Notes from a Wayward Son

""Andrew Walker is one of the most remarkable scholars I have met across the years."" William J. Abraham This ""miscellany"" puts readers around the table with a teacher who has provided the church with wisdom and passion and introduces a new voice to the ongoing conversation about the relationship between the gospel and culture. Andrew Walker's ""ecclesial intelligence"" and broad interdisciplinary approach to theology and sociology will undoubtedly capture the imagination of many who are curious about the church's mission in the modern West. Notes from a Wayward Son represents a broad sampling of Walker's writings from a distinguished forty-five-year career--from explorations of Pentecostalism and Charismatic Renewal to Eastern Orthodoxy, C. S. Lewis, and Deep Church; from the impact of modernity on the ecclesia to mission and ecumenism in the West today. In a world and a church often driven by the latest fashions, Walker's is a voice to which we will want to listen ""Few theological commentators and analysts of the church rival Walker. A brilliant writer in the field of ecclesiology and current trends in theology, the range, depth, and breadth of Walker's work makes for compelling reading . . . This book is a true treasure . . . Notes from a Wayward Son will be of inestimable value for all those who study contemporary Christianity."" --Martyn Percy, Dean of Christ Church, Oxford ""This inspiring collection of essays will take its readers deeply into the divine characteristics of the body of Christ and widely into the various embodiments of the Church in human society. It is a book that commands respect."" --Christopher Cocksworth, Bishop of Coventry ""A fascinating tour of Walker's intellectual and spiritual pilgrimage that at the same time provides a unique set of insights on the intersecting cross-currents that shaped the emergence of the Pentecostal Charismatic movement, Orthodoxy, and ecumenism in contemporary Britain."" --Luke Bretherton, Professor of Theological Ethics, Duke University ""Walker's . . . insights, compassion, and love for God and neighbor are evident throughout these pages, not to mention well appreciated and inspiring. Andrew's work will endure for years to come."" --Father George Eber, Saint Anne's Orthodox Institute and Saint Anthony's Orthodox Church, Antiochian Diocese of Tulsa, Oklahoma ""This is a remarkably valuable set of reflections, combining detailed history with theological and philosophical analysis . . . by a very wide-ranging and acute thinker."" --David Martin, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, London School of Economics ""Despite the title 'Wayward Son, ' Walker has been a long and 'faithful son' of the Church . . . This collection of essays will help us see where we have been and think more clearly and creatively on how we can be more faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ in what at the grassroots is rapidly becoming a 'post-denominational' world."" --Richard Chartres, The Rt. Reverend and Rt. Honorable Lord Bishop of London Andrew G. Walker is Emeritus Professor of Theology, Religion, and Culture at King's College, London. Andrew D. Kinsey is senior pastor at Grace United Methodist Church, Franklin, Indiana. He was awarded the Pastor-Preacher-Scholar Award by the Wesleyan Theological Society in 2011.