Vital Signs: The Promise of Mainstream Protestantism - Softcover

Coalter, Milton J.; Mulder, John M.; Weeks, Louis B.

9780802808554: Vital Signs: The Promise of Mainstream Protestantism

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0802808557 ISBN 13: 9780802808554

Publisher: Eerdmans Pub Co, 1996

Three noted historical theologians and a team of researchers study the reasons for the decline of the mainline denominations and then use that research to guide pastors, leaders and church members in finding new ways to grow both spiritually and in numbers.

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From the Inside Flap:

Years of exhaustive research from three noted historical theologians and a team of more that sixty researches are summarized in an easy to digest format. Vital Signs is a must read for those interested in both the reasons for the decline of the mainline denominations and in ways to grow both spiritually and in number. Recommended for church members and pastors alike, Vital Signs honors the past while looking toward a future of renewal.

From Booklist:

The authors describe this book as a summary of research on American mainstream Protestantism in the twentieth century and an assessment of the significance of that research for mainstream Protestant denominations on the verge of the twenty-first century. The bewildering wealth of research certainly justifies a summary, and this one is both useful and timely. The intended audience of church members and clergy should find the book more accessible than much of the research it summarizes. But it is also likely to appeal to the broader audience of individuals who, though not religiously affiliated, share some interest in the cultural impact and vitality of mainstream Protestantism. Ample documentation makes the book a useful introduction for academic as well as nonacademic audiences; it is both a summary and a collection of pointers that should make the whole body of research more accessible to students of religion. Steve Schroeder

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