James Emery White (born December 20, 1961), is an American pastor and author. He is the founding pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte , North Carolina , and a former president of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary . [ 1 ] Early life and education White was born in Chicago and lived in California, Washington, and Utah before moving to North Carolina. [ 2 ] White earned a B.S. from Appalachian State University , followed by an M.Div. and Ph.D. from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary . He also studied American religious history at Vanderbilt University and attended the Summer Programme in Theology at Oxford University . White founded Mecklenburg Community Church in the early 1990s. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] In 2006 it had an average weekly attendance of 3,000, [ 4 ] but more recently it reported an attendance of approximately 10,000. [ 5 ] [ better source needed ] White is the author of more than 20 books, including the Gold Medallion nominees Serious Times and A Search for the Spiritual , Christianity Today book-of-the-year award winner Embracing the Mysterious God , as well as The Prayer God Longs For and Rethinking the Church . His most recent publications include Christianity for People Who Aren't Christians , Meet Generation Z , The Rise of the Nones , The Church in an Age of Crisis, and What They Didn't Teach You in Seminary. He is also Distinguished Professor of Pastoral Ministry at Anderson University , and consulting editor to Leadership Journal. In 2006, White was appointed president of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary . [ 6 ] However, one year later he resigned, citing personal circumstances. [ 7 ] In November 2009, White signed the Manhattan Declaration , a manifesto opposing the legalization of abortion and same-sex marriage on religious grounds. [ 8 ] White, James Emery (1992). Opening the Front Door: worship and church growth . Nashville, TN: Convention Press. OCLC 26135154 . — — — (1994). What is Truth?: a comparative study of the positions of Cornelius Van Til, Francis Schaeffer, Carl F.H. Henry, Donald Bloesch, Millard Erickson . Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers. ISBN 978-0-805-41156-0 . OCLC 26975646 . — — — (1997). Rethinking the Church: A Challenge to Creative Redesign in an Age of Transition . Grand Rapids, MI: Baker. ISBN 978-0-801-09039-4 . OCLC 36573744 . — — — (1998). A Search for the Spiritual: exploring real Christianity . Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books. ISBN 978-0-801-05818-9 . OCLC 38732183 . — — — (1999). You Can Experience - a Spiritual Life . Nashville, TN: Word Pub. ISBN 978-0-849-93766-8 . OCLC 41674306 . — — — (2000). You Can Experience - a Purposeful Life . Nashville, TN: Word Pub. ISBN 978-0-849-93767-5 . OCLC 43109935 . — — — (2003). Embracing the Mysterious God: loving the God we don't understand . Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. ISBN 978-0-830-82377-2 . OCLC 51942374 . — — — (2004). Serious Times: Making Your Life Matter in an Urgent Day . Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. ISBN 978-0-830-83211-8 . OCLC 54536874 . — — — (2005). The Prayer God Longs For . Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. ISBN 978-0-830-83327-6 . OCLC 57893568 . — — — (2006). A Mind for God . Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. ISBN 978-0-830-83392-4 . OCLC 63807797 . — — — (2008). Wrestling with God: Loving the God We Don't Understand . Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. ISBN 978-0-830-83363-4 . OCLC 213384818 . — — — (2010). Is Jesus the Only Way to God? . Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. ISBN 978-0-877-84036-7 . OCLC 793379710 . — — — (2010). Christ Among the Dragons: Finding Our Way Through Cultural Challenges . Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. ISBN 978-0-830-83312-2 . OCLC 550553896 . — — — (2010). What They Didn't Teach You In Seminary: 25 Lessons for Successful Ministry in Your Church . Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books. ISBN 978-0-801-01388-1 . OCLC 662401673 . — — — (2012). A Traveler's Guide to the Kingdom: Journeying Through the Christian Life . Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. ISBN 978-0-830-83818-9 . OCLC 759909769 . — — — (2012). The Church in an Age of Crisis: 25 New Realities Facing Christianity . Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books. ISBN 978-0-801-01387-4 . OCLC 775419979 . — — — (2014). The Rise of the Nones: Understanding and Reaching the Religiously Unaffiliated . Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books. ISBN 978-0-801-01623-3 . OCLC 861069262 . — — — (2017). Meet Generation Z: Understanding and Reaching the New Post-Christian World . Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books. ISBN 978-0801017018 . — — — (2019). Christianity for People Who Aren't Christians: Uncommon Answers to Common Questions . Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books. ISBN 978-0-801-09459-0 . OCLC 0801094593 . ↑ "James Emery White" . Retrieved May 5, 2016 . 1 2 Hardee, Ray (26 December 2014). "James Emery White Paved Way for Contemporary Churches" . Shelby Star – via ProQuest. ↑ Funk, Tim (11 September 2008). "Congregations Putting Services on Live Web Video Feed" . McClatchy-Tribune News Service – via ProQuest. ↑ Lampman, Jane (6 February 2006). "Megachurches' Way of Worship Is on the Rise" . The Christian Science Monitor . p. 13 – via ProQuest. ↑ "SENIOR PASTOR | Mecklenburg Community Church" . Mecklenburg Community Church . ↑ "James Emery White". Christianity Today . 50 (3): 20. 1 March 2006. ↑ "Gordon-Conwell President Resigns" . ↑ Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience Archived 2013-09-01 at the Wayback Machine http://www.mecklenburg.org/ http://www.churchandculture.org/ Harold Ockenga (1st) Robert E. Cooley Walter Kaiser Jr.

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