Congregations often seek to combat decline by using innovation to produce new resources. Leading practical theologian Andrew Root shows that the church's crisis is not in the loss of resources but in the loss of life--and that life can return only when we remain open to God's encountering presence.

A Rich Vision for the Church's Future Congregations often seek to combat the crisis of decline by using innovation to produce new resources. But leading practical theologian Andrew Root shows that the church's crisis is not in the loss of resources; it's in the loss of life--and that life can only return when we remain open to God's encountering presence. This book addresses the practical form the church must take in a secular age. Root argues the church must be a waiting community that recognizes that the only way for it to find life is to stop seeing the church as the star of its own story. Instead of resisting decline, congregations must remain open to divine action. Root offers a rich vision for the church's future that moves away from an obsession with relevance and resources and toward the living God.