Title: Faith and Public Life: Rethinking Church in the 21st Century
Editor: Alfred Sebahene
Imprint: Langham Global Library
Description
God’s love in Jesus Christ for the salvation and recreation of all things is still the hope of the world.This Christian affirmation is the reality that “holds all things” and “holds all things together.” Yet in today’s world, it is easy to understand why the church is in pain and declining in its Christian and moral influence.
Rethinking Church in the 21st Century is the culmination of three years of exploration into the condition of the church around the world today. Bringing together a diverse community of Christian voices, these essays offer reflections and admonitions to ignite the hearts of pastors and leaders during the dynamic, vulnerable, and hopeful times we face.
In this third volume, the contributors explore how the church should be engaged in the public space, in the face of the new opportunities and fundamental challenges confronting the global church today. These realities – missional expansion, persistent barriers to human progress, shifts in the composition and centre of gravity of world Christianity, and a growing attention to the need for the church to embrace a radically different way of life – call for a new approach to the role of faith in our public life, to the different ways of witnessing to Christ and stewarding the mysteries of Christian faith. With solid grounding in Scripture and critical reflection for authentic Christian public witness and mission, this book speaks of how the gospel of Jesus Christ endlessly relates to the whole world and its reconciliation with God.
Endorsements
Faith and Public Life is a timely and theologically grounded work, reminding us that theological education must go beyond academic excellence and become a space of holistic formation. I warmly commend this book to theological educators and Christian leaders across the Majority World and beyond.
Elie Haddad, PhD
President, Arab Baptist Theological Seminary,
Mansourieh, Lebanon
This instalment in the Rethinking Church in the 21st Century series is well worthy of time and attention, as editor Sebahene gathers a diverse range of voices to address weighty, crucial topics such the church’s response to trafficking, disability, abuse, environmental destruction, and more. Don’t miss out on this book!
Stephanie A. Lowry, PhD
Senior Lecturer, Africa International University,
Nairobi, Kenya
Faith and Public Life is a much-needed collection that seeks to inform, inspire, and (re)invigorate Christian witness. It is a refreshing and insightful collection that demonstrates the vigor and hopeful, but challenging, trajectory of the churches in the Global South.
Gordon L. Heath, PhD, FRHistS
Professor of Christian History, Centenary Chair in World Christianity,
McMaster Divinity College, Canada
This book calls the church to bear an unwavering witness to Christ and to exercise faithful stewardship of the mystery of God in public spaces. A treasure chest of wisdom, this book is not only to be read, but to be slowly digested, deeply embodied, and birthed into the public square as a living, critical witness for the flourishing of global societies.
Chammah J. Kaunda, PhD
Academic Dean,
Oxford Centre for Mission Studies, UK
These persuasive essays also summon evangelical churches in all contexts to realize that faithful witness to the Gospel must embrace bold prophetic engagement with the dehumanizing ideologies of power and profit that increasingly shape the contours of the contemporary world.
Brian Stanley, PhD
Professor Emeritus of World Christianity,
University of Edinburgh, UK
Here in this book, you will find what you will need in a wide presentation of the church in social ministry. Thirteen topics from accomplished scholars describe what it means to engage in social ministry, whether in its social action form or in its social advocacy form. The writers in this book, with their compelling arguments, cannot but convince many a skeptic along the way – especially on how to proceed in the twenty-first century.
James K. G. Walton, PhD
Senior Research Fellow,
Akrofi-Christaller Institute of Theology, Mission and Culture, Ghana
