Diaconal Church: Beyond the Mould of Christendom Book

This symposium presents a highly topical debate about the nature and significance of an innovative model of church described in David Clarka??s book Breaking the Mould of Christendom: Kingdom Community, Diaconal Church and the Liberation of the Laity, published by Epworth in November 2005. In that book, David Clark argues that a??the diaconal churcha?? is the only form of church that can set us free from the continuing domination of the Christendom model and offer genuine hope to a world now facing a stark choice between community and chaos. Since publication, the book has been widely reviewed nationally and internationally. It has become a catalyst for wide-ranging discussion about the kingdom as a community, the servant nature of the church and the primacy of the laity. In this symposium, 13 scholars discuss the key themes, summarized as eighteen theses, which underpin the model of the diaconal church. Their common concern is whether the diaconal church can take us a??beyond the mould of Christendoma??. The contributors represent Anglican, Episcopalian, Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Quaker, Baptist and Anabaptist traditions. They come from England, Scotland, New Zealand and the United States. The result is a wide-ranging and thought-provoking debate about the significance and implications of the diaconal model of church. In a final chapter, David Clark responds to the contributions and develops his argument that the diaconal church has a contribution of paramount importance to make to sacred and secular institutions alike.