Transforming Faith Communities

An examination of the parallels between liberation theology and 16th century Anabaptism and the transformative model they offer for the modern church. Transforming Faith Communities draws upon a model for the church that combines congregationalism with a constructive approach to church-state relationships within a vision for a renewed Christendom, commended as a viable option for Christian mission in the twenty-first-century world. Michael Ian Bochenski uses two movements to make his case: sixteenth-century Anabaptism and late twentieth-century Latin American liberation theology. Each movement is held up as a mirror to the other in a vision for the transformation of church and society that resonates powerfully with contemporary culture. Outlining the development of radical religious communities, Bochenski examines some of the factors that create world-affirming Christian faith communities, and explores many examples of effective and constructive engagement with church and society across the centuries.