DNA of Churches of Christ

About the Book

Who do we say we are? Who do you say we are? Some longtime members are concerned that we are losing our form and shape (identity or DNA) and distinctiveness as Churches of Christ. New members like you want to know who we are and what do we stand for as a church in today’s world. What will our children know about our heritage of faith?

A church’s identity must be firmly rooted in scripture, particularly the New Testament, and yet be flexible enough to adapt to the local culture and the shifting demands of local mission. The early church learned what it meant to be faithful in Jerusalem, Antioch, and in Rome. Our pioneers of faith on the frontier expansion in America had to rethink denominational authority and what it meant to restore the life of the New Testament church. Today we wrestle with what it means to become a missional church in a pluralistic world? In a postmodern setting, how do we form new communities of faith?

About the Author

Graham Carslake was raised and worked in the northern wheat and sheep farming belt of Morawa, Western Australia. He received a rich heritage of faith from the Carslake-Roediger families; trained for ministry from 1960–62 at COB, Glen Iris, Melbourne; ministered at Kalgoorlie (5), Bunbury (6) and Warwick (23) in Western Australia; completed a doctor of ministry with Fuller in Los Angeles, USA, in 1986; and has been doing intentional ministries for these past 16 years. Married to Freda, he has three children—Geoffrey, Robyn, and Joanne—and now five delightful grandchildren. He continues to burn with a deep desire to share faith with people and has a strong passion for the movement of churches of Christ.