Unmasking the Angel

This book explores the concept of an ＂angel of the church.＂ It begins with the question that so intrigued Walter Wink: Why would Jesus ask John to write to an angel in Revelation 2-3? This work develops, critiques, and expands Wink’s answer. It does so by taking the historical records of three churches in England’s West Country and bringing them into conversation with Wink’s understanding of the angel of the church. It then goes further by introducing Wink’s work to specialists in fields that include architecture, demographics, and church polity. This scholarly conversation creates a matrix within which ministers with pastoral charge might be equipped to explore the spiritual identity (or angel) of their own congregations.

Stephen Langford is a Baptist minister specializing in interim and transitional ministry within the United Kingdom. Unmasking the Angel is the product of his PhD research carried out at Bristol Baptist College. Langford has a keen interest in congregational studies and is fascinated by the spirituality exhibited by Baptist congregations.