The Start of a Bibliography for “Paul’s Letters to the Future Church”

I am still mulling over creating a series of Pauline Letters to the Future Church. There are really three areas I would need to do research. 1. The three Ds shaping the Church, 2. The 7 Central Things the Church shall Always do, and 3. Paul’s Letters. Below is an initial bibliography as I get to thinking.

The Three D’s

Disestablishment:
The End of Christendom and the Future of Christianity
City of God
Christianity After Religion
After Virtue
The Benedict Option

Decentralization:
The Starfish and the Spider
The Shallows
As One Without Authority

Demographic Shift:
Dear Church
Upside
Generations of Faith
Jesus and the Other Names

The 7 Central Things:
Gathering—The Art of Gathering, Disunity in Christ
Baptism—Faith Shaping Ministry
Confession—The Book of Forgiving
Word—Serving the Word, The Preaching Life
Thanksgiving—Grateful
Meal—From Conflict to Communion
Sending—Signs of Emergence

Paul:
Paul: A Biography
Perspectives Old and New on Paul
The Theology of Paul the Apostle
St. Paul: The Apostle We Love to Hate

An initial stab at a future church letter

As I mentioned last post, one way to talk about the 3Ds and 7Cs is through fictional Paul-ish letters from the future church.
Below is some initial jottings of  such a letter:

Dear Philadelphians,

              I write this offering grace and peace in the name of Jesus Christ. He is both messenger and message, the promise to us of acceptance from God even when we were unacceptable and at the same time the one who proclaims that grace to us…

              Let me try to state this better. Christ is both the content—through him you have life and have it eternally, and the medium, the words of the one who is the Word, saves souls.

              Do I now skirt heresy with these words, so be it! For I write in this painful unnatural manner of the simple Gospel message, because you have done the very same thing. You have allowed the medium to obscure the message, the internet has put a hex on you Philadelphians.

              Christ himself is obscured when you thrash about online and call it community. Further, you spit venom upon one another, I wish that it would have its affect, so you might stop tweeting for a moment and reflect upon your words. The internet warps your words, intention, and community. “The medium is the message” wrote a famous fool from the last century… these words are still true today, Christ is both the medium and message. Every key stroke you make must be filled with him, every IM, every post, every up-vote, every wink… the medium and message must be one—Christ alone…