A Seat at the Table: A Generation Reimagining Its Place in the Church

Why are so many 20- and 30-something Christians disappearing from the church?They are told how much the church wants young people, yet there is growing suspicion among young believers about who is in and who is out of the scope of Christian orthodoxy. Through this suspicion, a rift between the generations has emerged. In the face of frustration, of being cut out because they don't seem to fit, young believers often take their gifts and leave the church.This book helps those who feel displaced by this generational collision to find a sense of place and welcome with a church that is still becoming all that God wants it to be. If you are a young person who wonders if there is a place in the church for someone like you, or if you want to know if your own church can be the kind of body in which young people are welcome, A Seat at the Table will give you a new personal and kingdom perspective. Embrace the challenge to re-imagine your relationship with the church in light of this generational collision, not seeing it as an unredeemable rift, but as an opportunity to give and receive hospitality.

Author: Shawna Songer Gaines
Publisher: Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City
Published: 09/01/2012
Pages: 192
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.55lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.50w x 0.60d
ISBN: 9780834128354

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 09/24/2012

About the Author
Shawna Songer Gaines, MDiv, serves as the university chaplain at Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, Tennessee. She has served as a co-pastor of Bakersfield Church of the Nazarene in Bakersfield, CA, as a youth pastor in Chicago, and as a communications consultant for Nazarene Missions International. She authored two other studies in the Breathe series, Created and Wilderness, and co-authored two books, A Seat at the Table and Kings and Presidents, with her husband, Tim. Shawna speaks and preaches at churches, conferences, camps, and retreats across the country, and blogs at shawnasongergaines.com. Timothy R. Gaines, PhD, received his doctorate in theology and ethics from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. He serves as associate professor of religion at Trevecca Nazarene University. He is the co-author of A Seat At the Table: A Generation Reimagining Its Place in the Church (2012)and Kings and Presidents: Politics and the Kingdom of God (2015).