A Heritage in Crisis: Where We've Been, Where We Are, and Where We're Going in the Churches of Christ

Ralph K. Hawkins (Ph.D., Andrews University) is adjunct professor of Bible at Bethel College in Mishawaka, Indiana. He is editor of Simul Iustus e Peccator: Essays in Honor of Donald S. Armentrout, author of While I Was Praying: Finding Insights about God in Old Testament Prayers, and contributor to the New Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible.

Those who have grown up in Churches of Christ are distinctively passionate about their heritage. Ralph Hawkins is driven by an unswerving commitment to the heritage, one of the three principle streams of the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement. Yet, he recognizes that many cultural and theological shifts in recent decades require leaders and members in the over 12,000 Churches of Christ congregations to face the need to reexamine their stances on key issues like the Holy Spirit, hermeneutics, instrumental music, worship, women, elders, church structure, and more. This brief volume sets the agenda for reestablishing the vitality of Churches in Christ for the next era of people committed to its ideals. -- William R. Baker, Professor of New Testament Studies, Cincinnati Christian University; Editor Stone-Campbell Journal