Building on an ethnographic study of St. Michael-le-Belfrey Church in
York, a recognized leader in charismatic renewal, mission, and
evangelical innovation since the 1960s, this book explores how a
persistent tradition of cultural engagement may generate growth, while
at the same time bringing about significant changes in the structure and
function of the evangelical congregation, and in the social construction
of Christian identity itself. This is the first sociological study of
St. Michael-le-Belfrey and the first to take seriously the question of
how blazing the trail in terms of mission, worship, and fellowship
influences the way in which congregations exist as Christian communities
within the contemporary British context. ""Taking issue with theories
which assume that Christianity has passively adapted to the conditions
of late modernity, Guest presents a vivid account of a Christian
community actively engaged in negotiating its place in contemporary
society."" --Linda Woodhead, Director AHRC/ESRC Religion and Society
Programme, Department of Religious Studies, Lancaster University
""Mathew Guest's book makes an invaluable contribution to our
understanding of contemporary Evangelicalism and helpfully dispels
simplistic accounts of Evangelical beliefs and identities. Lucidly
written and well-argued, Guest's book will be recommended reading for
many years to come."" --Gordon Lynch, Professor of Sociology of
Religion, Birkbeck, University of London ""I welcome this book very
warmly. . . . [T]he author is . . . clear, balanced, and insightful.""
--Gracie Davis, Professor of Sociology, University of Exeter ""Mathew
Guest's clear, careful, and insightful study of one highly successful
Evangelical church in York, and its innovative 'postmodern' offshoot,
presents us with a microcosm of much that is happening in today's
Church."" --David Martin, from the Foreword Mathew Guest studied
theology, religious studies, and sociology at the universities of
Nottingham and Lancaster. He is now Lecturer in Theology and Society at
Durham University, specializing in the sociological study of
contemporary Christianity.
