A Nazareth Manifesto: Being with God

This eloquent and ground-breaking book is nothing less than a call to rethink Christian witness and mission, based on a profound re-telling of our relationship with each other and God.

One of the most essential goals of contemporary Christianity is social engagement. In this thought-provoking manifesto, Samuel Wells – a respected priest and renowned Christian ethicist – takes as a starting point a thoughtful and impassioned proposal for re-envisioning Christianity’s approach to social engagement away from working “for” the people to being “with” them. Wells argues that we are so focused on doing things for people – and often find ourselves wondering why they appear resistant to or ungrateful for our intervention – that we have lost sight of the importance of being with people and allowing that coexistence to inform how we learn from each other and grow together. Jesus spent 90% of his life simply being among the people of Nazareth, sharing their hopes and struggles – and so similar emphasis must be placed on being alongside people in distress and disadvantage rather than hastening to impose solutions. What flows from this is a different way of understanding our relationships with each other and with God.

Supported by a range of historical, contemporary, exegetical and anecdotal illustrations, A Nazareth Manifesto will prove to be a provocative and valuable contribution to the conversation surrounding Christianity’s role in confronting the social challenges of today’s world.