Theology After Christendom: Forming Prophets for a Post-Christian World

Christianity must be understood not as a religion of private salvation but as a gospel movement of universal compassion which transforms the world in the power of Gods truth. Amid several major global crises including the rise of terrorism and religious fundamentalism and a sudden resurgence of political extremism Christians must now face up fearlessly to the challenges of living in a post-truth age in which deceitful politicians present their media-spun fabrications as alternative facts. This book is an attempt to enact a transformative theology for these changing times that will equip the global Christian community to take a stand for the gospel in an age of cultural despair and moral fragmentation. The emerging post-Christendom era calls for a new vision of Christianity that has come of age and connects with the spiritual crisis of our times. In helping to make this vision a reality Searle insists that theology is not merely an academic discipline but a transformative enterprise that changes the world. Theology is to be experienced not just behind a desk in an armchair or in a church but also in hospitals in foodbanks in workplaces and on the streets. Theology is to be lived as well as read. This is a fierce critique of shallow Christian discipleship and irrelevant theological formation that has positioned the church on the fringes of our trivial and poverty-stricken cultures. This gifted author writes as a self-confessed outsider an Anabaptist without a home but this is the very strength of the book. He asks the question where have all the prophets gone? and then answers it with some chilling denunciations and challenging propositions. Three cheers for his call for pioneering theologians who will serve as apostles to the bewildering cultures of our age. --David Coffey Global Ambassador BMS Mission Past President of the Baptist World Alliance Searles call for a radical rethink of what often passes for theological training is both welcome and long overdue. Many of his assertions expose fundamental shortcomings in historical and current preoccupations that are often bereft of prophetic imagination and revolutionary practice. This is a provocative faith-full and deeply passionate book. --Kate Coleman Founding Director of Next Leadership Past President of the Baptist Union of Great Britain Joshua T. Searle is Tutor in Theology and Public Thought at Spurgeons College London. He serves on the Steering Committee of the Anabaptist Network and is a Companion of the Northumbria Community.