Products>In Search of the Common Good: Christian Fidelity in a Fractured World

In Search of the Common Good: Christian Fidelity in a Fractured World

Publisher:
, 2019
ISBN: 9780830873784

Ebook

Ebooks are designed for reading and have few connections to your library.

$14.29

Digital list price: $25.99
Save $11.70 (45%)

Overview

ECPA Christian Book Award Finalist - Faith and Culture
Christianity Today Book of the Year Award, Politics and Public Life

Common life in our society is in decline.

Our communities are disintegrating, as the loss of meaningful work and the breakdown of the family leave us anxious and alone—indeed, half of all Americans report daily feelings of loneliness. Our public discourse is polarized and hateful. Ethnic minorities face systemic injustices and the ever-present fear of violence and deportation. Economic inequalities are widening.

In this book, Jake Meador diagnoses our society’s decline as the failure of a particular story we’ve told about ourselves: the story of modern liberalism. He shows us how that story has led to our collective loss of meaning, wonder, and good work, and then recovers each of these by grounding them in a different story—a story rooted in the deep tradition of the Christian faith.

Our story doesn’t have to end in loneliness and despair. There are reasons for hope—reasons grounded in a different, better story. In Search of the Common Good reclaims a vision of common life for our fractured times: a vision that doesn’t depend on the destinies of our economies or our political institutions, but on our citizenship in a heavenly city. Only through that vision—and that citizenship—can we truly work together for the common good.

Foreword by Timothy Keller
Introduction

Part 1: The Breakdown of Community
1. The Passing of the American Church
2. The Unwinding of Common Life in America

Part 2: The Problems for Community
3. The Loss of Meaning
4. The Loss of Wonder
5. The Loss of Good Work

Part 3: The Practices of Community
6. Sabbath and the Chief End of Man
7. The Membership
8. Work

Part 4: The Promise of Community
9. Political Doctrine and Civil Virtue
10. The Eternal City
Acknowledgments
Notes

"Like everything else Jake Meador writes, his call to reflect on our pursuit of the common good is a thought-provoking, worthwhile read. It’s also a timely one, if only because it seems so easy to spot our common ills. A distorted notion of freedom in America has given birth to the slavery of self and all its attendant pathologies: loneliness, existential anomie, and pointless work, which form the inner reality of economic instability and sociopolitical isolation. Unfortunately, a malformed, superficial, and ill-catechized church reflects the world at just this point. What, then, may we hope for our common life? Drawing on the wisdom of Scripture, natural law, and the practices of the Christian tradition, Jake points us to a vision of work, community, and politics attuned to the rhythms of creation, reflective of the eternal city and ultimately rooted in the goodness of God himself. I was challenged by this book and I know I’ll be wrestling with and reflecting on its argument for some time. I suspect I won’t be the only one."

"Jake’s book accurately diagnoses some of the ills of our modern world and, even more importantly, provides a vivid, specific vision of a full and flourishing Christian life."

"In this beautiful and compelling book, Meador offers readers more than a list of our societal ills. He offers us hope—and a clear and steady path to restoring our homes, churches, and communities. For those already on that path, In Search of the Common Good will breathe new life into their efforts, encouraging them that their lives of quiet faithfulness and goodness are far more significant than they realize. And for those still finding their way, Meador’s words beckon us to the path of life."

Product Details

  • Title : In Search of the Common Good: Christian Fidelity in a Fractured World
  • Authors:
    • Meador, Jake
    • Keller, Timothy
  • Publisher: IVP Books
  • Publication Date: 2019
  • ISBN: 9780830873784

Jake Meador is vice president of the Davenant Institute and the editor in chief of Mere Orthodoxy, an online magazine covering the Christian faith in the public sphere. He lives with his wife and children in his hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska.

Reviews

4 ratings

Sign in with your Logos account

  1. Sky

    Sky

    7/7/2025

  2. Winston pariat
  3. James W. "Bill" Phillips
  4. 이정국

    이정국

    12/17/2024

$14.29

Digital list price: $25.99
Save $11.70 (45%)