Seeking the Church

Stephen Pickard combines that rare gift of being able to write about the church, mission, culture and theology with wisdom, insight and profound depth, and all rooted in his own pastoral and ministerial experiences. He is without doubt one of the most exciting theologians of our generation, and this, his latest book, is a rich and illuminating study that is set to become essential reading for all who seeking to understand the forces shaping ecclesial life and Christian discipleship in contemporary culture. Seeking the Church is a major book on the nature of the church for our time, and by one of our wisest and most creative scholars. -- Martyn Percy
This book is a Vade Mecum for a journey into the Church and into the social heart of God. Stephen’s pilgrim’s ecclesiology derives its energy from worship, word, sacrament, service and witness. Reviewing other earlier ecclesial patterns, Stephen fashions a guide for a travelling church, shaped by practices instead of simply relying on models. The bond of all is Christ but this bond releases the Christian community to be a transforming society rooted in the mystery of the faith and powered by the dynamic of grace. It offers a refreshing Church in every sense. -- Stephen Platten
Through a critical engagement with a long theological tradition of reflection on the nature of the Church, Stephen Pickard offers us a dynamic 'pilgrim ecclesiology'. The search for God is necessarily undertaken through a shared human journey across the world's rocky terrain. The Church is made visible in those myriad moments and places in which God's people confess together that they have been sought and found by Christ. This book will be an invaluable resource for clergy, teachers and students who wish to learn about the nature of the Church and its place in the world. -- Simon Oliver