DANCING IN THE DARK, REVISED EDITION

Christians are often tempted to encapsulate God in their own little boxes, as if God could be tied down to our finite way of thinking. But we can neither domesticate nor fully understand God, for theology has a lot to do with coming to terms with the mystery of God. This revised edition of Dancing in the Dark--shaped, as in the first edition, by the two overarching themes of God as Trinity and a theology of participation--embraces the notion of mystery in presenting a compelling vision of seeing all things finally united within the inner life of God. As we engage in Christian ministry, we are summoned to participate as grace-filled faith communities in the triune Gods immeasurably loving and healing work in the world, leading those who are in darkness into an awareness of the God who imparts life in all its glorious abundance, that which is so . . . and a journey into the mystery of that which is to come. The liberating ministry of the gospel is both a declaration and an invitation--an invitation to the dance! Ministry can be reduced to the pragmatics of what works or to best practices as easily as church can be reduced to a brick building or a local outpost of a historic denomination, and preaching too can be reduced to a formula, a plan, and mechanics. In Dancing in the Dark, Graham Buxton reverses these all too common reductionisms in the church by turning all we do in ministry toward God, toward Gods mission, toward Gods gospel, and toward the church as designed to get swept into the joyous, gracious, adventurous, and unending dance of the Trinity in Gods very self. What a breath of fresh grace this book is. --Scot McKnight, Julius R. Mantey Professor of New Testament, Northern Seminary   The best guides to ministry have theological depth, an openness to learning from many disciplines, a pastoral heart, and an honesty about its joys and frustrations. This book encapsulates those qualities because it is written by a practitioner and theologian who has lived a