Congregation Stories and Structures

by James F. Hopewell

Book Overview

Is the congregation a kind of machine? This metaphor is implicit in those studies that assume congregations operate by rational cause-effect principles, have certain outcomes given certain inputs, and can be made more "productive" if these principles are understood and the inputs controlled. Hopewell proposes that we study congregations under an entirely different metaphor. He says we should think of a congregation as a conversation, a discourse,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0800619560
• ISBN13: 9780800619565
• Release Date: January 1987
• Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Publishing
• Length: 222 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Storyteller's method for studying congregational culture.

A way of studying and understanding congregational culture. Extemely helpful to preachers, pastors, lay leaders and others who are seeking to understand and thereby better lead/guide a congregation. Hopewell's method, based on narrative types developed by Northrope Frye, is truly and genuinely original. He argues for a narrative-based analysis of congegational culture. Our stories about ourselves best reveal who we are. Very highly recommended.