Faith and Public Life: Rethinking Church in the 21st Century

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.

ALFRED SEBAHENE has a PhD in systematic theology and ethics from Stellenbosch University, South Africa. He is currently the head of the theology and religious studies department at St John's University of Tanzania, where he also served as the founding dean of the faculty of theology, and is a consultant assisting NGOs, churches, and other organizations - public and private - in understanding, formulating, and responding to anti-corruption and public ethics policies.