies, James Hopewell became interested in the nature of the local Christian congregation, its dilemmas and its strengths. He read widely on the subject, but the literature did not satisfy him, so he spent a sabbatical year in two local churches, like an anthropologist in a primitive village. As time went on he arrived at the brilliant insight which forms the heart of this book: church congregations can only be understood on the basis of the storiesmembers tell of themselves and their community as they struggle for survival and meaning. Or, to put it more technically, congregational culture is a coherent system the structural logic of which is narrative. It is when one understands the story of a congregation one can see why some changes are accepted by it, some are not; why it is strong in some areas and weak in others. Only if that basis has been discovered is it possible really to work with a local church. James Hopewell's book also contains much valuable information about how to analyse congregations. James Hopewell did not live to finish his book; he died of cancer in 1984. His own story, of coping with that cancer, is bravely and movingly woven into the stories of congregations. The result is one of the seminal books of the decade. James Hopewell was Professor of Religion and the Church at the Candler School of Theology, Emory University. His book was posthumously edited by Barbara Wheeler, President of Auburn Theological Seminary, New York. With a Foreword by John Bowden. Seller Inventory # CIN0800619560VG
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Congregation Stories and Structures
Published by
Augsburg Fortress Publishing, 1987
ISBN 10: 0800619560
ISBN 13: 9780800619565
Used
Paperback
Seller: ThriftBooks-Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G0800619560I4N00