Sept. 1, 2010
For Immediate Release
By Linda Waggener, marketing and media relations coordinator
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. — Campbellsville University website developer Edward Goble’s most recent book, “and no religion, too — thoughts on the spectator church” (2008), 136 pages, has a message for pastors and church leaders across America.
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| Edward Goble |
Written from the experience and point of view of the author, an ordained minister, and the father of an ordained minister, Goble shares his views on the spectator church and the religious activities that can keep its shepherds in a closed environment rather than out doing the work of communicating among the unchurched. He suggests that it is time to stop trying to get the world into the church and time to get the church into the world.
The main points in this book surround Goble’s concerns over the effect that building bigger and bigger buildings is having on the actual work of the church. He writes, “All the way back in the book of Acts, we read about Christians gathering. Their first meeting place was Solomon’s Porch, a huge, open aired portico on the eastern part of the temple in Jerusalem. Jesus used the porch often and the infant church gathered there as well. So, using a facility, or having a specific gathering place for believers, is about as old as the church. The salient difference between our facilities and Solomon’s porch is — the porch wasn’t the place all the God-stuff happened, it was the launching pad.”
In his epilogue, he said, “My prayer is that we rediscover some things about God’s heart, things inadvertently filed away as we settled into life. Jesus wants to stir up the radical in us. I really believe that. I think He wants to remind us of those first few weeks and months that we walked together, back when we believed in the impossible.”
In addition to his work in the area of CU admissions marketing, Goble is owner of Bluegrass Creative, a company specializing in digital and print promotions. However, he says it was the desire to write that brought him from Seattle, Washington to rural Taylor County. Further, he says that his belief in the mission of Jesus Christ led him to Campbellsville University.
Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with over 3,000 students offering 45 undergraduate programs, 16 master’s degrees and five postgraduate areas. The website for complete information is campbellsville.edu.