Post Christendom: Church and Mission in a Strange New World

by Stuart Murray

The end of Christendom where the Christian story was known and the church was central invites Christians in western culture to embrace marginality and discover fresh ways of being church and engaging in mission. While the transition from modernity to postmodernity has received a huge amount of attention the shift from Christendom to postChristendom has not yet been fully explored. This book is an introduction; a journey into the past an interpretation of the present and an invitation to ask what following Jesus might mean in the strange new world of postChristendom. Drawing on insights from the early Christians dissident movements and the world church this book challenges conventional ways of thinking. For those who dare to imagine new ways of following Jesus on the margins it invites a realistic and hopeful response to challenges and opportunities awaiting us in the 21st century.

Genres: Christian, Theology, Church History, Nonfiction

343 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2004

About the author

Stuart Murray Williams works as a trainer and consultant under the auspices of the Anabaptist Network. Based in Bristol, he travels widely in the UK and overseas and works with local churches, mission agencies, denominational leaders, conferences and individuals. He has worked with at least 25 denominations in recent years. His particular areas of expertise are in:
•Church planting
•Emerging church
•Urban mission
•Mission in post-Christendom
•Anabaptist history and theology

Under the name Stuart Murray, he has written books on a number of topics, including:

The Challenge of the City
published by Sovereign World in 1994

Explaining Church Discipline
published by Sovereign World in 1995

Church Planting: Laying Foundations
published by Paternoster Press in 1998

Hope from the Margins
(jointly with Anne Wilkinson-Hayes) published by Grove Books in 2000

Biblical Interpretation in the Anabaptist Tradition
published by Pandora Press in 2000

Beyond Tithing
published by Paternoster Press in 2000

Coming Home: Stories of Anabaptists in Britain and Ireland
(jointly with Alan Kreider) published by Pandora Press in 2000

Church Planting: Past, Present and Future
(jointly with George Lings) published by Grove Books in 2003

Post-Christendom: Church and Mission in a Strange New World
published by Paternoster in 2004

Church after Christendom
published by Paternoster in 2005

Changing Mission: Learning from the Newer Churches
published by Churches Together in Britain & Ireland (CTBI) in 2006

Church Planting in the Inner City
(with Juliet Kilpin) published by Grove books in 2007

Planting Churches: A Framework for Practitioners
published by Paternoster in 2008

Reviews

[Sagely · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stuart Murray offers a great contextualization of the church's transition out of christendom. Chapters 2 through 7 present a historical narrative of the transition into christendom, its expansion, discontents, disintegration, and enduring vestiges.

Chapters 8 through 10 sketch some of the challenges and opportunities the church meets in post-christendom, particularly in the UK setting. These chapters contain a number of provocative starting points, particularly in the interface between church and political society. However, I suspect that one needs to read some of the other volumes in the After Christendom series if one wants sustained engagement on any of these topoi.

One half-hearted criticism: Murray's anabaptist bias sings loud and clear throughout the book, but especially in the final three chapters. On the one hand, I also have anabaptist commitments. But the unfiltered enthusiasm in which Murray marinated these reflections leaves me feeling suspicious that he's cooked the books, that the concluding proposals for church life after christendom were chosen long before the historical research had begun.

Overall, this is a great book. It presents a convincing narrative about christendom and what comes after that's immediately accessible but is also well-footnoted. Highly worth a read.

[Errol Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are seeking revival, this book is not for you but then maybe it should be essential reading for you. Stuart Murray reviews the history of Christendom and its demise and presents challenges of what might follow. I read it because my understanding didn’t seem to match that of authors writing for the “after Christendom” series. Not only am I now convinced that my concerns are genuine but that maybe I have not fully released Christendom thinking.

If you are concerned about the future of faith communities often referred to as church then maybe this is essential reading. Maybe we need to drastically rethink ‘church’ and consider what it really means to follow Christ. Stuart does not attempt to declare an answer but he does present challenges that we need to wrestle with. Read this if you are up for the challenge.

[Brian Hui · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoroughly Anabaptist telling of the story of pre-Christendom, Christendom, and the emerging post-Christendom we're in now. I particularly appreciated how Murray drew out the thread of "dissident" Christianity — even amid the establishment and global growth of Christendom. He does get repetitive, has a more British slant, and is understandably biased towards the Anabaptist tradition; but a worthy read nonetheless.

[Isaiah Hobus · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books I have read this year. This book gives the best description of Christendom in any resource I have read. It is an extremely helpful guide in making sense of Christianity in our post modern world.

[Michael Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stuart Murray’s Post-Christendom is the best book I have read in a long time. Not that it’s brimming with new insights (most of what he says has been said before), but no other book I have read brings all the various strands of thought together in one place in one sustained argument with such insightful and practical application. Christendom, church at the center of society wielding political power, is coming to an end in the West, and Christians are moving to the margins, where they flourished for the first three centuries. Murray believes that, far from a bad thing, this is perhaps the best thing that can happen to the cause of Christ now. After reading his book, I am more convinced than ever that he is correct.
He chronicles the coming and expansion of Christendom and describes the heart of Christendom (sometimes referred to as Constantinianism). But the heart of the book, and its greatest value, is in his description of mission and church in the post-Christendom world. He concludes with appendices on the Donatists, Waldensians, Lollards and Anabaptists, groups that opted out or dissented from the Christendom point of view.

[Joel Daniel Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting thoughts from a European perspective on the end of Christendom: when Christianity no longer holds the power positions in the world. But that's not necessarily a bad thing & Murray does a great job of evaluating both the positives and negatives of Christendom.

[Alister Cameron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. Author's Anabaptist leanings shine thru :)

[Albert Griffin]

A must-read for anyone praying about how to embrace the his bold new world. So glad you’ve added it to your tool bag.

[Doodles McC · Rating 3 out of 5]

I tried to read this, but it was too difficult and not concise. This was on my reading list for theology study. I has some good discussion points but not an easy book.