Open the Doors and See All the People: Stories of Church Identity and Vocation

This journey book invites the reader to go with the author on her travels to dozens of congregations all over the United States discovering their assets and strengths as well as their struggles and fears. She was not critic nor teacher nor consultant but visitor. Guest. She learned from the people of God she met appreciated them and gave thanks. The book was written for enjoyment; it quite possibly also will challenge. The purpose of the book is to help congregations claim their identity in the body of Christ and be strengthened for their vocation in Gods public world. The key to unlocking the book is to use the questions for reflection and discussion. Stories beget stories. By focusing on issues in other contexts congregations are sometimes able to talk more easily about important questions they face in our own settings. Norma Cook Everist through this offering of Open the Doors echoes the Hephatha (be opened) of Jesus inviting All the People to live out their identity as Gods people and their calling as Gods servants. --Pastor Paul Stumme-Diers Bethany Lutheran Church Bainbridge Island Washington With the skill of a quilter Professor Cook Everist pieces together stories that lead us to reflect upon the Church and how congregations are called and equipped for Gods mission. Rather than an extensive discourse on abstract ideas she offers engagement in the contexts of ministry stitching through the particulars to reveal the patterns and contrasts. This book will be a great resource for congregational leaders to use together to open meetings and to encourage small group discussion regarding congregational identity and mission. --Pastor Kathryn Gerking Interim Senior Pastor St. Stephens Lutheran Church Monona Wisconsin Norma Cook Everist having previously served in parishes and taught at Yale Divinity School has been professor of church and ministry at Wartburg Theological Seminary Dubuque Iowa for over 37 years. She is a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. She enjoys visiting the places where her former students as well as many others now serve. A widely known theologian keynote speaker and conference leader she has published over a dozen books including: The Church as Learning Community; Church Conflict: From Contention to Collaboration; and most recently Seventy Images of Grace in the Epistles That Make All the Difference in Daily Life (Cascade).