Sue Jackson, Warden of the Diaconal Order, Methodist Church in Great Britain, writes:
'David Clark challenges all Christians, and not least deacons, to make a Copernican shift in their understanding of diaconal mission. Too frequently the discussion leaps from the servant church to the diaconate as exemplifying it.
David Clark argues that it is first and foremost the laity, not deacons, who are called to represent the servant church in the world. The deacon's all-important task is to raise the awareness of lay people to that calling and help them to fulfil it.
This book addresses urgent questions for the self-understanding, practice and formation of the diaconate. It is a must-read for deacons worldwide.'
'Breaking the Mould of Christendom'
'Breaking the Mould of Christendom:
Kingdom Community, Diaconal Church and the Liberation of the Laity'
by David Clark 0 71620 592 0
19.99GBP EPWORTH PRESS
David Clark argues that the Church needs to become a diaconal Church. To do this, it must:
hammer out a theology of community rooted in the nature of the kingdom as a learning community.
be transformed into 'a diaconal church' whose mission is to serve 'the kingdom community' within the world.
liberate the laity from clerical domination to become the servants of the kingdom community.
establish the role of the deacon as catalyst - now crucial for the liberation of the laity.
The book includes five case-studies of the diaconal church in action, and an evaluation of the diaconal potential of five worldwide Christian 'renewal movements'.
