Radiant Church
Restoring the Credibility of Our Witness
Something is not right. The witness of the church in North America is eroding. Many Christians are alarmed by the decline in church attendance and seek a culprit. Too often, we point the finger away from the church, make culture the enemy, and build walls between us and others. But our antagonism and enemy-making are toxins that further eat away at our witness. Is there a better way?
Tara Beth Leach could easily be one of those millennials giving up on the church. Instead, she is a pastor who loves the church and is paradoxically hopeful for its future. In an era where the church has lost much of its credibility, Leach casts a radiant vision for Christians to rediscover a robust, attractive witness. We need to name the toxic soil we’ve grown in, repent for past wrongs, and lean into a better way to become the church that Jesus proclaimed we would be.
Leach casts down idolatrous false images of God to recover a winsome picture of a kingdom of abundance and goodness. We can be sustained by practices that will tune our hearts to God’s and form us into the radiant communities God intends for us and those around us.
Reviews
“Pointing out the problems with the white evangelical church is easy. Showing the church how to draw on the abundant grace of God so we can live emboldened, empowered, and radiant lives, well, that’s much more difficult. But that’s exactly the task Tara Beth Leach sets for herself with this exuberant, thoughtful, and inspiring book. Written by a pastor who loves the church, Radiant Church is comforting and challenging in equal measure.”
“The ability to simultaneously comfort and confront is rare, and this is exactly what Tara Beth Leach offers us in Radiant Church. With the evangelical church lingering at several cultural crossroads, many pastors and church leaders find themselves searching for a way forward. In our most honest moments, we find ourselves lacking conviction, fearful of a wrong step, and deeply anxious as we face an increasingly uncertain future. Leach offers us prophetic insight and pastoral conviction as she skillfully guides us across the landscape of our precarious present and leads us toward a new vision for the future, bright, bold, and teeming with possibility.”
“Pastor Tara Beth Leach has produced an inspiring writing to embolden those who are called for ministry. For women called to vocational ministry the pathway is not easy, but Leach reminds us that the call cannot be ignored. This is the mission of God, and in the words of Pastor Tara Beth, ‘I get to do this.’ This book is a vital new resource for the church. It’s for all women who are called to ministry and for those who will embolden others who have been called.”
“Pastor Tara Beth Leach has produced an inspiring writing to embolden those who are called for ministry. For women called to vocational ministry the pathway is not easy, but Leach reminds us that the call cannot be ignored. This is the mission of God, and in the words of Pastor Tara Beth, ‘I get to do this.’ This book is a vital new resource for the church. It’s for all women who are called to ministry and for those who will embolden others who have been called.”
“Pastor Tara Beth Leach has produced an inspiring writing to embolden those who are called for ministry. For women called to vocational ministry the pathway is not easy, but Leach reminds us that the call cannot be ignored. This is the mission of God, and in the words of Pastor Tara Beth, ‘I get to do this.’ This book is a vital new resource for the church. It’s for all women who are called to ministry and for those who will embolden others who have been called.”