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There is much that the church today can learn from the worship of the early church, particularly in the second century. This was a time when increasing numbers of gentiles were coming to the church with little or no previous knowledge of the Judeo-Christian tradition. How did the church train and instruct those who wished to join it? How did its worship, particularly in baptism and in communion, respond to the challenge of shaping and nurturing believers who would have to live their faith in a hostile environment? Today the church begins to face similar conditions. Growing numbers around us...

Theologian and church historian Catherine Gunsalus Gonzalez studies three often overlooked books in the New Testament, 1 and 2 Peter and the Letter of Jude. These writings from the late first century or early second century helped guide the young church as it faced a variety of issues, both internal to the church's life, and external in the social and political culture in which it was growing. The letters help us focus on the character of the church and the importance of congregations in the church's ongoing life. They raise basic issues of authority, on how the church knows the directions to...