Tell These Stones to Become Bread

Description

Tell These Stones to Become Bread: Church as Negative Work reimagines the church as a space of continual transformation rather than institutional preservation. Introducing the concept of negative work, it invites a theology of deconstruction, critique, and openness to change. Drawing on contemporary theology, philosophy, and lived ecclesial practice, the book re-examines the church’s three traditional functions - leiturgia (worship), diakonia (service), and martyria (witness) - revealing how each of them can either reinforce control or nurture freedom and grace. Through dialogue with Dostoevsky’s “Grand Inquisitor” and case studies from diverse church contexts, this volume explores how the church exists in the tension between the “already” and the “not yet” of God’s reign. Combining theological reflection with practical insight and with case studies from diverse church traditions, Tell These Stones to Become Bread invites readers to discern how negative work might renew the church’s life, witness, and mission today.