People Paul Admired

The House Church Leaders of the New Testament

By Beulah Wood

Where did the old social barriers break down at the coming of Christianity? In homes. Where did practice join theology to break down the division between rich and poor or Jew and Greek, so that they ate together? In the hospitality of house church hosts and hostesses. What happened to the barrier between slave and free? Gone when they prayed together. The intense reserve between men and women? Dissolved as hosts and hostesses served the friends who entered their door. Paul saw this, admired and praised the house church leaders, and planned on homes to grow the gospel.

Reviews

"Sometimes when we read the Bible we look at the men and women in its pages as little more than stick figures. In her book, Dr. Wood wraps them in flesh and blood and we see the people Paul admired for what they were, real people who lived ordinary lives for an extraordinary cause."

-Haddon Robinson

Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

"For those who know the Bible too little or too well here is a useful resource to engage both the text and the mind in a creative process of reimagining. The book reaffirms what Christians too often forget: the home is the hearth where the fire of Christian community burns brightest."

-Chris Hancock

The Institute for Religion and Society in Asia

ISBN 10:

ISBN 13: 978-1-60899-969-9

Pages: 134

Binding: Paperback

Publication Date: 06/08/2011