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Louder than Words - Action for the 21st Century Church by Andrew Bradstock. Published by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd, pp144. ISBN 978-0232526103 £9.95
Andrew Bradstock’s recent book Louder than Words: action for the 21st Century Church consciously draws on his five years’ experience as Church and Society Secretary for the United Reformed Church. It is both a celebration of the diversity of those whose Christian faith leads them to ‘change the wind’ of world affairs by campaigning, fundraising, and supporting networks; and a challenge to those who feel that it doesn’t make much difference.
While the author is clear that religion is ultimately judged by its practical commitment to re-making the world, and that ‘actions really do speak louder than words’, he repeatedly demonstrates how faith commitment and hope in the Kingdom of God inspires and helps people endure the long haul towards building a better world. The drive and energy which many Christians gave to Jubilee 2000 was a good news story, but more surprising was the discovery that ‘by linking up with others, remaining united, focused, dedicated and principled, (many ordinary people came to realize that) they could exercise power beyond measure’.
This remarkably wide-ranging book not only alludes to contemporary global issues such as war and terror, climate change, making poverty history, addressing poverty at home, and building bridges between different faith communities, but devotes a chapter to each of them, showing how churches can bring an alternative perspective, and suggests practical action people can take to make a difference.
Bob Geldof said in 2005: “Millions of people in the world still die of hunger – or rather of politics.” He added: “the individual is not powerless in the face of either political indifference or monstrous human tragedy... You can change the world. And millions of you did that this year. This stuff works...sometimes.”
What comes across strongly in this book is the power which is available to us to transform many of the global structures and practices which keep people in the slavery of debt, poverty and disease. The greatest challenge is getting free and principled people to harness their efforts to achieve the achievable in this generation. While the Church is good at talking about unity, the world needs evidence of something more than that.
RA
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