![\"Mickey](\"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/doetd2kiw\/images\/w_200,h_284,c_scale\/f_auto,q_auto\/v1702073152\/trinity_newsroom\/IMG_8107_2\/IMG_8107_2.png?_i=AA\" "\\"\\"")
<\/h4>\n<\/h4>\n\u201cDr. Klink, can you give me any good reason why a Christian needs the church?\u201d That question prompted Trinity alumnus Edward (Mickey) Klink III to write his newly released book: <\/span>The Local Church: What It Is and Why It Matters for Every Christian.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n \u201cA bright young man at a social gathering of college students from my former local church asked me this question over ten years ago, and I can still remember the silence in the room,\u201d Klink recalled. \u201cWe volleyed responses back and forth for over an hour as we discussed the role and necessity of the church, but he left the conversation unconvinced.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Klink was serving as a professor of New Testament at a California university at that time, making him an ideal candidate for this theological challenge. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI left the gathering that night with the conviction to dispel common misunderstandings about the local church,\u201d he said. \u201cThis book is the culmination of what I wanted to say to this young man, as well as to others contemplating the purpose and place of the church in their relationship to Christ.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Now the senior pastor at Hope Evangelical Free Church in Roscoe, Illinois, Klink has held several academic positions after earning his PhD from the University of St. Andrews and is currently teaching an introductory-level New Testament class to undergraduates at Trinity College.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt has been great being back in the classroom. There is just a different energy when you\u2019re teaching 19- and 20-year-olds!\u201d Klink said. \u201cI took the New Testament course in the McLennan Building many, many years ago, so it’s surreal to be in the same room again.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI was slowly making the Christian faith my own, but it was at Trinity where God began to really shape me<\/span><\/span><\/strong>.<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n Klink received three degrees from Trinity (BA \u201897, MDiv \u201800, ThM \u201802) and recalled how his time on campus was instrumental in molding his faith. “I began to understand the gospel around age 16 after my pastor, who was a fellow TEDS grad, did a message series on 1 Peter that helped me grasp the beautiful picture of Christ,\u201d he said. “I was slowly making the Christian faith my own, but it was at Trinity where God began to really shape me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nTEACHING WITH TRINITY<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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\nTHE LOCAL CHURCH<\/h4>\n