So Beautiful
Divine Design for Life and the Church: Missional, Relational, Incarnational
by Leonard I. Sweet · David C. Cook · 2009
Book summary
A vision of church and discipleship organized around the beauty of God's design, especially the interplay of missional, relational, and incarnational life.
Chapter & section guide
The Beauty of Divine Design
The gospel is not only true and good but beautiful.
Missional
The church is sent into God's world rather than organized around self-preservation.
Relational
Christian life is formed through communion, friendship, and mutuality.
Incarnational
Faith takes flesh in local culture, bodies, practices, and service.
MRI as a Whole
Missional, relational, and incarnational dimensions belong together.
Deformed Designs
Institutionalism, abstraction, and consumerism distort church life.
Jesus the Pattern
Christ provides the living shape of beauty.
A Beautiful Church
Communities become attractive through love, holiness, creativity, and presence.
Editorial note: these are original thematic summaries prepared as a research and reading aid, not quotations from the book itself.